This is not The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. In fact Dead Man's Hand is neither good, bad, nor ugly. It's a middling theme shooter with frequent sparks of potential that always splutter and die before the stick of dynamism can blow.

The premise is great and it's a constant surprise that there haven't been more attempts to make shooters set in the Wild West. Of course there are a few coming up, with Red Dead Revolver up for review next month and Darkwatch: Curse of the West later in the year. But Dead Man's Hand is the first on Xbox and as such it's a bit of a half-hearted pioneer that wanders rather than forges the frontier.

It's certainly got a sense of fun. The (hopefully ironic) voice acting sounds like some Welsh/Mexican hybrid and consists entirely of classic one-liners thrown at you by pistoleros before the gun hammers fall. "Hey, your veellage ees meesing an eediot!" is a favourite, along with the pitiful moan of a cowardly gunslinger, "Why can't we all just get along?" But there's precious little 'getting along' in the revenge plot of this game. Apart from some Mexican revolutionary mates who you help out on occasion, it's all about tracking down the outlaw party you once belonged to and who left you for dead after you refused to kill women and children on raids. It's a plot that Clint Eastwood would be proud of, and just a shame that its execution is at times rough as his stubble come five o'clock.

The powerful Unreal engine delivers fantastic physics, breathing life into an environment full of crates that move, signs that swing when shot, collapsing balconies, smashing furniture, falling trees and rolling boulders. However, terrible lip synching (while unintentionally spaghetti western authentic), abrupt ends to boss fights (without death animations) and some pretty dismal AI, regularly knock the breath of life right back out again. Not to mention the fact that while maps are complex, large and often very beautifully worked, the negative effect on framerate is sometimes enough to turn Dead Man's Hand into the jerky robotics of Westworld.

Still, there's plenty of entertainment on this hilly wagon train of highs and lows. There's a conscious effort to keep gameplay fresh with great mission variety as you pursue your old gang members (who have dispersed all over the States). One minute you're cleaning out a shanty town, the next you're riding a horse across the savannah, firing at other riders. From riding a mine cart Indiana Jones-style and smashing through planking barriers, you'll be thrown next into a fortress infiltration via the sewers before ringing bells to raise the revolutionary army (shades of Two Mules for Sister Sara) and seizing a cannon to breach the outer walls.

Never a dull moment, you may think. But there is. And it's the high differential between the exciting bits and the interminable pedestrian shootouts that causes such a grinding gear change in Dead Man's Hand. For example, after battling a fat and ageing shotgun whore (whose two outlaw sons you've recently killed) for a gruelling and bizarre five minutes, she simply freezes the moment her health bar reaches zero and you're pulled rudely back to a stats screen for the level before beginning in a totally new location. After going through an unsettling experience such as that hussy-fight, let me tell you, you want proper closure. But anti-climax prevails and the ride through Dead Man's Hand is as jerky in framerate and pace as a horse with three legs.

Multiplayer support for System Link and Xbox Live is a great addition and shames bigger, better games that claim development time issues as an excuse. The addition of a unique fighting arena to Live is definitely worth your fistful of dollars while we wait for the next batch of super-shooters in Doom 3, Halo 2 and Half-Life 2. It's just frustrating that Dead Man's Hand couldn't have achieved a little more consistency throughout. Oh, for a few dollars more...

Power
This is unsatisfactorily jerky at times, and seems poorly optimised for Xbox.

Style
Perfectly captures our amalgamated movie perceptions of the period.

Immersion
The pace is too slack, dragging you out of the game instead of drawing you in.

Lifespan
It's a decent trek across a variety of levels, and the unique fighting arena adds longevity on Live.

Summary
Up and down more than a frilly lady in a swing-door saloon on the day the cattle drive comes.

1. Ride horseys
2. Great sound
3. Live play
4. Diverse

1. Abrupt endings
2. Too easy!
3. Bad AI and dodgy frame-rate