Techland at its best ... get it!

User Rating: 9 | Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood PC
By natasha8384 | Review Date:
Bound in Blood, the prequel to the first Call of Juarez, really took me by surprise by being a much better game than I expected. Frankly, I remember forcing myself to finish the first Call of Juarez ... not that the game was bad, but it didn't stand out as something special. So, disregarding the usual Ubi (publisher) hype about the Bound in Blood, I expected a similar experience. But, this turns out to be the game that Techland (developer) will be remembered for. It seems Techland matured over time and is finally capable and in position to output high quality stuff. Techland keeps improving its own proprietary Chrome game engine since 2002 and 2003 (many probably remember the vivid-color Chrome game), and now at the version 4, the engine works as smooth as possible with great output that can best the best in many situations. Anyways, the summary:

- GRAPHICS/VID: 9.5/10 -- possibly the best results this year when measuring high quality and smooth running on most newer systems. One more proof that a game can look great (top notch in this case) without requiring a brand new super computer when the developer knows what they are doing. (Maybe Unreal engine guys could finally take a hint by looking at this game -- less blur, more detail, smoother, better)

- SOUND: 9-9.5/10 -- maybe some weapons could have a slightly better sound, but that's just nit-picking on my part. The sound is great and Pawel Blaszczak seals the deal with his great background music tracks.

- GAMEPLAY: 8.5/10 -- fueled by a rather good story and tight mechanics the gameplay is engaging and keeps your attention throughout the game -- it does have significant immersive quality. The developer also did something else very successfully -- it skillfully covered up the game's linearity and pre-scripting by engaging you in the story. The other guy feels like your brother and you feel to be a part of this story that somehow you need to bring to a good end (and basically loosing the sight of how pretty much everything is predetermined).

- STORY: 8.5/10 -- one of the better stories as far as games stories go

- GAME MECHANICS: 9/10 -- nice and tight with a rather original cover system. Easy to learn and use successfully almost right away.

- MULTIPLAYER: Yes, and they seem to be very well done. Too bad that the co-op modality has been removed (I'm sure many that like playing together with their friends will miss co-op).

- VALUE/REPLAYABILITY: 7/10 -- a bit short game for the current price, but the multiplayer guaranties at least some replayability for those who like the multiplayer experience.

- PRESENTATION: 9/10 -- really very well done package.

This game, although available on other platforms, plays and looks best on the PC. In this particular situation, the mouse and keyboard combo is unbeatable for the best experience and visually the PC version beats alternatives. In short, this is a wonderful creation reflecting Techland's maturity and skills to deliver a smooth running, beautiful, and a high quality game. If you like the subject (US civil war, westerns, etc.), you need to get this one ASAP. Overall score: 8.9/10.

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