''NRA Gun Club'' (''Gun Club in Italy'') is described as a nonviolent first-person target shooting game by

Crave Entertainment Crave Entertainment was an American video game publisher founded in 1997 by Nima Taghavi. Its headquarters was in Newport Beach, California. It was acquired by Handleman Company in 2005 in a deal valued up to $95,000,000 but was then sold to Fil ...

in North America and 505 Games only in Italy. Although not released in the UK, a few PAL UK units have been found in circulation in some 505 European markets (A German release was planned, but cancelled for unknown reasons).NRA Gun Club: The National Rifle Association's official, non-violent video game
/ref> The game allows gamers to enter the shooting range and shoot at paper targets,

watermelon Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 varie ...

s and sporting clays. The game contains over 100 licensed and recreated firearms. It was endorsed by the

National Rifle Association of America The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while cont ...

, bearing their logo on the cover art.

Background

''Gun Club'' was one of a number of target shooting games backed by the NRA in response to the perception that violent first-person shooters were responsible for violent crime including school shootings. In 2012, NRA President Wayne LaPierre lambasted video games in a press conference following the

Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting occurred on December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, United States, when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people. Twenty of the victims were children between six and seven years old, and t ...

stating ''"Another little dirty secret the media tries to conceal is a callous corrupt and disgusting shadow industry ... vicious violent video games,"'' Weeks later, the NRA released "NRA: Practice Range" - a mobile game for Apple iOS devices. At the time of release, the NRA commented on ''Gun Club'' that ''"In keeping with the NRA mission, this game tests marksmanship in a sporting environment and emphasizes responsible use of firearms,"''. Alongside Gun Club on PS2, ''NRA High Power Competition'' was released for Windows PCs in 2006.

Reception

The game received very poor ratings and reviews. It was rated by

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

1.6 out of 10 (abysmal) as one of the worst games ever made for the PlayStation 2. Another gaming site,

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

, gave the game a 1.5 out of 10 ("abysmal") and called the game, "a bold move in exploring new depths of sheer worthlessness." The game was rated E10+ (for everyone 10 years of age or older) for mild violence by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. Particular criticism was directed at the poor quality of graphics and the generic audio, with sounds used across "over 100 licensed and faithfully recreated firearms.". Reviewers noted that in a firearm-oriented game, failure to differentiate guns in gameplay rendered much of the progression pointless.

References

External links

* 2006 video games Crave Entertainment games First-person shooters PlayStation 2 games PlayStation 2-only games Video games developed in Canada National Rifle Association 505 Games games Multiplayer and single-player video games Jarhead Games games {{gallery-shooter-videogame-stub