Reviews
The character switching is further compounded by the fact that Billy and Ray have different abilities available to them. Reverend Ray is a gunslinger and is able to enter what is called ‘concentration mode’ when either of the two triggers are pressed while his guns are holstered. This mode effectively slows down time and will see two crosshairs arc in from the lower edges of the screen to dead centre, mimicking the tracking line of drawing two pistols. When done correctly you can track the crosshairs across one or multiple opponents and squeeze off a couple of rounds in each as it passes. Once the crosshairs reach centre, time resumes as normal and you can watch the aftermath of your handiwork as the pesky varmints drop to the floor. You must then wait about 30 seconds to be able to use concentration mode again, but that gives you enough time to reload and recover if you need to. Reverend Ray can also read passages from the bible to his enemies that causes them to freeze with guilt and remorse at which point you can finish them off. Billy doesn’t have either of these abilities, instead he can use the concentration mode with his bow. He also has a whip at his disposal which allows him to cross narrow ravines and scale buildings Indiana Jones style, provided that there is something for his whip to catch a hold of. The only issue with this is that you don’t have a lot of freedom to use it where you like. You seem to only get to use your whip to advance the plot which makes the game feel very linear.
Another aspect to Billy’s character that you encounter early on in the game is platforming. You’ll find yourself in a location like a barn and you must make your way to the exit by using the ‘X’ button to move and stack boxes so that you ascend to your exit. This does make a nice change of pace from the gun toting action, but it’s a mechanism that is poorly implemented. Carrying objects works well on the whole, but as soon you approach a wall or another object then the object you are carrying will start to stutter and jump badly to the point that where it gets placed is a hit and miss affair. This makes Billy’s platform sections much more frustrating than they are probably intended to be. The fact that there are so many objects that can be lifted is a bonus, and you can open some boxes to find some goodies or even some ‘Wanted’ posters of the people involved in creating the game. There are even oil lamps that can be shot to start fires.
Billy also has the ability to use stealth, in that he can sneak around in shadows to avoid detection and a stealth meter helps you see whether or not you are concealed. This stealth feature simply doesn’t work. The meter is not a meter in the strictest sense of the word, there are no grades of stealth as you would expect. Instead, it has more of a binary function, visible or hidden. The drawback with this is that you don’t realise that you entering an area where you will become visible until you suddenly see your meter read full visibility and by that time it’s too late. To add to the frustration, once you are seen you cannot simply retreat the number of steps back to where you were hidden. You must retreat quite a way back and all the time you are being shot at by enemies that you cannot see but who somehow manage to be able to see you clearly. Stealth mode is more of a chore than it should be and you will use hit and run tactics in order to get past the areas that rely heavily on stealth.
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