Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood [X360]

Apart from the sizable numbers of gunmen that you'll shoot down, you'll also find yourself facing off against the leader of a town, outlaw band or lawman in a duel. While not every one of the duels will take place at high noon, you'll still be gauged on your reflexes against your opponent. You'll have to pace around your opponent, keeping him in front of him to ensure the best view at your target. What's more, you'll also have to wait until an unseen bell is struck, at which point both you and your opponent will reach for your gun. When you draw your weapon, a reticule will start to head towards your rival's body, at which point you pull the trigger when it would land on a section to inflict a lethal wound. Duels are fun, but can be tricky, particularly because you only have time to fire one shot. They can also be a bit infuriating because you're so restricted from pulling your weapon early that your hand can be pushed out of position by the game's camera to fire quickly. Also, based on where your enemy is on the screen, the targeting reticule can bounce or travel erratically, which can contribute to your death even if you managed to jump the call to draw. That's just not fair, especially when your survival is really down to timing and reflexes.

Now, while Bound in Blood did manage to abandon the annoying platforming sequences for the first game in favor of battle, the gunfight focus does highlight a couple of strange gameplay features. For one thing, you'll be fighting hordes of clones regardless of your location; for whatever reason, it appears that Techland decided that the West was populated by huge numbers of bald men with mutton chop sideburns, because you'll constantly shoot these opponents. In fact, with the exception of characters that you duel against, you'll find a grand total of three or four separate kinds of faces mass produced and sent against you in waves, which isn't particularly appealing. One other issue is that you'll find some enemies that will run in circles or will stand still while you shoot them in the face, which doesn't make any sense. Another issue that comes up is the fact that many of the chapters feel somewhat repetitive, even though they take place in different locations across the Southwest and Mexico. Even though you have specific objectives that you have to accomplish, gameplay within each chapter frequently turns into "Ray and Thomas ride to a location, blow away the inhabitants and move on." This can start to feel stale, even though the pace of the gameplay is constantly kept fast enough that the entire game can be fully completed in ten hours or less. There are some sequences where you are given the option to complete side missions, but they are few and far between. However, even these degenerate into fast battles and duels as you attempt to complete the tasks. It seems odd that Thomas and Ray wouldn't get into brawls or fist fights with citizens of a town, try to rob banks or a train, rustle cattle or other elements outside of riding into a location guns blazing. In fact, the one mission that has a hint of stealth quickly abandons this in favor of run and gun styled play.

The multiplayer of Bound in Blood is expanded from the original game, featuring thirteen character classes that you'll eventually be able to play as once you unlock eight of them by winning multiplayer matches. Each character class has a variety of weaponry, but also has different health and speed stats as they are deployed into battle. As you kill other players during a battle, you'll receive money during that match which can be spent to upgrade that character's stats. There are five game modes to be played across seven maps, which doesn't sound like much, although there are indications that the game will support downloadable maps. However, the gameplay modes are a lot of fun, with the true standout being the Wild West Legends mode that provides each side with different objectives to fulfill. While one side is tasked with breaking into a location, destroying a target or escaping from an area, the other is tasked with stopping them from accomplishing their objective. This frequently leads to massive battles over one location, with attackers testing the defensive skills of their opponents. It's lots of fun, and from what I could see online, was the most popular one currently being played.

Visually, Bound in Blood is decently presented but is overwhelmed by some of the visual issues presented within the game. For instance, at first glance, the rocky outcroppings and building details look rather striking. However, once you get closer, you'll notice that these objects frequently show bland texture work, and the amount of pop in is shocking, particularly when you're riding your horse from one area to another. There's also some significant screen tearing, clipping and aliasing that constantly pops up throughout the game. This particularly stands out if you've boosted the resolution of the game up to 1920x1200, and have maxed out the quality of foliage and textures, amongst other options, only to have these issues constantly plague you. However, the animation of characters is pretty good, and death animations are pretty solid, especially if you've triggered a concentration attack and pump round after round into an enemy. There's also a solid frame rate, but that should be expected considering that there isn't much variety for the enemies you face. In fact, it only serves to highlight how strange the lack of variety is, because action isn't particularly taxing, so why the lack of different faces for your opponents? The only other issue that does stand out is that character faces, particularly during cutscenes, can look somewhat stiff, making their reactions seem canned and unrealistic. Particle work, however, is rather good, especially when you're tossing sticks of dynamite at barriers and watching them explode into shards of timber and dust.

The sound design for Bound in Blood, however, is particularly good. The score for the game feels like it could have been taken from any western film, and reflects the action of the game and the Southwestern feel perfectly. Voice acting within the game is, for the most part, pretty good as well. Every now and then, a line will fall flat, but for the most part, the distinct characters of Ray, Thomas and William, as well as the secondary personalities are well delivered. The banter back and forth between Ray and Thomas, particularly in battle, is rather amusing, particularly because it feels like the kind of arguments that brothers would get into. Having someone get called out for their accuracy, or lack thereof, is excellent. Just be aware that you'll have some conversations or comments that could be somewhat offensive.

Closing Comments
As a prequel, Bound in Blood does a good job of presenting the characters, their storylines and what eventually leads back into the franchise history. It also packs in a ton of fast action, loads of explosions and a heavy dose of duels against opponents that want to take you to Boot Hill. Unfortunately, the repetitive nature of the missions, coupled with some technical issues, really keeps this title from standing out more.

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