Game: Call of Juarez
Platform: PS3/X360
Developer: Ubisoft
Price: $49.99
Pro:
Con:
When looking back at the Call of Juarez franchise, one could mistake the original entry into the series as nothing more than an exercise in futility. Even back then, the developers were tasked with shoehorning a western sensibility to a first person shooter genre that was solidly anchored in the settings of World War II and beyond. What resulted was nothing short of a travesty… So what would make one think that a prequel to the original would be any better? The answer is certainly not what you would expect.
Those who suffered through the entirety of the first installment in the will remember Reverend Ray, a minister turned gunslinger, who took it upon himself to inflict the “Wrath of God.” In Bound in Blood, the focus on not as much on how he came to be a minister, but more on the shenanigans of himself and his two younger siblings. As one would imagine, the path from outlaw to minister and back to outlaw is quite a stretch, but the storyline valiantly attempts to connect the ridiculously distant dots.
Bound in Blood starts much like countless other first person shooters, placing you right in the thick of the battle. However, the developers left out one key component of a tutorial stage, halfway decent directions, leaving the player to sink or swim on their own. The nonsensical introduction is set in the middle of the Civil War, with Ray taking it upon himself to try to rescue his Brother Thomas’s battalion from an impending trap. After struggling through the irritatingly vague tutorial, Ray is matched up with his brother, who is at his side through almost every mission henceforth.
In order to save Thomas, Ray had already disobeyed a direct order by leaving his assigned post. Instead of dealing with the consequences of their actions, the motley pair decides to desert the confederacy. They set off towards their family farm so that they can attempt to preserve the homestead and protect their mother. As they approach home, it becomes obvious that no such rescue will be necessary, because the homestead is already gutted, leaving their mother dead and the plantation ablaze.
Fortunately for the McCall brothers, they find that their youngest sibling had returned home from seminary so that he too could help take care of the family farm. So with their collective lives in shambles and wanted by the law, the McCall trio set off for Mexico in search of the money necessary to rebuild the farm and reestablish what is left of their broken past.
The game is very quick to establish is the personalities of each character. Ray is the oldest and strongest brother, carrying himself with a confidence and swagger that just screams of war-hardened experience. Thomas is the polar opposite of Ray in almost every way. He has a lean build with a soft-spoken and easygoing demeanor, all of which make the ladies swoon. Lastly William is a weak and naive minister that spends most of his time trying to save the souls of his older brothers. Once the cliché character archetypes have been honed, so begins the mindless slog through wave after wave of brainless drones that can be armed with anything from sticks of lit dynamite to shiny pistols, and about everything else in between. One thing is assured, no matter how many character models are on screen, you will never be challenged.
Breaking up the monotony of the “see-man, shoot-man” grind are the very “uniquely” titled “Showdowns.” These one-on-one encounters seem to fill the role of a boss battle as can be found in other traditional FPS’s. Other than in cut-scenes, this is the only point in the game where the first person perspective is broken. Using a third person camera, situated at your chosen character’s hip height, the two adversaries get the opportunity to face off, “High Noon” style.
For everything new and interesting that this mode brings, the controls seem to do it a disservice. Player movement is controlled by the left stick. Movements left and right must be made in order to keep the enemy in a clear line of sight. The right hand, as one would expect, controls the free hand’s movement towards the gun. You must position the hand close to the firearm, in order to insure it can be un-holstered and fired quickly. Be sure not to jump the gun though, because if any early attempts are made at grabbing the pistol, all movement towards the weapon are temporarily disabled, rendering yourself vulnerable. At the tone of the town bell, both outlaws grab for the guns, leaving only the quickest hombre still standing.
Overall, the mode seems very unwieldy. On the PlayStation 3 version, the location of the sticks can lead to issues when moving both sticks towards the middle. This may be a case of fat thumbs, but reports of this problem have not been isolated. Plus, the right stick’s ability to grab the gun is discouragingly imprecise. There is very limited room for error in any shootout, so be prepared to repeat them over and over again.
Frustrating shootout control issues aside, the first person perspective controls seem perfectly functional. When first starting the game, the camera seems to have a slight float, but once players grow accustomed to how it feels, everything tends to fall into place. Every weapon in the game seems to have a visceral and unique feel to it. Even the force feedback on the controller seems to vary, depending on the weapon used. Speaking of weapons, there are a vast variety of period firearms at your disposal. These guns can be tweaked and upgraded, further adding to the depth of the action. The best part is that each modification that is made has a very obvious effect on weapon properties such as range, power, and damage.
Each mission can be played though as either Ray or Thomas. Both characters bring their own interesting tweaks on the gameplay. For example, Ray is a very proficient close quarters brawler, with a strong emphasis on the pistol gun play. Thomas is more quick and precise, preferring to use a rifle at longer distances. It is amazing the difference that these abilities can be make, just by switching up your character of choice, as well as augmenting the replay value of what would otherwise be a bland experience.
The last piece of the puzzle is the online multi-player that has been met with a resounding chorus of, “Will anyone bother to play it?” Amazingly, what is available, seems to be a very substantial amount of content. All of the necessary basses that need to be covered to make online modes appealing seem to be there, save the actual people necessary to play. After repeated attempts to secure a match, the potential player selection was limited at best. (might this be due to the PS3 gaming community more than the game itself?)
When if comes down to it, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a much better game than its predecessor, but that is not really saying much. The one stumbling block that it suffers from is escaping the traditionally predictable story progression of western films. There is no effort made to venture outside of the box, leading to a fairly bland and predictable experience. It might be entertaining if you are looking for a mindless romp through a linearly connected series of kill boxes, but those looking for more depth should continue waiting for a game like Red Dead Redemption.
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