“Platform: PC, Xbox 360. Verified version. Xbox 360.”‘
I have to admit that I ignored Call of Juarez when it first came out on PC last year. Maybe it was because we were going through a glut of first-person shooters at the time, or maybe it was because it was developed by Techland: the producers of Chrome Specforce, one of the most boring sci-fi FPS games I’ve been into met years ago. Whatever the reason, I’ve been wondering if I made a mistake ever since. A lot of pretty sane people have praised Call of Juarez. It has been described as innovative and compelling; as a better attempt at the video-game western than either Gun or Red Dead Revolver. Ubisoft obviously saw something in the game too and picked it up for this revamped, improved Xbox 360 conversion and an improved DirectX 10 PC version for the US.
Graphically, the 360 version falls somewhere between the original DirectX 9 Call of Juarez and the DirectX 10 update, with overhauled textures and improved HDR lighting and effects. Regardless of the changes, the game looks great most of the time, with some of the most natural-looking outdoor environments we’ve seen since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and scenes bathed in a kind of warm light that wouldn’t have embarrassed John Ford’s elegiac western classics. From frontier towns to grassy highlands to spectacular desert canyons, Call of Juarez bends double to live up to the expectations formed by a handful of Sergio Leone films and every western Clint Eastwood has directed since The Outlaw Josie Wales became. Character modeling is solid, and if the game struggles to create convincing interiors and dusty mines, it’s still a million miles from the abysmal, bland work that Techland produced in Chrome Specforce. To be honest the screens on these sites don’t do it justice: apart from a slightly exaggerated depth of field effect, Call of Juarez does a damn good job of eye candy.
Additionally, these other reviewers rightly praised Call of Juarez for its innovation. Too many shooters have been interested in making the same rut lately: take the classic Doom template, add squadmates and vehicles, throw in some standard Halo-style battles, and spice them up with the best visual effects on that money can buy . Call of Juarez takes a schizophrenic path that is less well known. On one side, you play Billy – a misunderstood half-Mexican youth who can’t help but get into trouble. He’s framed for murder in the early stages of the game, spending the rest on the run, sneaking through towns, mines and homesteads, avoiding badass bandits and renegade Apache fighters. On the other hand, you also play as Reverend Ray – a gun-toting preacher straight out of Clint in Pale Rider School who deals about equal parts lead and will.
The fact that Ray is on the trail of Billy is what gives the game its most interesting dynamic. While Billy can fight with a whip, pistol, rifle, or bow, his relative weakness makes stealth a more viable option. That means you’ll spend about half the game hiding, sneaking, pot-shotting from a safe distance, and engaging in a little first-person platform-jumping action.
Ubisoft has apparently made changes that make these levels more action-packed and less frustrating than the original PC version, and to be fair they rattle through at a pretty decent pace, with enemy AI forgiving enough to allow for success , but not so indulgent that it becomes inevitable. For those of you who prefer the smell of gun smoke to all that belly crawling, the Ray levels deliver it in spades. Everywhere Billy goes he seems to leave a trail of lawless vermin in his wake, and bringing them the justice of the Lord is what Ray does best.
Thanks to decent – if not quite FEAR-level – enemy AI, a fine selection of hard-hitting pistols and rifles, and a solid understanding of how to stage a gunfight, the Ray levels are a blast. The revolver, your main weapon, is dual wieldable with the left and right triggers, and with limited ammo in each weapon, you’ll need to think about your shots and use tactics to survive. Additionally, revolvers come in a variety of forms with varying levels of accuracy and damage, and weapons become unreliable – even dangerously flawed – after prolonged use. Also, this isn’t a game you can afford to get caught out on with no ammo. Though Ray is armored, he’s not invincible, and the game uses a Call of Duty 2-style health recharge system to keep you on your toes. Putting all of this together, you have some of the most satisfying firefights I’ve enjoyed since FEAR
I don’t make the comparison randomly either. Call of Juarez’s gunplay requires the same considered approach as FEAR, and the game even has its own equivalent of FEAR’s slowmo feature. Holster your revolvers, then click a trigger to draw and the game will enter focus mode. Time slows to a crawl and a crosshair moves slowly towards the center of the screen. You can move slowly to aim perfectly and – when the reticle marks a target – fire off a barrage of rounds. Wait for the crosshairs to line up and the game will return to normal speed, and (hopefully) any vile sinner in sight will fall to the ground, suffocating. It’s the perfect way to simulate the kind of antics loved by The Man with No Name or Django. One minute you’re the target of every good-for-nothing, the next you’re the last survivor.
So up to a point, Call of Juarez is an excellent FPS. I really can’t say that enough. If you are bored of your standard sci-fi or military shooters and are looking for something with a different feel and vibe, it comes highly recommended. It has looks, it has brains, it has atmosphere. It even has a pounding, finger-plucked, guitar-heavy soundtrack and very respectable vocal work. In order to enjoy it, however, you must be willing to deal with some rough edges, some of which will spoil your overall enjoyment.
The biggest problems arise with the sequences in which Billy has to jump from ridge to ridge or swing his whip over chasms. The jump controls just aren’t precise enough to make tricky jumps and you’ll constantly fall to your doom and have to repeat long stretches. The checkpoint save system is excellently implemented most of the time, but it always seems to fall off at these points. We’re not talking ninja gaiden frustration here, but be warned. The whip pieces are actually worse, partly because the whip itself is a nightmare to aim and control, and partly because the game physics seem to have taken a vacation when it comes to swinging. It’s hard to predict your swing and ridiculously unrealistic.
And it’s this lack of polish that spoils the game as a whole. Every now and then there’s something – a cutscene, a badly staged battle, an impossible section in an Indian country – that reminds you that you’re not dealing with a top-notch triple-A product. Now and then there is a bit amateurish production design that breaks the atmosphere and brings the mood back down to earth. You’ll be amazed at the sniping skills of outlaws and Apaches, who, as you’ll learn later, can hit you from miles away with a rusty rifle. You’ll suffer the same dialogue every time you fail certain stealth sections, no matter how many times you’ve heard it before. You might even be put off by a pathetic initial level of amazing craftsmanship. Someone should have spotted these things while testing and sat on them quickly.
Those aren’t my only complaints. The environments aren’t particularly interactive, leaving you wondering why you can set fire to a saloon full of outlaws but not a wooden structure full of bandits, and many of the levels are as linear as anything in Call of Duty 2 or Medal of Honor. Sure there are horseback sequences, but these seem limited and never give you anything more than increased perspective and speed. In fact, the whole game has a floating quality of movement that goes against its gritty, run-down, and dirty feel. For all its innovation, Call of Juarez just isn’t as refined or well-executed as Gears of War, GRAW2, or 360’s other top-notch shooters.
That’s why I was relatively stingy with the score at the bottom of this page. Despite its merits, Call of Juarez isn’t quite the game it could have been with just a little more attention to detail. It shows considerably more imagination and ingenuity than a number of bigger namesakes, though, and it’s a good platform on which Techland could – if given the chance – build a fantastic sequel. Given the leap in quality between Chrome Specforce and this one, I wouldn’t say that’s out of the question. More specifically, should Call of Juarez 2 come out, I’ll be far less inclined to ignore it. In fact, I’ll be one of the first in line to take a look.
“‘Verdict”‘
Enhanced for the Xbox 360, Call of Juarez scores highly for its exploration of an underexplored genre and its interesting game mechanics. Only a lack of finishing touches and polish keeps it from becoming a full fistful of dynamite.
characteristics
| genre | Ego shooter |