Did you know that the Grand Theft Auto series did not actually begin with Grand Theft Auto 3? The first two games in the franchise were overhead-focused driving and shooting games, and they were far more focused on general mayhem rather than today's increasingly melodramatic stories and occasional yoga classes. Rustler is basically the old-school Grand Theft Auto games but set in medieval times. It's sort of like if Red Dead Redemption came out before Grand Theft Auto 3 changed everything.

Really, if I renamed Rustler to Grand Theft Horse, that about sums up the game. If you've played one of the old-school GTA titles, you know almost exactly what to expect. The player takes on the role of a ne'er-do-well who works for local gangster-bandits and has to help them in their various murders, horse thefts, and other crimes in the pursuit of money. It's an unashamed homage to Rockstar's classic franchise, and it borrows a little from every GTA title.

One thing to note is that the game is a bit more tongue-in-cheek about its setting than a "real" medieval game. Rather than being set in a remotely realistic representation of the old west, it's effectively set in "What if a modern city were a town in the Wild West?" The sheriffs ride horses with flashing red and blue lights; there are clearly marked parking spots for horses; and if you're wanted by the authorities, you can drive your horse into a Pimp My Horse station to recolor it. There's a lot of that sort of humor here, which is fitting for something aiming for GTA's flavor. (Yes, one of the very first things you see in the game is a crudely drawn phallus.)

The alpha version is fairly early, so it's hard to get too much of a feel for Rustler. It absolutely tickles my nostalgia for the early GTA titles because it has the same weird sense of humor and extremely similar style of gameplay. The controls for horse-riding as so similar to cars that it took me a little while to get used to how they were intended to control. The lack of overworld music (either due to an attempt at realism or because the music isn't finished yet) was particularly glaring and probably the primary thing that I hope gets improved early.

The structure of the game seems to be pure GTA. Go to various quest-givers, get missions, complete missions, and get paid. With the game early in development, there's only so much you can see, but there are plenty of indications of future side-quests and collectibles. The map looks to be a good size, but this early in development, it's tough to get much of a feel for how large the final game will be. However, since the original GTA games were pretty busy, it wouldn't surprise me if Rustler ends up with a fairly lengthy final product.

All in all, Rustler is pretty much Grand Theft Horse. It's basically Grand Theft Auto with a Horse — but not that Grand Theft Auto with a horse. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially because the time is ripe for a nostalgic revisit of the games that started the mega-franchise. Hopefully, when Rustler is further along in development, we'll get a clearer view of what it has to offer. For those interested in seeing more of Rustler and helping the game along to completion, there are 12 days left in its Kickstarter campaign.