By Adam Rosenberg
If director Sam Raimi’s classic Western "The Quick & the Dead" can be said to have an analogue in the video game world, it is unquestionably Techland’s "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood." They both serve up cheeseball stories and feature colorfully one-dimensional characters. Game and film alike also offer a helluva fun ride, building a deeply entertaining experience around the established tropes of the Western genre.
"Bound in Blood" is all the more impressive for being a sequel that completely eclipses its predecessor. The original "Call of Juarez" had its high points, but any fun was marred by a slavish adherence to Techland’s shooter/platformer/stealth vision for the game. "Blood" abandons the latter two gameplay styles, focusing instead on tightening up the core experience of forging a trail across the Wild West with your guns blazing.
The Basics
In "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood," published by Ubisoft, players take control of brothers Ray (the preacher from the first game) and Thomas McCall. Soldiers of the Confederate Army in the twilight days of the Civil War, the brothers desert and flee to Mexico after tragedy strikes at their family home. The McCalls eventually set out on an quest to locate the Lost Treasure of Cortez, all while staying one step ahead of pursuing demons from their past.
The Highs
Great Gunplay
There’s no other way to parse it: gunplay in "Bound in Blood" is flat-out fun. There are many different types of firearms, and each feels like it packs a unique punch. Reloading is time-consuming, as one would expect of Civil War-era weapons, but the process can be interrupted so that any of the individually loaded bullets can be fired immediately. There’s a contextual cover system that’s a bit wonky at times, but at least the feature can be turned off.
Character Variety
Once the initial set of tutorials is finished, players have the option of choosing between taking control of either Ray or Tom at the start of each chapter. Ray can dual-wield his pistols and throw dynamite; his excels at scrapping at short and medium ranges. Tom is the more nimble brother; with his rifle, his lasso and his bow & arrows -- not to mention his stealth-friendly throwing knives -- Tom is ideal for more tactically-minded players who like to hang back and choose their shots with care.
Quick Draws
Throughout "Bound in Blood," players must participate in a reflex-based quick draw minigame. The camera hovers just behind the gun hand of the character you control. The idea is to keep your enemy in focus by circling around while keeping your hand hovering as close to your gun as possible without touching it. When a bell rings, you can grab your weapon and fire when a rising crosshair turns red… hopefully quicker than the other guy does.
The Lows
Inventory Management
Money collected in each chapter can be spent in any of the weapon stores that the McCalls come across in their travels. While it’s great that owned guns are carried over from chapter to chapter, there are a few missteps to the game’s upgrade mechanics. You can’t sell off old weapons, nor can you trade purchased or found ones between the two brothers. If you’ve been looking to upgrade Tom’s "Rusty Scoped Rifle" but you’re controlling Ray when you come across a store that has something better… well… you’re s--t out of luck.
Uneven Terrain
The gameplay in "Bound in Blood" is surprisingly varied in spite of Techland’s re-branding of the series as a focused shooter. There are solo and cooperative (one player only) on-foot sections, escort objectives, open-world exploration (complete with side quests), on-rails action and more. Even a smattering of stealth. Unfortunately, the presentation is incredibly uneven. There’s no common thread to tie everything together; "Bound in Blood" delivers a series of admittedly cool though disconnected Western-themed set pieces, and it makes for a jarring gameplay experience.
Terrible Voice Acting
Given the "Quick & the Dead" analogy, this particular low point could be taken as a positive. As silly and far-fetched as the story is in "Bound in Blood," the voice acting is more ridiculous by many degrees. Ray’s voice in particular sounds like a hilariously bad Charlton Heston impression. And don’t even get me start on the Native Americans….
No Co-op?
"Bound in Blood" offers what appears to be some cool online multiplayer functionality (which I unfortunately did not get to test), including persistent elements in the form of unlockable classes and weapons. Unfortunately, the MP is competitive only; despite the fact that Ray and Tom are together for much of the adventure, there’s no option for co-op play. It’s not a deal-breaking omission, but it is definitely a surprising one.
Final Thoughts
"Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood" is great fun to play, and that’s really all you need to know. Techland deserves major kudes for acknowledging their previous effort’s shortfalls and leaving them out of "Bound in Blood." The low points are few and far between, especially if you can appreciate the so-bad-it’s-good story and voice acting. The varied, if uneven, gameplay at least keeps the experience feeling constantly fresh and the action -- both the pace of it and the visceral thrill -- is nothing short of superlative.
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