Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West
A team-based Old West shooter with class synergies and six modes.
Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West is a multiplayer third-person shooter built around team-based play, set in the American Old West. Developed by Fatshark and published by Paradox Interactive, it launched in 2010 on Microsoft Windows through Steam and on PlayStation 3 via the PlayStation Network. A version for Xbox Live Arcade was announced but later canceled. The game offers four character classes and six game modes, and critics often described it as an Old West take on *Team Fortress 2*.
Each class in Lead and Gold has unique weapons, abilities, and a "synergy" effect—a range-based boost that enhances nearby teammates. The Blaster carries a double-barrel shotgun and dynamite, providing a defensive synergy. The Deputy wields a repeating carbine, can tag enemies for allies, and radiates a damage-increasing synergy. The Gunslinger uses a highly accurate revolver and can fire rapidly with reduced accuracy, boosting weapon accuracy for the team. The Trapper is equipped with a scoped hunting rifle and traps that immobilize foes, granting a critical-hit synergy. Players slowly regenerate health when near teammates, and any player can revive a fallen ally.
The six game modes include Shootout, a standard team deathmatch. Conquest resembles *Unreal Tournament 2004*'s Onslaught: teams conquer waypoints in sequence, starting from their home zone and advancing toward the enemy's. Capturing a zone unlocks the next, and clearing it of enemies while raising your flag secures it. Powder Keg is similar to *Unreal Tournament 2004*'s Assault: one team tries to destroy objectives with powder kegs while the other defends, played over two rounds with sides swapping. Gold Fever is a cooperative mode for one or two players, where they fend off endless waves of AI enemies while collecting gold sacks; the game ends when both players die. Robbery mirrors Powder Keg: attackers blow up a bank vault and steal three gold bags, while defenders protect the bank, also played in two rounds. In Greed, players deliver gold sacks to their team's drop zone; when a sack spawns, both teams fight for it, and a successful delivery earns a point and starts a new round.
Lead and Gold was revealed in August 2009, planned for PC via Steam, PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade. It runs on the Diesel engine, previously used in *Bionic Commando Rearmed* and *Wanted: Weapons of Fate*.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West
- Developer
- Fatshark
- Publisher
- Paradox Interactive
- Engine
- Diesel
- Released
- Windows / NA · April 8, 2010 · EU · May 14, 2010PlayStation 3 / EU · April 22, 2010 · NA · May 4, 2010
- Genre
- Third-person shooter
- Modes
- Multiplayer
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows / PlayStation 3
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Lead and Gold was revealed in August 2009, slated for release on PC via Steam, the PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live Arcade. The game is powered by the Diesel engine, which was used for titles such as Bionic Commando Rearmed and Wanted: Weapons of Fate. The music was composed by Fathom, who created four tracks for the game; Fathom had previously worked with GRIN, the company from which FatShark was formed, on titles such as Bionic Commando and Terminator Salvation. The soundtrack was made available to the public on July 18, 2010 via iTunes.
The four character classes were patterned after American frontier archetypes. Staffon Ahlström, Visual Effects Artist for the game, said 'everyone has their archetypes in their mind of what [different kinds] of cowboys there [were].' Writer Mangus Liljehdahl added, 'You have really distinct and iconic weapons in the Wild West' and noted 'there's an apparent balance in the weapons that are available.' During development, Gunnar Johnson and Mårten Stormdal of FatShark traveled to the United States to promote the game, visiting gaming media such as Game Informer, IGN, and PC Gamer. Journalists played the game in groups of six via networked laptops and Xbox 360 controllers. FatShark released multiple patches to decrease network lag, add dedicated server support, and provide other fixes and updates. An additional patch containing one new map, Jacob's Bridge, and one new game type, Demolition, was released on May 20, 2010.
In December 2009, Gamereactor's Bengt Lemne mentioned stories of developers waiting long amounts of time for their titles to be published on Xbox Live Arcade, to which producer Robert Bäckström responded 'we really want to release it as soon as possible, [but] things might take time.' On August 3, 2010, Mark Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, cited issues with getting the game certified for release on Xbox Live Arcade, stating 'It seems like we have to put it on the backburner' and that the team was 'not really putting any more effort into releasing on XBLA.' The reason for the delay was not mentioned, merely that Paradox and Fatshark were waiting for response from Microsoft on the game's status. This led some websites to list the game as cancelled or remove the Xbox Live Arcade listing entirely.
Reader's Guide
Lead and Gold received 'average' reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. On July 25, 2010, it reached the number one spot in sales on Steam. The June 2010 issue of PC Gamer UK was positive, saying it was 'easily comparable with titles twice its price. Its core gunplay and design are more airtight than a collapsed mine.' GameZone praised the simplicity of the PC version as its greatest virtue. IGN enjoyed the team dynamics, particularly that players can revive other fallen comrades. IT Reviews commented that 'Despite some aiming issues, this ambitious foray into online team shooting set in the golden age of outlaws has plenty of variety and well designed character classes and won't cost you a fistful of dollars.' The Australian video game talk show Good Game gave the PC version 7/10 and 7.5/10. Kotaku stated the level designs were unique, providing plenty of choke points and opportunities to flank opponents. Edge was less enthusiastic, saying 'there's wild west fun to be had within these simplistic charms, but it's unlikely to replace your favoured multiplayer shooter.' Eurogamer, GameSpot, and Kotaku complained of multiplayer lag; Kotaku's Luke Plunkett said he '[couldn't] remember the last online shooter [he] played that was so crippled by it.' Subsequent patches repaired networking issues found in the original release.
Did You Know?
- The game features a 'synergy' system where each class radiates a range-based booster that enhances nearby teammates.
- The Trapper class carries traps that can immobilize enemies and radiates a critical hit synergy effect.
- Gold Fever is a cooperative mode where players fend off endless waves of AI characters to collect gold sacks.
- An Xbox Live Arcade version was announced but cancelled due to certification issues with Microsoft.
More in Third-Person Shooters 1-24
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced