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When danger looms, your best friend's a six-shooter
By Ron Harris |
July 12, 2009, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
The old West may have been a slower, dustier time, but it was chock full of danger, and the era is well portrayed in "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood," an engaging new first-person shooter title from Ubisoft.
"Call of Juarez" spins the tale of three brothers -- Ray, Thomas and William McCall -- near the end of the Civil War in 1865. Ray and Thomas are soldiers, while kid brother William is a man of the cloth.
After a few victories on the battlefield and with the war winding down, Ray and Thomas desert their military company and return home to Atlanta. They were already bad seeds, and now they're angrier.
"War changes people," William says in one early cutscene. The mission is to find a buried treasure in the bandit-infested hillside of Juarez, Mexico, and take it back to Atlanta to rebuild the family home.
William tags along, toting his Bible and trying to tone down his brothers' bloodlust. Good luck, kid.
At the early stages, I was stuck playing as Ray, chosen by the game. Later, I could choose Ray or Thomas. Ray is a little stronger, while Thomas has more agility.
A small golden star appeared on screen to gently guide me to each objective. The brothers cover for each other nicely as they peek around corners and trees trying to get clear headshots on their enemies with classic rifles and long handguns like the "Rusty Ranger."
The storyline is realistic and gritty, and the brothers are entertaining as they throw profane barbs back and forth during their adventure.
The game play is sharply designed. Quick toggling in the Sony PS3 version of the game that I played brought up my choice of weapons easily on the fly. A quick press of the right thumbstick gave me a zoom-in view of the target area, so I could better focus on bad guys in the distance.
In "concentration mode," time slows down and your character can swivel around and aim with deadly precision. It doesn't come up often, and only lasts a few seconds, so it's important to move the cross hairs to your targets quickly and fire off a few select shots. When the game returns to real-time, those shots come to life and the enemies are laid to waste in a flurry of action. It's fun stuff.
The bosses near the end of the chapters are gunslingers who must be outdueled, Old West-style. You have to keep the bosses, such as a tough known as "The Rattler," in front of you and in focus to get a clear shot at the sound of the bell.
Draw too quickly, he'll shoot you. Draw too slowly, he'll shoot you. It's fun, but if you fail, it takes a little too long to reload to try again. Your best bet? Don't fail.
The game is full of dusty scenes fraught with danger. You'll meet some friends along the way, who seem to be on your side, but this is the late 1800s, and your best friend is likely to be your six-shooter. Top-notch stuff here from Ubisoft. "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood" is a very polished title.
Game is rated "M'' for Mature and contains strong language and violence.
"Call of Juarez" spins the tale of three brothers -- Ray, Thomas and William McCall -- near the end of the Civil War in 1865. Ray and Thomas are soldiers, while kid brother William is a man of the cloth.
After a few victories on the battlefield and with the war winding down, Ray and Thomas desert their military company and return home to Atlanta. They were already bad seeds, and now they're angrier.
"War changes people," William says in one early cutscene. The mission is to find a buried treasure in the bandit-infested hillside of Juarez, Mexico, and take it back to Atlanta to rebuild the family home.
William tags along, toting his Bible and trying to tone down his brothers' bloodlust. Good luck, kid.
At the early stages, I was stuck playing as Ray, chosen by the game. Later, I could choose Ray or Thomas. Ray is a little stronger, while Thomas has more agility.
A small golden star appeared on screen to gently guide me to each objective. The brothers cover for each other nicely as they peek around corners and trees trying to get clear headshots on their enemies with classic rifles and long handguns like the "Rusty Ranger."
The storyline is realistic and gritty, and the brothers are entertaining as they throw profane barbs back and forth during their adventure.
The game play is sharply designed. Quick toggling in the Sony PS3 version of the game that I played brought up my choice of weapons easily on the fly. A quick press of the right thumbstick gave me a zoom-in view of the target area, so I could better focus on bad guys in the distance.
In "concentration mode," time slows down and your character can swivel around and aim with deadly precision. It doesn't come up often, and only lasts a few seconds, so it's important to move the cross hairs to your targets quickly and fire off a few select shots. When the game returns to real-time, those shots come to life and the enemies are laid to waste in a flurry of action. It's fun stuff.
The bosses near the end of the chapters are gunslingers who must be outdueled, Old West-style. You have to keep the bosses, such as a tough known as "The Rattler," in front of you and in focus to get a clear shot at the sound of the bell.
Draw too quickly, he'll shoot you. Draw too slowly, he'll shoot you. It's fun, but if you fail, it takes a little too long to reload to try again. Your best bet? Don't fail.
The game is full of dusty scenes fraught with danger. You'll meet some friends along the way, who seem to be on your side, but this is the late 1800s, and your best friend is likely to be your six-shooter. Top-notch stuff here from Ubisoft. "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood" is a very polished title.
Game is rated "M'' for Mature and contains strong language and violence.
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