This year gamers will see three big Western games. Damnation with its Steampunk touch has already been released, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is ready to go and Red Dead Redemption is said to come in fall. This uncommon agglomeration of titles is just the right cause for PC Games Hardware to take a look at the history of the Western video gaming genre.

Actually Western is a genre for movies that deal with conquering the west of the American continent. The most successful Western up to now is - who might have guessed - Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves that brought in about 424 million USD. Once Upon a Time in the West on the other hand is probably the most famous Western ever, but it is rather a Spaghetti Western.

But where does the fascination for the genre come from? Possibly another question can solve the problem: Who never wanted to ride off into the sunset on a horse called Jolly Jumper after a high noon shootout on the main street of a small town in the Midwest?

A real Western has to have cowboys, but also Indians, a sheriff, guns, horses, cattle and the endless prairies. On the PC game developers covered almost any genre with titles that offered a Western setting. Strategy, shooter, adventure - the most famous might by Outlaws, Desperados, Gun (dt.) and Call of Juarez. One of this year's highlights is Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption that is supposed to make the West an Open World game based on GTA 4.

On the PC there hadn't been too many Western games. The last boost of the genre came in the mid-90s when several good games were released. Currently another peak is building up and PC Games Hardware takes a look at the titles from 1982 to 2009. All in all 33 games can be found in the gallery and after the classical games there are some real highlights like Outlaws, Desperados or The Westerner.