Reviews
To say that westerns have a special spot in my heart would be an understatement. John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and Gary Cooper were among my many old west heroes during my teenage years and their respective movies now fill many shelves on my walls. Most recently HBO TV series Deadwood filled a void in a genre that does not see as many quality releases as it once did. I also played through a number of western games on the original Xbox and the Xbox 360 with the highlights being Red Dead Revolver and Gun. Yes you could say I’m a bit of an old west nut. So when the original Call of Juarez was released I was pretty excited but ultimately unflattered. Whilst it was not a bad game it just didn’t grab me, leaving me unsure what to expect when the prequel Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood arrived in the mail.
Initial impressions when beginning Call of Juarez are good due to a rather spectacular opening level that sees you playing as Ray McCall with Thomas McCall in tow during a Civil war battle. For anyone that has played the original, it will be instantly noticed that the graphics have received quite an overhaul. Those who haven’t played the original will find themselves in what could be one of the best represented, living environment outside of a city based game. (GTA clearly has that title) Call of Juarez: BiB is set in many varying different environments from barren deserts to luscious forests with running streams and rocky canyons that give the game a great sense of verticality. All of these environments look great with the only downside being the occasional instance of texture wash and pop-up. This mainly occurs in the sparse and barren desert areas or high areas where the draw distance was longer. However it should be noted that the frame rate remains solid throughout the game which is a plus, after all stutters in an action game are a real buzz-kill. Also of note is that some textures are quite bland which ultimately is only noticed when close to some objects. It's still somewhat disappointing to see though.
Game effects are of a high standard which is a smooth touch to the game. Falling trees will create a dirt storm as they shed leaves and other grit and although there is no terrain deformation or building destructibility, explosions do create chaos sending barrels, crates and shrapnel flying all over the place. Character models look great for the most part and are highly detailed moving in a realistic fashion. It is also great to see the weapons slightly swaying whilst waling rather than being fixed to the centre of the screen. It simply makes the movement more fluid and realistic but sometimes awkward. Of note is the way that Thomas runs with knives, its rather hilarious. There is also an animation for Thomas whilst climbing crates and other obstacles which is better than the previous Call of Juarez game that simply had you jumping up on top of such obstacles. The weakest aspect of the character animations are their facial movements. The characters faces especially when talking seem rather stone faced and are quite jerky at times when they talk. This becomes quite prevalent in cut scenes that frequently zoom in on faces as they speak. If Techland simply avoided zooming in on the characters so much when they talk in cut scenes, it would hide this limitation. Call of Juarez:BiB also contains many varying animal types from vultures to horses and a variety of other farm life such as cows and chickens. These are all well animated and further to this some will be directly affected by the characters actions. Shoot a gun near chickens and they will all cluck and run away before resuming their normal activities.
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