Call of Juarez Bound in Blood is the prequel to Call of Juarez the less than well received Wild West based First Person Shooter from Ubisoft and Techland. If you played the first game you will remember Reverend Ray who was chasing the other lead character Billy. In Bound in Blood you play as Ray, before he found God as it were and Thomas the husband of Billy’s Mother. The brothers are fighting in the civil war on the side of the South. Hearing that their farm and family are in danger they desert their command and head home only to find the Yankee troops have gotten their first. This is the start of the game which has a great story of betrayal and revenge on many levels. Follow the brothers as they fight Yankee troops, Mexican bandits, Evil and Corrupt business men and their own past across the deserts, mountains and forests of the US and Mexico.
GameplayCall of Juarez Bound in Blood plays just like every other first person shooter with only a slight twist on things. You play as two different characters, brothers, called Thomas and Ray. Both of the brothers control the same but have some different styles and weapon specialties. Thomas is faster and better with a long rifle and Ray can take more damage and use two revolvers at the same time. Thomas also uses a lariat to lasso his way up to new heights and when you play as either Ray or Thomas there are different paths each brother can take.
As you kill the enemy you increase a kill meter until you can enter this slow motion kill mode which is also different for each brother. Thomas uses a classic fanning of the hammer to fire off his shots as fast as possible and Ray slows down allowing you to take steady aim on the bad guys in the area. This works out very well most of the time but it feels like a bit of a cheat when you can take down 5 or 6 bad guys and soon after do it again.
Quick draw has returned from the first game but they have overhauled it and that was a mistake as you must control your position and wait for a bell to move your hand to your gun with the right thumb stick and pray you get your gun because it does not always work, hope you shoot before the other guy does and if you were skilled enough to line up your character with the guy you are trying to shoot so you’re not firing off in another direction. The quick draw almost works but it needed more time in development to be perfected, the developers should have left good enough alone.
The game has some good weapons which are all authentic and besides some of them being overly accurate even at long distances they are fun to use. There are various revolvers, rifles, shotguns, bows, knives and even dynamite to use and you never have to worry about ammo because it drops and can be found everywhere.
Combat from horseback is also part of the game with a nice twist that your little pony can die if the enemy shoots it a couple of times. This can be a pain but just like ammo there is always another horse around when you need it. You can also shoot the horses of the enemy who are chasing you and they will certainly slow down those who are following you.
Multiplayer is not bad but it cannot compete with the current top games on Xbox Live for players and overall fun and addictive gameplay. There is the standard death match and the like but there is nothing we have not seen before. But unlocking classes is a nice touch even if they are nothing special in the long run and they are something you can do without.
GraphicsThe first Call of Juarez game looked good some of the time and bad the rest of the time but this is not the case with Bound in Blood which certainly looks very good almost through the entire game and it only drops in quality in a couple of spots. Steady frame rates, great lighting and effects mix with the nice level design and constant action to make this a good looking and fun experience. Most of the character models are top notch but there are some who look just ugly and out of place. You won’t care though as you will be shooting them rather than talking to them.
AudioI was impressed with the strong voice acting from all of the main and supporting characters in the story. You should recognize several of the voice actors and each one makes the game more enjoyable. With very good environmental sound effects and good weapon sound effects the game comes across as one of the better sounding games in a while.
ValueThere is plenty of fun single player gaming to be had with the two characters to play through the game with and with their distinct styles it makes the second play through just as fun. I was not that impressed with the multiplayer because it does not offer anything new but for those gamers who like the standard first person multiplayer games they should find the multiplayer a welcome distraction until the next multiplayer game comes along.
Bottom LineCall of Juarez Bound in Blood has one of the best Western FPS games period with one of the grittiest story lines this side of a Clint Eastwood movie. With its solid graphics and audio mixed with the outstanding gameplay this is one of the best action games for the hot summer nights. It’s a must buy.
I can remember many Christmas mornings from my childhood spent excitedly flipping through the pages of a new book. This was unusual because as a young child, books and clothes were the only gifts I would dread receiving. However, the Christmas morning books that excited me so much were something special. Granted, they weren’t literary classics, but back then,... 
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