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|Image = [[Image:The wild bunch (K7) (Firebird Software) (199 Silver Range) (1986) (Standard Jewel Case) - (Front).jpg|center|300px|Titlescreen of the game]]
|Company = [[Firebird]]
|Info = Unknown
}}
'''The Wild Bunch''' was a strategy adventure game set in the Wild West. Although it shared the same genre and the same title, it wasn't based upon or related to the 1969 western directed by Sam Pekinpah. Kevin Smith's game starts by having the player falsely accused of shooting (and thus murdering) someone. Armed only with the clues given to them by the dying man, the player is forced to go on the run to find the perpetrator - a member of the notorious 'wild bunch'.
The only way to know who is a member of the gang is to visit the Sheriff's office and look at the wanted poster. Taking note of any outstanding features (moustaches, scars, etc.) helps the player to identify who's who. If a member of the gang does enter the saloon, the player can choose to 'take them in' or challenge them to a shoot out in the street, just as long as they don't 'draw' and shoot first!
Travelling between towns can take twice as long on foot if the player doesn't buy a horse and have the necessary provisions. They are also going to have random encounters with bounty hunters, vultures, indians Indians and the like, where they have to use up their strength (and bullets) if they're to reach the next town alive. Sometimes they might get lucky and pick up some useful items along the way. If not, they can always buy extra provisions at the town's Store.
Avoiding the sheriff and hunting down and capturing the murderer will take a fair amount of gambling, travelling, brawling and shooting. It wasn't called the 'wild west' for nothing!
[[Psytronik Software]] loved this CPC game enough that they made a C64 conversion of this game called ''Wanted: The Wild Bunch'' with better graphics for the shooting arcade sequence.[http://www.psytronik.net/main/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76:twb&catid=34:commodore-64&Itemid=57] So this is a great example where a CPC game was good and unique enough that even C64 users liked it and wanted to see it ported.
Also worth of note is that gameplay has some similarities to Sid Meier's ''[[Pirates!]]'' which was released two years later. So one could certainly speculate whether ''The Wild Bunch'' was an (unacknowledged) influence on ''Pirates!''. Certainly in the case of ''Pirates!'', there is not much discussion e.g. on Wikipedia where the whole RPG/arcade/choose-your-own-adventure concept came from. That said, ''Pirates!'', while using the same underlying concept in many ways, has far more polished gameplay. ''The Wild Bunch'' does not rise to the same heights creatively.
Finally, it's worth pointing out that the game is programmed entirely in Locomotive BASIC! In fact it's so large that normally it only works on a 464 because on a 664/6128 the AMSDOS ROM jump block occupies so much RAM that the program no longer fits. However on CPC-Power there is a 6128 version by Kukulcan too.
== Description ==
To prove your innocence, you must find a real killer, a member of the Wild Bunch gang.
In the meantime, the Pinkerton Agent is send sent hunting for you...
== Covertapes ==
* [http://tacgr.emuunlim.com/downloads/filedetail.php?recid=1011 The Amstrad CPC Games Resource]
[[Category:Games]] [[Category:Games 1985]] [[Category:Adventure]] [[Category:Locomotive BASIC games]]
