Hands On: Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood

15 May 2009 at 14:04:51 by Andy Alderson

When you hear “Wild West FPS” you'll be forgiven if your first thought isn’t “Polish developer,” but Wroclaw-based Techland proved it had some game with the first installment in the Call of Juarez series. Despite the fundamentally annoying level structure (Billy's missions were, for the most part, awful) there was a solid shooter at the heart of the game and a dark, interesting narrative driving the action along. From our time with a 360 preview build of the prequel, Bound in Blood, it's clear that Techland has not only refined the formula, it has also tried to push the series in a more interesting direction.

The game begins during the American Civil War, with Ray McCall fighting for the Confederates’ right to make black people do all the hard work. As the Yankees attack the Confederate line, Ray learns that his brother, Thomas, has been separated from the troops and is in danger. As Ray heads off into the trenches to rescue him, we get to take control of the game for the first time. What is immediately obvious is that the game’s Chrome engine has been refined in Bound in Blood. Everything seems to run more smoothly in the prequel and the combat mechanics, especially, feel much more responsive. There are no great changes in the regular gunplay controls - the left trigger zooms in on a target (with a nice depth-of-field focusing effect) while the right trigger fires the selected weapon. The gunplay was arguably the strongest aspect of the first game and it’s all credit to Techland that it has managed to smooth out the kinks that caused occasional slowdown and input lag.

After Ray reaches his brother they both decide to disobey orders and head back to their home, fearful that their family will be slaughtered by the invading Yankees. Unfortunately for them, this action incurs the wrath of their commanding officer, Barnsby, who then embarks on a vendetta against the brothers which forms the main storyline of the game. From the sections of the game we played, the story seemed to be handled pretty nicely, with some decent voice acting and some entertaining interplay between the McCall brothers. Thankfully, the dynamic between the two main characters works a lot better than it did in  the first game.

For one, both Ray and Thomas are fighters meaning there are none of the irritating stealth sections which dominated Billy’s levels in the first game. Although Thomas is more suited to fighting from a distance, you’ll be able to hold your own in most combat situations with either brother. It’s clear that Techland has reacted to criticisms of the first game and has crafted a prequel with much better pacing. In most of the levels we played, you could choose to play as Ray or Thomas and there are advantages to both. Ray can use a lasso to climb certain obstacles and is an expert at close combat, while Thomas has throwing knives (which are useful for quieter kills) and is more-than-useful with a rifle.

The main difference between the characters is how their Concentration Mode abilities work. Like in the first game, Ray can slow down time and ‘tag’ multiple enemies with his crosshair before taking them all out in a rapid-fire blaze of glory. Thomas, on the other hand, can use his concentration mode to fire his six-shooter from the hip, using the pistol’s hammer. You simply have to hold the right trigger, hit down on the right analogue stick for each shot and the game will auto-target the next enemy. There are also moments in the game where Concentration Mode is triggered automatically, as the brothers simultaneously rush into a building. The action slows down and you’ll have two reticules with which to fire at the bad guys. The final example of Concentration Mode comes in the form of the duels, which have also been tweaked since the first game. Now you can move with the left stick – in order to keep your opponent in view – while you keep your hand as near to your pistol as possible. When the bell rings you’ll need to move the right stick to grab your gun and then aim the reticule at your foe. The duels certainly look nice, but feel a little over-used, especially when the game opens up later on.

In one section we played, based in Mexico, the game takes on some interesting open-world elements. You have the choice to continue through the story or to embark on a number of side missions which range from killing a wanted man to rescuing cattle from rustlers. In these side missions you’ll need to ride your horse (which, admittedly could do with a little more work – the horses feel like they glide across the scenery) to the target, kill a bunch of enemies and then defeat the main bad guy in a duel to claim your reward. While the freedom Techland affords you in these side missions is certainly welcome, each one that we played always ended in a duel which became repetitive pretty quickly.

However, it is in these open sections – and later in the Arizona levels – that you realize just how beautiful the game can look. It’s clear that the visual style of the game has been as influenced by John Ford as the story has been by Leone. There is some astounding scenery on offer in the game and, especially when you consider the draw distance, it’s hard not to be impressed by the eye candy in Bound in Blood.

On the whole, from the preview build it looks highly likely that Bound in Blood will be a better game than its predecessor. It looks better, runs smoother and has some interesting open-world ideas working for it. However, there are still some issues which Techland could do with ironing out. There is an over-reliance on duels and automatic concentration mode moments and the new cover system also doesn’t sit quite right with the game. Rather than giving you a button to snap to cover, it does so automatically and yet manages to feel wooly and imprecise. Nevertheless, there’s a solid, visually-pleasing shooter at the heart of Bound in Blood and it also has an interesting central concept going for it – we know what happens to Ray and we know Thomas didn’t feature in the first game, so we’re interesting to see when, and how, the two brothers will come into conflict.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is due for release on PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on 3 July.

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