For as many movies have been set in the Wild West, cowboys have been a rather rare sight in games. Yet Human Head's upcoming Xbox first-person shooter takes the Old West theme to heart. The game starts out as a old gunman, El Tejon, gets out of a prison where he was left to rot after being betrayed by his gang. Although we heard that El Tejon had a falling out with the other nine members of the gang because of a difference of beliefs--he liked the notoriety but wasn't into all the cold-blooded killing--the gunman is now on a mission of revenge to take down the nine, one by one.

　　Dead Man's Hand is based on the latest version of the Unreal engine and really makes good use of the Karma physics engine. The environments are filled with destructible objects. A good shot with a shotgun can knock over a lean-to or set off a wagon perched on a slope. More importantly, these objects can be a good way to take out opponents. In an interesting twist, there's a point system that rewards you for doing things with style and also for shooting important-looking objects--such as a bleached white skull hanging on a wall--as in a penny-arcade shooting gallery. These point bonuses also give you "juice," filling a meter for special abilities. The standard Colt .45 normally just has a somewhat slow single-shot attack, but using juice can let you break out a Clint Eastwood-style fanning technique, using the opposite hand to cock the hammer for a quick burst of fire.

　　One level we saw was set in a ghost town, where you have to seek out Paulo Sanchez, who is hiding out in the saloon. But in the meantime, there's his gang to deal with. Around every corner, there were plenty of enemies to gun down, so it wasn't too hard to build up the juice. El Tejon has a range of typical Western weapons to choose from, including a bowie knife, three pistols, three rifles, and three shotguns. There are also explosive to toss, like dynamite and whiskey bombs, and the physics engine does a good job making the blasts apparent.

　　As El Tejon progresses on his quest for revenge, the game will take him from the dusty desert towns of the Southwest to the mines and forests of the Northwest. Human Head wanted to make sure there was a good variety of locations, and it is also working on a third area in the Midwest, where some of the action will take place aboard a riverboat. You'll have an opportunity to ride horses as well, and there'll be an action-packed sequence on a speeding train. All nine of El Tejon's former colleagues will be formidable bosses, with special attacks and their own signature weapons.

　　Dead Man's Hand will have a full complement of multiplayer options, with Xbox Live support and split-screen play. In addition to deathmatch and team deathmatch modes, the posse mode will have a team face waves of AI enemies in a way that's reminiscent of Space Invaders and the bounty mode will make one player "it" and set the rest on his trail. The game is currently pre-alpha and is scheduled for release at the end of the year.