One day, when Johnny (from Johnny Kung-Fu) was on his lunch break, he was playing his favorite arcade game, Cowboy Hotshot. But he accidentally spilled his drink, causing the machine to electrocute and he got sucked in. Now Johnny is inside the game and is the newly appointed sheriff. Help Johnny shoot and catch all the bad guys in this shooting gallery challenge for 3DS, downloadable from the Nintendo eShop.

In each stage you must shoot and catch the criminal on the wanted poster. You do this in three levels. The first level is called Shooting Gallery and you must tap on the screen to shoot cardboard cutouts of bad guys and avoid shooting innocent bystanders. If you loved the NES classic Hogan’s Alley, then you’ll really like this part.

The next phase is called Saloon Shootout, and it’s similar to the last mode except you use the control stick to move around and the button to fire. To progress in each of these modes, you MUST shoot the boss, which is a cutout outlined in black. He’s usually faster and harder to hit. No matter how many guys you shoot, you won’t make it to the next round unless you shoot the boss within the time limit. Considering he usually just pops out once, that can be difficult.

In the last section, called Catch ‘em All, you must chase down the bad guy on horseback, moving up and down to avoid his shots, and trying to shoot him yourself. When you hit him enough times, he’ll tire out and you must aim carefully and charge up and throw your lasso to catch him and finish the level. You can continue from where you left off and earn in-game achievements, too. The most creative thing about the game is the graphics, which are made to look like an old-fashioned mechanical shooting gallery game. Only problem is the game is incredibly difficult. Only expert sharpshooters need apply.

Kid Factor:

Johnny Hotshot is rated E-10 with an ESRB descriptor of Fantasy Violence. Even though you use guns to shoot down bad guys, everything is a cardboard cutout and they go to great lengths to remind you that this is just a shooting gallery game. Reading skill is only needed for the instructions, but the game is so difficult that many gamers will just get frustrated.

Tags: Game Reviews