Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Encyclopedia
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a Western themed first-person shooter
video game set in the years of 1864-1866. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood was announced on January 14, 2009 and uses the Chrome Engine
4, the fourth generation of Techland's game engine
.
Developed by Techland
and published by Ubisoft
, it is a prequel to Call of Juarez
that debuted in 2006 for Microsoft Windows
and 2007 on the Xbox 360
. The game was released for Microsoft Windows
, PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
on June 30, 2009.
Flash to several years ago, Ray and Thomas are fighting in the American Civil War
. After they defeat the enemy, they are ordered to retreat to Jonesboro
. They refuse, deserting their posts to save their home from Union troops. When they arrive, they find their mother dead. Ray promises to rebuild their house, and knowing their superior Colonel Barnsby will not let them off, they flee, taking their young brother, William, with them.
One year later, after an altercation with the sheriff of Fort Smith, Arkansas
, which leads to his death, The McCalls decide to head to Mexico to find the Lost Treasure of Cortez, with the intent of using it to rebuild their home. Later, while in a Mexican saloon, a woman named Marisa catches Ray's attention. After coming to her aid when she is harassed by some of the saloon’s patrons, the McCalls are invited to dinner at her home, which they accept. There, it is revealed that she is the mistress of Juan "Juarez" Mendoza, the most notorious criminal in Mexico. She flirts with Ray and leads him on when he says he would kill Juarez for her. After the meal, Juarez lets them in on his plan to find the treasure, promising them a share of it if they help him. He first asks the McCalls to take out a man named Devlin, who is also going after the treasure.
Elsewhere, an Apache tribe is discussing making war on "the white people". Their leader, Running River, orders his son, Seeing Farther, to obtain over 300 rifles for the tribe. Meanwhile, the McCalls return to Juarez after killing Devlin. Juarez orders the brothers to meet up with the Apaches to exchange the rifles for a medallion they possess, which he states is the key to finding the treasure. Before the McCalls set off, Thomas confronts Marisa and she reveals her love for him, which he reciprocates.
At the meeting place, they find that Juarez’s gun runner has been jailed after being captured by the Pinkertons. The McCalls proceed to break him out of jail and deliver him to Juarez. There, the gun runner reveals himself to be Colonel Barnsby, having worn bandages covering his whole head. In what was supposed to be a meeting with Juarez at an abandoned mine, Barnsby and his men ambush the brothers and tie them up. William manages to free himself, Ray, and Thomas. They escape the mine and manage to catch up with Juarez and Marisa in Comanche Territory. The Apaches eventually confront Juarez, revealing that William told Seeing Farther about the rifles being useless. The McCalls and Marisa are taken back to the village, and Seeing Farther agrees to help them find the medallion. They then infiltrate Navajo territory and recover the medallion.
Upon their return, Seeing Farther formulates a plan to get Marisa and William out of the camp by asking Ray and Thomas to distract the Apache tribe while he teaches William how to use the medallion. When Ray confronts Thomas about this, he reveals his relationship with Marisa, sparking a fight between the two, effectively distracting the tribe and tearing the brothers apart. The plan backfires, however, when Barnsby's army locates the brothers and destroys the Indian village leaving only the chief and Seeing Farther alive. Seeing Farther, William and Marisa are taken hostage and will only be returned upon trade of the medallion. Ray and Thomas decide to rescue them, but Ray says that once they're finished, he never wants to see Thomas again. The brothers defeat Barnsby's men but by the time they reach Seeing Farther, he is already mortally wounded. Dying, he states that William and Marisa are still alive, captured by Juarez.
Juarez interrogates William about using the Medallion. He refuses to speak, which only aggravates Juarez further. Juarez forces William to kill and orders his men to kill him and Marisa pleads for his life. At the same time, Ray and Thomas infiltrate Juarez's camp separately. Thomas finds Marisa and she convinces him to escape with her, revealing she also knows how to use the Medallion. Meanwhile, Ray rescues William and defeats Juarez, realizing that Thomas has left with Marisa.
Ray tracks Thomas and Marisa to the treasure vault. The brothers face each other as they did at the start of the story. William moves between them and declares he won't allow Ray to shoot Thomas. William reaches into his pocket and Ray shoots William, realizing later he was only reaching for his Bible. William collapses and dies, his Bible landing at Barnsby's feet who remarks that it seems the treasure really is cursed. A trap is triggered, causing the chamber to fill with sand, forcing the McCalls to move to higher ground, fending off Barnsby's men as they proceed. Eventually, the McCalls confront Barnsby and one of the brothers faces him in a showdown, shooting Barnsby, whose body falls and is buried by the sand. The McCalls, together with Marisa, decide to abandon the treasure. William's sacrifice compels Ray to retire from being a gunslinger and outlaw and become a priest, and he carries William's Bible. Later, Thomas weds Marisa.
, similar to another western game, Gun. It features two characters, brothers Ray and Thomas. The game plot is set in the American Civil War
period and presents the adventures of two brothers across different parts of North America
.
Before most missions, the player can choose between one of the two brothers, but sometimes only one is available. Though the game's Story Mode is fairly short, each brother has a different effect on the missions: often the player will run into split paths for either brother to take, or certain key points where one brother needs to do particular things while the other does something else. For example, Thomas can lasso on top buildings for a vantage point to cover Ray while he attacks/dynamites certain areas. One brother's story mode will be quite different from the other's. At first the game just moves from mission to mission but once the game opens, between certain missions there will be an open Free World where the player can take side-missions as a bounty hunter or hired gun, respectively for either attack or defence, and other kinds of side-missions. In each mission and each Free World there will be a trader who will sell the player certain weapons available at different qualities.
In each Free World area there is a small town, a trader and out in the wilderness the player can find ruined buildings, farms, camps and bandits that can be occupying these. Bandits will also hide at certain road points to ambush people, attacking people on the roads and robbing caravans. It is up to the player whether or not to save the people getting attacked. Throughout the game there are "Secrets" most commonly found in chests that will unlock artwork or conversations between the brothers, called memories, that can be viewed from the menu. Chests may also contain money, dynamite or ammo.
At the end of most missions the player will have a "Showdown" with the leader of the group the player is fighting. In Bounty Hunter missions the player needs to first defeat the leader in a gunfight before he will challenge the player to a final Showdown. During the Showdown the player character will circle the opponent with his hand hovering over his gun waiting for the "bell" to ring before he draws. The player needs to try to keep his character's hand as close to the gun as possible by moving the analog/mouse in towards the gun, without touching it, as this will reset the distance between his hand and the gun. The player also need to keep the opponent lined up with the shot by moving in the opposite direction as he moves. The center of the shot will be just off the center of the screen on the right hand side. As soon as the bell rings, the player has a very short period of time to move the hand towards the gun to draw it, then take the shot when the cross hair lines up with his opponent. If the first shot is missed, or the gun is drawn too late, the opponent will shoot the player character. As the player progresses in the game Showdowns get harder, opponents will circle more to throw off the player's aim and draw faster.
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood features two playable characters: brothers Ray and Thomas. Characters differ from each other which strongly affects the gameplay.
). During gameplay, cannons are also available. Apart from conventional firearms, characters can use other weapons such as throwing knives
or bows.
Each brother is more efficient with certain weapons. Ray is best with fast firing pistols at close range and shotguns and is the only one who can Dual Wield Pistols (Other than Dual Wielding during Bullet Time) and the only one who can carry Dynamite and a Gatling Gun. Thomas is best with long ranged weapons such as rifles and precision aiming with the pistol, though he can't carry dynamite to blow down doors he carries a lasso that can get him to unreachable areas Ray can't get to. He also can't Dual Wield and doesn't have a Cuirass for bulletproofing like his brother but his accuracy and power with rifles is much greater than Ray and since he is smaller and lighter he is much stealthier than Ray. He also can carry throwing knives and a hunting bow for stealth killing.
Each of the weapon classes can be found around the worlds and dropped by enemies, but the highest quality ones are bought from stores. You start out with rusty old weak weapons, but as you progress newer weapons become unlocked and newer higher quality ones are unlocked. The weapon tiers go from: Rusty -> Normal -> Prime -> Superb. The higher the tier, the higher the damage/accuracy/reload speed will be. Also, "Prime" weapons are silver colored and "Superb" weapons are gold colored.
The PC release originally did not have dedicated server support or anti-cheat software, but on December 2, Ubisoft released files that allow dedicated server support for Bound in Blood. This was done in response to fan complaints. Requests for some kind of anti-cheating software have gone unfulfilled.
September '09, Ubisoft releases a patch for all versions of the game. The patch included several tweaks and changes for the multiplayer, bug fixes, and an auto-patcher (PC). Many of the multiplayer mode's technical issues were fixed, but some of the master server problems (which the game's been plagued with since its release) are still present.
, Fort Smith
, Elmira Prison Camp and Vulture Mines.
Although there are no problems with downloading the DLC for the PS3, all of the Xbox 360 gamers who bought the DLC through Xbox Live are still unable to download the content they have paid for, with an error (with the error's code) being received after starting the download process on XBL. Ubisoft and Techland claim that it's Microsoft's fault that those gamers are not able to download the DLC of Bound in Blood, while an official public response from Microsoft is yet to be received (as of January 11, 2010) although reports have been made that the download succeeded for European players. There is no official DLC for the PC version.
gave the PC version 79.03% and 78/100, the Xbox 360
version 78.52% and 77/100 and the PlayStation 3
version 78.33% and 78/100. IGN
's Jeff Haynes praised the sound and presentation of the game but criticised the gameplay for the lack of variety in tasks. GameSpot
's review criticised the short length of the single player campaign and lacking AI, but praised its "authentic western feel", graphics, and fast paced gameplay.
was released on July 19, 2011. This third game is set in a present day setting. Locations will take place from Los Angeles, California to Juarez, Mexico. Apparently the game is connected to the previous two games through the protagonist Ben McCall, an LAPD detective and Vietnam veteran who is a descendent of Billy Candle.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game set in the years of 1864-1866. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood was announced on January 14, 2009 and uses the Chrome Engine
Chrome Engine
Chrome Engine is a 3D game engine developed by Techland. The current version, Chrome Engine 5, supports Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.Chrome Engine evolved through over nine years of development...
4, the fourth generation of Techland's game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
.
Developed by Techland
Techland
Techland is a Polish video game developer, founded in 1991 by Paweł Marchewka. They are most famous for developing Call of Juarez, a Western-themed first-person shooter, released for Microsoft Windows in 2006, and later ported to Xbox 360 in June 2007...
and published by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
, it is a prequel to Call of Juarez
Call of Juarez
Call of Juarez is a Western-themed first-person shooter from the Polish developer Techland. First released for Windows in E3 2005, it was ported to the Xbox 360 in 2007. The PC version is one of the first games to use Microsoft's DirectX 10...
that debuted in 2006 for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
and 2007 on the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. The game was released for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
on June 30, 2009.
Plot
The story begins with Ray and Thomas pointing their guns at each other. William laments on how things degenerated between them to the point of them becoming mortal enemies.Flash to several years ago, Ray and Thomas are fighting in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. After they defeat the enemy, they are ordered to retreat to Jonesboro
Jonesboro
Jonesboro or Jonesborough is the name of a number of settlements in the United States and the United Kingdom:USA*Jonesboro, Arkansas**Jonesboro massacre, a school shooting incident*Jonesboro, Georgia, originally Jonesborough...
. They refuse, deserting their posts to save their home from Union troops. When they arrive, they find their mother dead. Ray promises to rebuild their house, and knowing their superior Colonel Barnsby will not let them off, they flee, taking their young brother, William, with them.
One year later, after an altercation with the sheriff of Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
, which leads to his death, The McCalls decide to head to Mexico to find the Lost Treasure of Cortez, with the intent of using it to rebuild their home. Later, while in a Mexican saloon, a woman named Marisa catches Ray's attention. After coming to her aid when she is harassed by some of the saloon’s patrons, the McCalls are invited to dinner at her home, which they accept. There, it is revealed that she is the mistress of Juan "Juarez" Mendoza, the most notorious criminal in Mexico. She flirts with Ray and leads him on when he says he would kill Juarez for her. After the meal, Juarez lets them in on his plan to find the treasure, promising them a share of it if they help him. He first asks the McCalls to take out a man named Devlin, who is also going after the treasure.
Elsewhere, an Apache tribe is discussing making war on "the white people". Their leader, Running River, orders his son, Seeing Farther, to obtain over 300 rifles for the tribe. Meanwhile, the McCalls return to Juarez after killing Devlin. Juarez orders the brothers to meet up with the Apaches to exchange the rifles for a medallion they possess, which he states is the key to finding the treasure. Before the McCalls set off, Thomas confronts Marisa and she reveals her love for him, which he reciprocates.
At the meeting place, they find that Juarez’s gun runner has been jailed after being captured by the Pinkertons. The McCalls proceed to break him out of jail and deliver him to Juarez. There, the gun runner reveals himself to be Colonel Barnsby, having worn bandages covering his whole head. In what was supposed to be a meeting with Juarez at an abandoned mine, Barnsby and his men ambush the brothers and tie them up. William manages to free himself, Ray, and Thomas. They escape the mine and manage to catch up with Juarez and Marisa in Comanche Territory. The Apaches eventually confront Juarez, revealing that William told Seeing Farther about the rifles being useless. The McCalls and Marisa are taken back to the village, and Seeing Farther agrees to help them find the medallion. They then infiltrate Navajo territory and recover the medallion.
Upon their return, Seeing Farther formulates a plan to get Marisa and William out of the camp by asking Ray and Thomas to distract the Apache tribe while he teaches William how to use the medallion. When Ray confronts Thomas about this, he reveals his relationship with Marisa, sparking a fight between the two, effectively distracting the tribe and tearing the brothers apart. The plan backfires, however, when Barnsby's army locates the brothers and destroys the Indian village leaving only the chief and Seeing Farther alive. Seeing Farther, William and Marisa are taken hostage and will only be returned upon trade of the medallion. Ray and Thomas decide to rescue them, but Ray says that once they're finished, he never wants to see Thomas again. The brothers defeat Barnsby's men but by the time they reach Seeing Farther, he is already mortally wounded. Dying, he states that William and Marisa are still alive, captured by Juarez.
Juarez interrogates William about using the Medallion. He refuses to speak, which only aggravates Juarez further. Juarez forces William to kill and orders his men to kill him and Marisa pleads for his life. At the same time, Ray and Thomas infiltrate Juarez's camp separately. Thomas finds Marisa and she convinces him to escape with her, revealing she also knows how to use the Medallion. Meanwhile, Ray rescues William and defeats Juarez, realizing that Thomas has left with Marisa.
Ray tracks Thomas and Marisa to the treasure vault. The brothers face each other as they did at the start of the story. William moves between them and declares he won't allow Ray to shoot Thomas. William reaches into his pocket and Ray shoots William, realizing later he was only reaching for his Bible. William collapses and dies, his Bible landing at Barnsby's feet who remarks that it seems the treasure really is cursed. A trap is triggered, causing the chamber to fill with sand, forcing the McCalls to move to higher ground, fending off Barnsby's men as they proceed. Eventually, the McCalls confront Barnsby and one of the brothers faces him in a showdown, shooting Barnsby, whose body falls and is buried by the sand. The McCalls, together with Marisa, decide to abandon the treasure. William's sacrifice compels Ray to retire from being a gunslinger and outlaw and become a priest, and he carries William's Bible. Later, Thomas weds Marisa.
Gameplay
According to its creators Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood was aimed to make the player's experience as the "best West ever created". The game derives from spaghetti-western genre: gunslingers, outlaws, duels, prison breaks, bank robberies, stagecoach chases and conflicts with Native AmericansIndigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, similar to another western game, Gun. It features two characters, brothers Ray and Thomas. The game plot is set in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
period and presents the adventures of two brothers across different parts of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
In each Free World area there is a small town, a trader and out in the wilderness the player can find ruined buildings, farms, camps and bandits that can be occupying these. Bandits will also hide at certain road points to ambush people, attacking people on the roads and robbing caravans. It is up to the player whether or not to save the people getting attacked. Throughout the game there are "Secrets" most commonly found in chests that will unlock artwork or conversations between the brothers, called memories, that can be viewed from the menu. Chests may also contain money, dynamite or ammo.
At the end of most missions the player will have a "Showdown" with the leader of the group the player is fighting. In Bounty Hunter missions the player needs to first defeat the leader in a gunfight before he will challenge the player to a final Showdown. During the Showdown the player character will circle the opponent with his hand hovering over his gun waiting for the "bell" to ring before he draws. The player needs to try to keep his character's hand as close to the gun as possible by moving the analog/mouse in towards the gun, without touching it, as this will reset the distance between his hand and the gun. The player also need to keep the opponent lined up with the shot by moving in the opposite direction as he moves. The center of the shot will be just off the center of the screen on the right hand side. As soon as the bell rings, the player has a very short period of time to move the hand towards the gun to draw it, then take the shot when the cross hair lines up with his opponent. If the first shot is missed, or the gun is drawn too late, the opponent will shoot the player character. As the player progresses in the game Showdowns get harder, opponents will circle more to throw off the player's aim and draw faster.
Characters
- Ray McCall: The older of the two playable brothers, prefers a close combat style and tasks which require the use of brute force. Of the two, he is also more deadly with dual guns and dynamite. Ray is more resistant to damage and has significantly greater strength. Ray's 'bullet time' ability allows the player to shoot up to 24 targets with perfect accuracy (Using so called "Volcano" guns, which are Smith and Wesson volcanic repeaters). Voiced by Marc AlaimoMarc AlaimoMichael Anthony "Marc" Alaimo is an American actor, known for his villainous roles. He is known to Star Trek fans for his role as recurring villain Gul Dukat in the TV series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.-Career:...
.
- Thomas McCall: A sharpshooter with a long-range combat style, using rifles, throwing knives, and a hunting bow. He is also capable of stealth, using 'silent' weapons like the knives and bow. Additionally he can use a lassoLassoA lasso , also referred to as a lariat, riata, or reata , is a loop of rope that is designed to be thrown around a target and tighten when pulled. It is a well-known tool of the American cowboy. The word is also a verb; to lasso is to successfully throw the loop of rope around something...
to access otherwise unreachable places. Thomas' bullet time only allows the player to shoot 6 enemies at a time, but has a wider range of targets. The player must simulate Thomas' from-the-hip shooting by holding down the fire button and moving the analog stick or mouse forward and back. Voiced by Zach Hanks.
- William McCall: The youngest and unplayable brother is a priest who follows his brothers everywhere, believing it is his duty to turn them "towards the light". He will follow the brothers into firefights and must be protected. He is always trying to convince his brothers to stay out of trouble, but ultimately ends up becoming a "sinner", as Juarez said he would, when he is forced to kill in self defense. William's last act is to stop his two brothers from killing each other. Standing between them he claims he will "draw on three". Ray shoots him, but realizes William was only reaching for his Bible. William's self sacrifice inspires Ray to become a priest. In Call of Juarez, Reverend Ray McCall carries William's Bible with him, and the protagonist of Call of Juarez, Billy Candle is presumably named in memory of the youngest McCall brother. Voiced by Carlos AlazraquiCarlos AlazraquiCarlos Jaime Alazraqui is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and voice actor. He is best known for his role as Deputy James Garcia on the Comedy Central series Reno 911!. His voice-over work includes the role of Bobbi Fabulous on Phineas and Ferb, the Taco Bell chihuahua, Denzel Q...
.
- Juarez: His real name is Juan Mendoza. A powerful Mexican bandit leader, nicknamed Juarez after the town he was born in, is one of the main antagonists but is at first an ally. The McCall brothers meet Juarez when they save Marisa from a group of bandits that take her for a common whore. The McCall brothers' reason for being in Mexico is to find the lost treasure of Cortez; Juarez is also looking for it and he employs the McCall brothers to help him find it for a cut. At the time Marisa is his mistress; this is what generates most of the conflict between him and Ray because Ray secretly loves her. Juarez is also the biological father of William "Billy Candle", the protagonist of Call of Juarez. Voiced by Rene Mujica.
- Marisa : Juarez's mistress and love interest of both McCall brothers. She is often a source of contention between Ray and Thomas. Even causing a fist fight between them to determine who is the strongest and most deserving of her affection. She marries Thomas in the closing artwork. Voiced by Giselle Anthony.
- Jeremy Barnsby One of the main antagonists and Ray and Thomas' colonel during the Civil War. Barnsby made a promise that he would hunt down and kill every deserter from his unit in the Civil War, holding those men responsible for the loss of Atlanta and the death of his family. After the war, Barnsby assembled a small army of former Confederate soldiers who refused to accept the defeat. Hounded by the US military, they have fled west where they live as brigands. When he hears the McCalls are seeking the Lost Gold of Juarez, he not only seeks to kill them for deserting him, but to seize the treasure for himself so that he can resurrect the Confederate cause. Voiced by John CyganJohn CyganJohn Cygan is an American actor, voice artist, and comedian.-Career:Cygan is notable for his television work and his voice work .-Filmography:*The Commish ......
.
- Seeing Farther : Son of the Apache chief Running River. He is sent by his father to the bandit Juarez, from whom he wants to get hundreds of rifles in exchange for the Apaches' treasure: A medallion that leads to the Lost Gold of Juarez. The rifles are wanted by the Apaches to use in skirmishes against the U.S. government. He is the McCall's ally throughout most of the game, he helps them get the medallion and tells William how to use it. Voiced by Dante BascoDante BascoDanté Basco is an American actor, voice actor, poet, and dancer. He is best known for playing Rufio in the 1991 live-action Peter Pan film Hook...
.
Weapons
Guns in the game are recreated from their historical 19th century counterparts. The player can choose between different types of pistols, rifles, shotguns and heavy weapons (Gatling gunGatling gun
The Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
). During gameplay, cannons are also available. Apart from conventional firearms, characters can use other weapons such as throwing knives
Throwing Knives
Throwing Knives is a collection of short stories by Molly Best Tinsley, first published on 1 February 2000. It was awarded the 2001 Oregon Book Award for fiction, as well as the 1999 Sandstone Prize in Short Fiction offered by the Ohio State University Press.-External links:*...
or bows.
Each brother is more efficient with certain weapons. Ray is best with fast firing pistols at close range and shotguns and is the only one who can Dual Wield Pistols (Other than Dual Wielding during Bullet Time) and the only one who can carry Dynamite and a Gatling Gun. Thomas is best with long ranged weapons such as rifles and precision aiming with the pistol, though he can't carry dynamite to blow down doors he carries a lasso that can get him to unreachable areas Ray can't get to. He also can't Dual Wield and doesn't have a Cuirass for bulletproofing like his brother but his accuracy and power with rifles is much greater than Ray and since he is smaller and lighter he is much stealthier than Ray. He also can carry throwing knives and a hunting bow for stealth killing.
Each of the weapon classes can be found around the worlds and dropped by enemies, but the highest quality ones are bought from stores. You start out with rusty old weak weapons, but as you progress newer weapons become unlocked and newer higher quality ones are unlocked. The weapon tiers go from: Rusty -> Normal -> Prime -> Superb. The higher the tier, the higher the damage/accuracy/reload speed will be. Also, "Prime" weapons are silver colored and "Superb" weapons are gold colored.
Multiplayer
The game's multiplayer modes are mostly team-based, with a variety of objectives and character classes available. One team plays "Lawmen", with another playing as "Outlaws" - in some game styles, players swap teams after each match to play on the other side of the encounter. The game uses a bounty system for scoring, with players who have killed a large number of enemies being worth more to their opponents. Some multiplayer maps are directly inspired by famous scenes from Western movies, including one set at the OK Corral.The PC release originally did not have dedicated server support or anti-cheat software, but on December 2, Ubisoft released files that allow dedicated server support for Bound in Blood. This was done in response to fan complaints. Requests for some kind of anti-cheating software have gone unfulfilled.
September '09, Ubisoft releases a patch for all versions of the game. The patch included several tweaks and changes for the multiplayer, bug fixes, and an auto-patcher (PC). Many of the multiplayer mode's technical issues were fixed, but some of the master server problems (which the game's been plagued with since its release) are still present.
Downloadable content
A multiplayer map pack has been released, adding four new multiplayer maps: Little BighornLittle Bighorn
Little Bighorn may refer to:* Little Bighorn River, a tributary of the Bighorn River in Wyoming and Montana* Battle of the Little Bighorn, took place near the river in 1876...
, Fort Smith
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
, Elmira Prison Camp and Vulture Mines.
Although there are no problems with downloading the DLC for the PS3, all of the Xbox 360 gamers who bought the DLC through Xbox Live are still unable to download the content they have paid for, with an error (with the error's code) being received after starting the download process on XBL. Ubisoft and Techland claim that it's Microsoft's fault that those gamers are not able to download the DLC of Bound in Blood, while an official public response from Microsoft is yet to be received (as of January 11, 2010) although reports have been made that the download succeeded for European players. There is no official DLC for the PC version.
Reception
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood received mostly positive reviews. Aggregating review websites GameRankings and MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the PC version 79.03% and 78/100, the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version 78.52% and 77/100 and the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version 78.33% and 78/100. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Jeff Haynes praised the sound and presentation of the game but criticised the gameplay for the lack of variety in tasks. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's review criticised the short length of the single player campaign and lacking AI, but praised its "authentic western feel", graphics, and fast paced gameplay.
Sequel
A third game in the series called Call of Juarez: The CartelCall of Juarez: The Cartel
Call of Juarez: The Cartel is a first-person shooter video game developed by Techland. The game is part of the Call of Juarez western-themed video games, but is set in modern-day Los Angeles and Mexico as up to three players take the role of law enforcement agents...
was released on July 19, 2011. This third game is set in a present day setting. Locations will take place from Los Angeles, California to Juarez, Mexico. Apparently the game is connected to the previous two games through the protagonist Ben McCall, an LAPD detective and Vietnam veteran who is a descendent of Billy Candle.