Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger ($15)


Wasn't sure what to expect since the last Juarez game was so bad that I didn't even play it. I've always liked western games, too bad there haven't been many. The first one I remember was Outlaws by Lucas Arts. That was a special game and had a great western feel and awesome music. I remember the chickens most of all. I wish there was a remake or updated version. I still have my CD around somewhere.

Both Red Dead and Gun were decent but not spectacular The first Call of Juarez was decent and had a cool story with 2 playable characters. I tried playing the second one, Bound in Blood, this week and got it to run on 3 monitors. For some reason it used a huge cross hair which covered most of the screen and I had to find a hack to remove it from the game That game also had 2 characters so there was some added replay value.

Of course the best western game is Red Dead Redemption which I wish they would have brought to the PC. It had the best story of any game an actually had a fantastic ending. John Marston is a character I won't soon forget. It might be my favorite game as I was just drawn into that world that felt so fleshed out. I loved the atmosphere and the music, the game had it all. The only downside was the character movements, they needed a little more fluid. The zombie expansion is great as well.

Now to the newest western game, Gunslinger, it's just awesome. It's a linear shooter game that has a ton of style and is just fun. You play as a gunslinger who is telling his "true" story to a group of cowboys in a saloon who recognized him from some old cowboy books.

Each mission has the gunslinger narrating the events of the game kind of like in Bastion, it adds a certain charm to the game and creates some neat story telling. Sometimes you may be in a fight and then the game stops as the gunslinger forgot something or misspoke about the enemies he was facing so the game changes immediately. It's had to explain but is cool in game. The voice work is perfect.

You become a bounty hunter so you get to face off or work with some of the biggest cowboys like Pat Garrett, Billy the Kid, and others. There are hidden items that have true facts about the different persona's which is great, you find out Billy the Kid wasn't so bad. The levels are pretty linear but the shooting feels great, it feels kind of like a western Doom, you do have to take cover but mostly you are gunning down enemies left and right and getting head shots and bonuses for hitting people on the run. There are 3 skill trees to upgrade depending on how you want to play. Duel wielding is fun but so is blasting a shotgun that sends enemies flying into the air, somewhat realisticly.

Some of the enemies you duel so it's just you and them in a quick draw fight. The way these battles are setup work great and there is constant tension. You have to focus on your enemy while keeping your hand close to your gun and wait until you see him draw, then unleash the fury. If you draw before they do then you get a dishonored kill.

I'm really impressed with Gunslinger, it's just a fun game. It's a downloadable title so it's priced at $15 so if you get a chance you should pick it up. I think it's around 4-6 hours so a decent amount of time, it has an arcade mode if you like hi-score chases. Hopefully they will add DLC or make a sequel.