There’s a basic combat mechanic in Evil West that, if you’re anything like me, will completely sell you on this action shooter. Basically, you can time a precise rifle shot like a quick-fire Batarang toss in Batman: Arkham Asylum, and if you hit the right spot then an enemy’s arms will simply explode right out of their sockets, spraying forth rivers of crimson like something out of Kill Bill. Both arms completely squelch out of existence – no flesh, no bones, just two long sacks of gore ready to burst given the slightest bit of contact – and with blood pressure like that you’ve got to assume these goons consume nothing but salt, cholesterol, and smoke.

It’s a simple mechanic that feels unbelievably satisfying to pull off, but it’s just one tool of many, and they all feel just as good. There’s a simple three-punch combo that leaves weak enemies open to a brutal finisher à la Doom, or a charged uppercut that suspends a foe mid-air where you can either join them for more punching, stay on the ground and fan your revolver at them, or charge a second punch and send them cannonballing into some environmental object like a stack of dynamite.

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