Wii games are perfectly suited for the light-gun genre, and with the recent influx of arcade ports like Ghost Squad and House of the Dead, it seems developers are making the connection. Wild West Guns is the latest shoot-em-up game and it debuts on WiiWare, from developer Gameloft.

Like Link’s Crossbow Training, WWG gives players a limited single-player mode based around a few key gameplay elements. Don’t expect much depth with this one. From balloon popping to can shooting to shooting-gallery’s, it’s pretty standard fare. The single-player game itself game be beat within an hour or so, without much trouble. Multiplayer does, however, give this game some legs. Grab a friend and you can go co-op on the missions.

While the presentation of the Wild West is creative, the actual in-game mechanics are pretty cliché. Native Americans and outlaws seem to live peacefully together in this world; well, until you (whoever YOU are) come to town. The shooting gallery levels consist of your character shooting everyone in saloons, graveyards, and on trains. It doesn’t make any sense and the game doesn’t require it to.

Style is where this game does excel a little bit more. The graphics are well-rendered for a downloadable and everything has a black outline, giving it a stylized look (and hiding those rough polys). Also, the menus are sleek and the environments very well designed. In each environment, nearly every item, from barrels to chickens to wagons, is interactable. The physics and particle effects are also impressive for this game. The problem, however, is the frame-rate. On almost every different game, the frame-rate would chug along while I continued to shoot with ease at the enemies moving half-speed.

It’s also a shame that there is no IR calibration for this shooter. It’s a relatively minor feature that does wonders for the quality of the experience. I like to actually play my light-gun games like I would a light-gun in the arcade.

Gameplay: 7.0
The game modes can be entertaining and the game is generally fun to play. No IR calibration is a serious misstep.

Graphics: 7.5
For a downloadable Wii game, this title looks very nice.  But the frame chugs along like a freight train loaded down with gold nuggets.

Sound: 4.0
There are about four different sayings you will hear repeated during this game (over and over). Heads up, they’re not funny at all.

Difficulty: Easy

Concept: 7.0
The Wild West is under used in today’s video game market. Nice to see someone’s thinking about it.

Multiplayer: 6.5
It does make the missions more enjoyable to play with a friend.

Overall: 5.0
For 1,000 Wii points ($10), there is hardly enough material here for me to recommend. Link’s Crossbow training and Ghost Squad offer more in-depth gameplay and more fun for a similar price.