Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood has a few shortcomings, yet it doesnt stop it from being a blast to play.
- Superb graphics
- Superb gunplay
- Top-not voice acting
- Terrifying audio
Disliked :
- Not enough differences between both characters in terms of abilities
- Some rough edges on the graphical department ( cutscenes dont all look good, since they close up on ugly faces too often )
- Useless knives.
Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood is one hell of a ride. It's a short one, mind you, since it took me 5 hours and half to beat it ( I redid some sections because I kept dying ) on normal. Still, its level of polished is non-questionnable, and you can clearly see the potential of this dedicated team of great developpers that techland are.
The first game took a lot of risks with its, rather unique gameplay, if I may say it like that. Some elements held most players back, like the stealth and platforming segments, yet it was entertaining and filled with its own signature.
The sequel, wich acts as a prequel, takes almost no risks at all. It concentrates on shooting, shooting and shooting. You'll have to stealth kill enemies once, and its optionnal.
The graphics are the first highlight of the game. Techland crafted a superb, solid engine that gives us jaw-dropping vistas and effects. There's some hick ups there and there, like the poor lip-sync that is almost laughable since the game loves to zoom in on the cold faces of the characters. Character models are awesome, but there's a serious lack of diversity. You'll see the same mutton-chop guy over and over, as a gun merchant, neighbor, outlaw and confederate soldier. That one made me laugh, just like if the guy kept resurecting to haunt me as a different one. '' Har har! I'm back! Now i'm a... gun seller. Want guns?'' But that's just nit picking, really, because the faces offered are ones of the best i've seen ; when they dont talk.
The game is also filled with nice little touches, like butterflies landing on your gun's cannon, or the shadows of the birds and eagles on the ground. The guns themselves looks completely real, just like if you held it in your own hands ; their level of detail is incredible.
The gameplay is very solid. It feels like a Call of Duy game, but with a very well done cover system. No more '' press the button to stick to cover '', your character will do it automatickly. I've seen people complaining about it, and for me, it worked 85% of the time, wich is quite good. See, your character will, by himself, only lean a bit as your move your aim to the side of an object ; it feels real, and it works damn well. Also, the animation of your hands switching sides is quite good, altough it does clip in the wall sometimes.
At the end of most levels, you'll face a guy in a spaghetti western duel fashion. At first, it's super hard and you'll get killed a lot. But once you understand how it works, you'll be a real pro. To the point that you'll wish it was a tad bit harder.
The choice to play has the brother of your choice is a neat addition, but really, it wasnt really necessary. It's quite unique, since sometimes they branch off into different paths, but it doesn't offer a whole new experience. The only big difference is that one can dual wield and use dynamites ; and the other can't. That's it. One is weaker, the other is better. You'll say , '' but it aint true! ''. Alright, Thomas, the weakest link, can zoom in like 1.5x better than Ray, and he can use a bow and knives.
Problem is that the bow doesnt feel like a bow, since the arrows don't need to be pulled on the wire, and the '' twang '' sound is so low that you won't even hear it during the vast firefights. The weapon does work, and kills pretty fast, but it's lack of polish makes it a disapointing weapon to use. The knives also lack any kind of appeal, you don't feel like you've thrown a knive, it just flies off your hand, wich is lame.
Really, I just used Thomas to see Ray's model more often, since he looks badass with his plated chest ( even if its never explained why he spawns with a plated chest with a christian cross on it ).
On the other hand, guns all have a great feel, very well animated and creates the proper bang. This can't be said for the bow and knives, however.
The sound design is awesome ; from catchy western guitar solos to mexican and ameridian songs. They all fit, and don't ever gets old. The voice actors does a perfect job of bringing their characters alive, even if Ray's voice feels a bit too crackled by the age for my taste. He's supposed to be 30-40, and he sounds like a grandpa. But that's my opinion.
The storyline was very well fleshed out, even if by the end everything felt super rushed. The whole game as a smooth feel to it, you travel from place to place, but at some point it decides to skip a motherload of stuff and just dives into the ending level. It felt to me like the devs cutted off one level or something. That said, some characters, like William, really brought life to the story. Annoying at first, he turned out to be the greatest asset of the cast. I'm not a religious man myself, but I can really see that he was the bravest and the strongest of all.
The game wasn't very long, as a matter of fact, it was short. ( but hey, ever seen a long shooter? I haven't. Don't mention FC2, it was a sandbox. ) That said, I think that if the game was longer, it would have dragged on a bit since it doesnt really change its initial formula too often. You'll do some rail shooting, and ride horses, other than that : shoot dudes.
Overall, Bound in Blood is a great game, superbly crafted with a single intention ; giving you one hell of a ride in an action game, while making you feel like a real and badass cowboy. And for that part, the game succeeds.
PS. I tested the game during 2 hours on the 360, and then moved onto the PC version. The PC version looks 2x better, has no visual hiccups like tearing effect, and it runs rock-solid on most rigs. Very well optimized. As for the multiplayer, I didnt touch it, I just reviewed the SP part of the game. I could have taken off points for it, or gave more if I tested it, but i'm a bad reference for MP stuff since most online shooters gives me a headache of frustration.
Verdict : Try it without hesitation. If you want to buy, keep in mind that the single player is short.