Gunman Chronicles

The Good
I've never been much into the "modding" scene. Maybe I've been missing out, but being the Israeli low-bandwidth no-multiplayer gamer that I am, I could never justify downloading dozens of megabytes for more potential fun. Basically, mods never thrilled me.
They still don't. Gunman may technically be a mod, but (a) it's retail and (b) it's basically a completely new game from Half Life, so I've played it as such.

That being said, Gunman Chronicles is FUN. In essence, it is a typical no-frills first person shooter, no pretense. It gives you weapons, it gives you levels and it fills those levels with people and monsters you kill. For me, that's a major thumbs up - I hate pretentious games that presume to give you a whole new level of gameplay. On the other hand, I just love "anonymous" games that focus on gameplay instead of marketing, where story is just a bonus and sheer fun comes first.

Serious Sam was such a game. Gunman Chronicles is another. For me, where Max Payne failed, GC delivered. I first played and completed it today, in one 7-hour sitting. It's a short game, and it's fun! It has all the elements of a classic B grade action movie: lone surviving member of a military organization as the protagonist, evil ex-military freaks trying to take over the universe, genetic experiments gone bad, rampant computer AI... everything. And the beauty is, you get to shoot each and every one of these elements. That's gameplay!

Seriously though, Gunman Chronicles takes decent advantage of the Half Life engine. Graphics aren't stunning but are, for the most part, at least adequate (though slightly bland at first). Like a fellow reviewer mentioned, GC borrows Half Life's tendency to make you jump out of your seat when things crash around you spontaneously. GC features an actual story, which certainly isn't anything to call home about but is decent never-the-less.

With quite a few well-designed levels and overall sheer FUN FACTOR, GC is basically a very solid shooter.

The Bad
Graphics occasionally look really amateur, but I suppose that's to be expected from a mod. Like I said, they're adequate for the most part. Audio is mediocre at best.

The game is absolutely linear, but unlike Max Payne, here it is done with a certain finesse that doesn't frustrate. Also, seeing that most of the game takes place on a solitary moon or a base somewhere, the claustrophobia is actually atmospheric.

Also, the Rampant AI I mentioned is sometimes absolutely ridiculous, but personally I think it adds to its personality, with stupid sentences like "Hi, I'm the AI running this facility. And you are... DEAD!"

The Bottom Line
I'd say GC is an excellent game to play once or twice, enjoy it like it is, and just avoid approaching it with expectations in mind. If you love mindless shooters, you'll enjoy it.