Ubisoft whipping up Call of Juarez prequel

For years, games set in the Wild West appeared to be an extinct species. After both Gun and Red Dead Revolver failed to rustle up much in the way of reviews or sales, both games' sequels were put out to pasture indefinitely. That left Call of Juarez, the PC and Xbox 360 first-person six-shooter game from Polish developer Techland.

Although it sold barely more than 137,000 units domestically according to the NPD Group, Call of Juarez got decent reviews after Ubisoft published it worldwide in June 2007. Apparently that was enough for the French publisher, given that it announced today that it has commissioned Techland to ready a prequel, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. The game will ship out later this year for the PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

Unlike the first game, which was set in the Civil War-ravaged South, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood will take place before the Confederacy decided to break away from the Union in 1861. It will also switch locales, leaving behind the wooded hills of Georgia in exchange for the harsher terrain of Mexico. Other than the news that the game's story would be "full of greed, lust, and lawlessness," no other details were available. However, the first piece of art from the game (pictured) indicates that its Indiana Jones-like whip will return.