Right now the only title on PSP filling the open-ended niche is Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Activision tried something new when they released Gun on consoles, and they're attempting to follow suit by giving PSP owners something they might be looking for by bringing them Gun Showdown.

The most accurate description for Gun Showdown really is a translation. All of the content from the console versions are being brought to the PSP in its entirety. The entire story, including all of the characters and cut scenes, as well as the missions and all locations are completely intact. Quite impressive, and even more impressive are the new additions, including a variety of new missions integrated into the original story.

Still following the adventures of Colton White, Rebellion has gone on to integrate the new portions of the games' narrative by including the elements that Neversoft had no choice but to remove out of the console versions. Hopefully this means a seamless integration, so players who played Gun and have the motivation to play through it again will find some new tidbits along the way. The same open-ended world design is intact and actually improved, being the game now provides for incredibly shortened loading sequences when transitioning from different areas of the world and in and out of cut scenes and cinematics.

In hopes to give Gun Showdown a bite-sized and friendlier portable element, Rebellion is crafting two new gameplay modes: Quickplay and Multiplayer. Quickplay consists of games that satisfy the short attention spin driver players by giving a quick pick-up format using the settings and elements present in the full game. Settings like Hold the Fort, which have you defending an encampment against an encroaching force of bandits and cavalry by manning a canon. We also got to check out a mode that had you going up against a town besieged by outlaws, where the rewards and scoring were greater for successfully subduing and apprehending rather than killing. There are a total of six Quickplay modes in all, including poker.

The multiplayer mode is most likely going to be Gun Showdown's biggest draw for those that have already played through the console versions. Strictly ad hoc, multiplayer provides five different maps for up to six players to go against each other in. Using the weapons available in-game (and only those - no power-ups or temporary perks), you and either five other players or bots do battle across the typical Western-set environments familiar to the single-player campaign of the game.

The control scheme in Gun Showdown follows the formula that many PSP titles have already adopted as a standard, which is having the analog stick control Colton's movement and the four buttons control the camera. The d-pad functions as an on-the-fly inventory system, giving you the control to pick and manage your primary and support weapons.

Gun Showdown looks admittedly better on the PSP than it did on the PlayStation 2. The resolution sharpens up a lot of the muddy textures that plague the PlayStation 2's hardware, and the widescreen element adds not only to the visual appeal but also assists in the mechanics. The developers have borrowed a bit from Resident Evil 4 by placing Colton off to the left portion of the screen, so that when controlling he never blocks where you're trying to look or shoot.

Translation-itis notwithstanding, Gun Showdown could stand to deliver a functional epic title for the PSP. With the same content that provided hours of exploration in the console versions fused with the necessary portable alterations, Gun veterans and newcomers alike could be easily tempted to check this one out. For the final verdict, however, be sure to check back with us for a full review when the game releases later this Fall.