Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Review

The western genre was on life support until now. Games have been few and far between but will Bound in Blood be the oasis that rejuvenates the genre?

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Developer: Techland
Platform: Xbox 360 (reviewed)

Call of Juarez returns for its expositive sequel Bound in Blood in the hopes of delivering on an authentic old-timey experience of the Americas during the late 1800s.The first Call of Juarez blended stealth, platforming, and shooter elements into one game. The prequel, however, eliminates the first two in favor of refining the first-person shooter gameplay that was integral to the overall experience. At its very core, Bound in Blood manages to be successful in bringing you back to the lawless past, however it falters in areas where it becomes detrimental to the game itself.

Ray and Thomas McCall are brothers on the run from Confederate dudes.

The story begins with Ray and Thomas, two brothers who have deserted their post in the Confederate Army in order to defend their mother’s home from the Yankees. As a result, they become marked men by the game’s main antagonist, General Barnsby, who swears to find the brothers and carry out “justice” for their desertion. Ray and Thomas eventually meet with the third brother William, a seminary preacher, and together they set off towards the West in an attempt to rebuild their lives. William has the role of the static character in the game and is unplayable. However, the war has changed the brothers who have become cold-hearted gunslingers with ornery dispositions against authority and the opposite sex. The dark nature of the game is revealed through the search of the lost treasure of the Aztecs where there is plentiful amount of plot twists that coax the player’s progression in the story. However, the game will often throw rather annoying western clichess through a farfetched and over the top narrative. The voice impressions are generally bad, often making me wonder why Native Americas mainly speak English. These generally detract from the originality of the experience.

Hey Ray, have you gained weight?

The two brothers, when working side by side, prove to be a harmonious experience. Both brothers can be selected before the start of each chapter. Ray, the elder brother, is the stronger of the two and can take more damage than Thomas. This is necessary in firefights where Ray and his two gun toting revolvers can dish out the pain against a multitude of enemies without suffering much damage. In contrast, Thomas plays as an agile character and is useful for stealth and platforming situations where you need to climb a ledge and pull your cumbersome brother up. Also, Thomas is handy with rifles and bows, giving him a marksman attribute as he is able to pick off enemies from afar and while shying away from close quarter situations. Despite playing as a single character, the game often utilizes the brothers cooperatively and works well in playing to each other’s strength. The interplay of the brothers is exemplified during the game’s many slow-motion events where you will enter a cooperative dual mode, which entails bursting through a door and aiming your reticule with precision to dispose of foes. Given how frequently the brothers are utilized synchronously, the absence of a cooperative multiplayer mode is questionable as it could have been something that would have enhanced the gameplay experience.

Holding a gun sideways is how cowboys roll.

The gunplay in Bound in Blood is remarkably fun and familiar. As a first person shooter, the gameplay is apt in reflecting the time period. The guns reload slowly and there isn’t much variety to begin with in those days. With that noted the guns available do well in justifying the necessary abundance of killing that you will encounter. As you progress through the game, you will find that the guns will rank from the subpar ‘Rusty’ to the excellent ‘Superb’ and each type of weapon will have their own strengths and weakness. The Volcano Gun proves the most gratifying in disposing your opposition. It has a neat animation which involves the player twirling their gun, firing a shot each time. Weapons and cache are stored within a rotating wheel that acts as your inventory system. Unfortunately, it is restrictive at best since you can’t sell off your weapons nor can you trade and switch off weapons between the brothers. The heads up display for your weapon will often use the ‘auto aim’ function to indicate where you’re supposed to be shooting. Aiming can also be quite touchy when you want to pick off enemies from afar as the draw distance isn’t very competent in its reach. The integral part of the gameplay is found within the dynamic cover system that places the player in control of a sneak and peek system that functions through the game’s camera controls. The cover system automatically activates when you approach anything that detects it. Despite it being clunky at times, it’s rather unique and could be utilized again in the future.

The environments are sort of bland and generic.

Bound in Blood has remarkable aesthetic detail at first glance but up close there are glaring technical problems. The design of the game is confounded by the decision to include open world encounters, as the majority of the game is quite linear. These open world situations reflect a vastly barren environment, and while visually stunning, offers little to interact with. The environments also hinder the gameplay when enemies become virtually impossible to spot as they are blended to the terrain, creating confusion as to where you’re being shot from. During cutscenes, the game suffers from screen tearing which is unacceptable when playing with a high definition television. The draw of Bound in Blood is seemingly the standoff feature called ‘Quick Draw.’ At the end of every chapter, you will be engaged in a duel at high noon and the goal is to be the faster man. This is the game’s representation of a boss fight which is essentially masked as a minigame of timing and reflexes. Often, this would lead to moments of frustration and frequent retries when unable to pull the trigger faster than the opponent.

The Final Word
The experience of Bound in Blood is a mixed produce of sorts. While the game offers immersion of its first person storytelling, it will often repeat similar gameplay elements that results in predominately cyclical and repetitive action. The gunplay and likable characters make Bound in Blood enjoyable however expect it to have bothersome technical hitches along the way.

– MonsterVine Rating: 3 out of 5 – Average

Editors Note: Missing from this review is the multiplayer compoent. The reviewer wasn’t able to enjoy the multiplayer to its full extent as his internet connection was unable to sustain a complete game.

By William Saw