Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Review

Poland-based developer Techland surprised us about six years ago with an interesting little shooter named Chrome. Two hears after that, Techland released a Wild West themed action game Call of Juarez, which we regarded as a fine game and pleasant change from all the stereotypical WWII shooters or, even worse, those with derivative sci-fi settings and predictable storylines. Exploring and surviving in the Wild West represented a challenge for players. Moreover the developers did a great job of depicting the era.

Cowboys never did like bungee jumping.

This is easier than it looks.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood continues in the manner of its predecessor, hurling players, once again, into intense combat situations in the Wild West, this time taking place during and after the American Civil War. The two main characters (both playable) Ray and Thomas McCall begin their adventure while in the uniforms of the Confederate army, fighting against the Union. Learning that heir home is danger and soon to be occupied by Union forces, they disobey orders and flee the trenches. They found their home destroyed by Union soldiers, so they decide to head on a journey to find the legendary gold of Juarez. At first their goal was to rebuild their home. Greed, lust and the never-ending fight for survival put our travelers farther away from their plan.

Nowadays I tend to vomit at the mere sight of games with clich'd characters, retarded plot structures and poorly written dialogue. Bound in Blood, thankfully, doesn't fall into the same whirlpool of mediocrity. The story is intriguing all the way, the characters are very likable and most of you should enjoy how events unfold throughout the single-player campaign. Just when you think the situation is under control, a plot twist occurs or unexpected characters pops up, maintaining a dynamic flow of the story.

Okay, this thing is so not my fault!

I wish a had this cannon.

What I really enjoyed about BiB is its appealing setting, which has the potential to lure in all gamers, even those who aren't all too keen on the whole cowboys and Indians shenanigans.

In essence, this game follows a simple shooter formula and it does so rather well. You won't have any trouble getting used to the controls, weapons and the game's Concentration mode - it's when your character enters a sort of Matrix-style slow-mo shooting stance and you get to take down multiple targets in the manner of a true Wild West gun slinger. There's a solid 8-10 hours you can get out of the single-player mode, with a pretty decent multiplayer mode thrown in for good measure. The class based system and available modes are well-designed and can be extremely fun.

So, we have only one question: why in the hell didn't these guys make a co-op story mode in game where there are two main characters? Seriously, the setting seems ideal, the story is perfect for such a feature and yet they have omitted it. Another flaw made us reduce the score somewhat. The enemy AI shoots relentlessly at you and your brother as both of you march through pretty intense gunfights. However, most of the time we felt the movement of enemy soldiers, Indians and bandits was rather basic and fairly predictable. Playing on 'hard' difficulty presents a more or less similar experience.

Amidst all the generic shooters, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a great relief and offers a surprisingly convincing depiction of the Civil War era, coupled with satisfying gameplay. It also tells an exciting story of courage, honor, treachery and forgiveness. It's not every day we get to play a good shooter with an engaging storyline, complete with charming voiceovers and solid characterization. We're ending this one on a positive note and we'd also like to compliment those responsible for creating the music, which fits the in-game events and characters perfectly. Good job.

The summer of 2009 isn't too boring after all.