Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

Introduction

The Call of Juarez franchise has had its share of failure, particularly 2011's horrific Call of Juarez: The Cartel. I was a huge fan of the original Call of Juarez, particularly the campaign's focus on Reverend Ray McCall's gun-slinging past. Looking to redeem the series, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger adopts the arcade shooter route and focuses on a strong, entertaining single player campaign to win back fans. In addition, the game is significantly cheaper than other games in the series starting at just $15.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Driven by the tall tales of bounty hunter Silas Greaves, the game is told in a series of flashbacks that highlight important figures during the Old West such as Johnny Ringo, the Wild Bunch, Jesse James, Billy the Kid, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Curly Bill and the Dalton brothers. Greaves is recounting tales about these outlaws with a fellow pack of drunks in the local saloon. As an interesting twist, Greaves often fails to remember the exact details of the events and has to correct himself when caught in a lie. As he's narrating, the in-game world changes to match the new version of the story; definitely a cool way to alter the environment and open up new paths to the player.

Shooting your way through each level is fairly straightforward and Techland has included a solid weapon upgrade system that helps you become a competent fighter. Speeding up reload times or unlocking gold versions of your favorite weapons is particularly useful in the latter stages of the game. These upgrades can be unlocked by earning experience points when killing a number of enemies in succession, getting headshots or using elements of the in-game environment to kill enemies. Ammo is always in heavy supply, thus it's much easier to let the bullets fly each time a pack of enemies appear.

Typically at the end of each level, the player will enter a duel mode created for the game that pits the player against one of the historical figures. Using both the keyboard and mouse simultaneously, you slowly move your hand closer to the holster while attempting to keep a continuously moving target reticule on the enemy. If you are successful at that attempt, you will increase the speed at which you pull the gun and increase the odds of putting a bullet in the enemy. It definitely takes a bit of practice, but duels can be fun once you get a hang of them. However, blasting your way through a level with duel handguns is definitely more entertaining.