Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood.

[Agrael]

Well, since this is my first review on The Escapist forums, and quite honestly my first review ever (about a PC game) then, pardon my french, and maybe my inexperience.

Graphics: 8/10
Sounds (incl. voice acting): 10/10
Music: 8/10
Gameplay: 8/10
Story: 9/10
Videos: 9/10

All and All: 8.7/10.

The Basics

The game talks about three brothers - William, Thomas and Ray. Each one of them has a very colorful background, attitude and absolutely mind-blowing voice acting.The story tells about their adventure to find the lost gold of Juarez, but little did they know, that this adventure will turn out to be so eventful that in the end, they wouldn't even recognize themselves.

N.B. The story takes place before the events of Call of Juarez (the first game) so I would definitely recommend playing Bound in Blood first, and after that the first one (Although the graphic difference may be big, the epic story and voice acting stays the same).

Gameplay

The game takes place after the U.S. civil war, so you will be running around with sixshooters, double-barrel shotguns, rifles and the occasional gatlin gun.

Due to the fact, that the gameplay is divided in two (you can play with either Ray or Thomas - both are very different. Ray prefers the direct approach with all guns blazing, dynamite flying and screams of pain in the air. Thomas is on the other hand more subtle - using the more tactical approach, climbing up tall rocks, using his lasso to yeehaw over obstacles and the all-mighty bow for silent kills), I deeply suggest, that you play the game twice, with both characters for the maximum action and thrill. The game itself plays nicely, the gun-slinging is comfortable and nicely worked out, but the automatical hiding-in-cover mechanism is horrible. The horse riding is nicely worked out. One cool thing that this game presents, is the Concentration mode. It's basically bullet time, where you get to pick targets out and shoot them before they can shoot you.

Sounds

Before I played this game, I had been playing Battlestations: Pacific and Men of War - both good games, with voice acting that sucks so bad, you really want to gouge your ears out and feed them to your friend's trout. But Call of Juarez:Bound in Blood made me cry - yes, the voice acting is the BEST I have heard so far. It's absolutely brilliant. Gun's sound realistic, when sticks of dynamite go off - they actually make an exploding sound etc.

Summary

Call of Juarez:Bound in Blood is a very, VERY good game. It does have it's flaws, but you barely notice them. I suggest that you play this game, and after you finish Bound in Blood - give Call of Juarez (the first game) a chance - it may not look so good, nor play so good - but the story is purely ingenious.

Thank you,
Agrael

 

[Wadders]

Good first review

I was going to get this game eventually, but you're positive view of it has moved it further up my "to buy" list

 

[Hippobatman]

Been thinking about buying this game, as I've heard good things about it.

Your review isn't bad, on the contrary actually, however, I'd like it to be a bit longer and more comprehensive.

It's a really good first review, and I recommend you to read some other reviews to further develope your writing abilities.

 

[Hazy]

I'll wait for the price to die down before I try this out. Hell, I thought the $7 I paid to rent the original one was Highway robbery, so god knows wrath would ensue if I disliked this for $60.

 

[Maccy Man]

i like the multiplayer, thought the freezing in my first match wasnt cool.

 

[Jandau]

Well, I just rented it and the first impressions are mixed. On one hand, the game looks and sounds great and the basic gameplay is adequate. On the other hand, the controls are sluggish and unresponsive. The "bullet time" is poorly concieved since you need to kill people to charge it and then have about 60 seconds to use it. However, often by the time I charge it, everyone's already dead and the next fight is just two guys that I don't need the BT for.

And finally, the cover system is atrocious. Yes, it's so bad it merits a separate paragraph. Mass Effect had a better cover system. Basically, to trigger cover, you need to run up to an adequate obstacle (i.e. chest high wall or a box). However, the game's a bit unclear as to what qualifies and what doesn't. Also, you can't go into cover if there are no enemies in sight, and you often can't take cover simply because you're humping the wrong pixel on the crate in front of you. Essentially, it's best to pretend that the game has no cover system. Yes, that might work.

Call of Juarez has no cover system, you just get stuck on boxes from time to time. Yeah, that sounds a bit better...

 

[Agrael]

Well, I just rented it and the first impressions are mixed. On one hand, the game looks and sounds great and the basic gameplay is adequate. On the other hand, the controls are sluggish and unresponsive. The "bullet time" is poorly concieved since you need to kill people to charge it and then have about 60 seconds to use it. However, often by the time I charge it, everyone's already dead and the next fight is just two guys that I don't need the BT for.

And finally, the cover system is atrocious. Yes, it's so bad it merits a separate paragraph. Mass Effect had a better cover system. Basically, to trigger cover, you need to run up to an adequate obstacle (i.e. chest high wall or a box). However, the game's a bit unclear as to what qualifies and what doesn't. Also, you can't go into cover if there are no enemies in sight, and you often can't take cover simply because you're humping the wrong pixel on the crate in front of you. Essentially, it's best to pretend that the game has no cover system. Yes, that might work.

Call of Juarez has no cover system, you just get stuck on boxes from time to time. Yeah, that sounds a bit better...

I agree with you on the BT thing though, I think I only used it three times (properly). And the other times I used it for fun .

 

[Agrael]

As an added bonus to my review: I have also made a fan video, that I was allowed to put here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc24f5wpTWY&feature=channel_page

 

[L3m0n_L1m3]

Nice, gonna have to give this game a try.

 

[CenturionRyan]

However, often by the time I charge it, everyone's already dead and the next fight is just two guys that I don't need the BT for.

If there was one thing I had to criticise the game for, this would be it.

Especially when the 60 seconds run out, then you find yourself in the middle of another firefight.