Call of Juarez

June 13,2007 - Are you tired of shooting Nazis, aliens, and/or genetically-altered beasts? If yes, Ubisoft hopes to offer you a title with (mildly) less tired enemies. It’s a western shooter! We know, we know, Red Dead Revolver and Gun are still fresh in your mind. But for the sake of playing nice, let’s give Call of Juarez a chance, right? Is your mind open to the endless possibilities offered by fresh gameplay? Good.

Taking control of the game’s two characters, Billy Candle and Reverend Ray, plays directly into the game’s storyline. While you load up the game, a narrator speaks to you about an ancient Aztec treasure that was supposed to be used as ransom for Montezuma (being held by conquistadors). The treasure was lost and allegedly cursed, and whoever seeks it finds only death. Flashing into the game itself, Candle tells about his hard upbringing. Things only get worse for ol’ Billy because when he gets home, he sees his mother lying dead under the words “Call of Juarez”—the name for the obsession people have of searching for the Aztec gold. His uncle, Reverend Ray, just so happens to see Billy standing over his dead mother, and because Billy runs instead of proclaiming his innocence, Ray assumes he’s killed her. He then goes on a blood thirsty hunt for Billy in God’s name, all while Billy tries to clear himself. Yeah, it makes loads of sense.

You’ll switch off between the two of them throughout the fifteen episodes, playing as Billy in one and Ray in the next. They stand alone to a degree, but you’ll usually find yourself in the same areas since Ray is chasing Billy. Repetitive, yes, but the game attempts to mix things up with its action.

Both characters deal death differently. Billy, being younger and more agile, will be able to climb obstacles with ease, use a bullwhip to get across large areas, and is overall a bit quicker. However, he has his downsides. Due to his stature, Mr. Candle is much more susceptible to a quick death. Reverend Ray, on the other hand, wears cuirass to protect his chest and has the ability to dual-wield pistols. Most of Ray’s episodes will also end in a quick draw battle—classic Western style. Players geared more towards tearing enemies a new one will prefer Ray, but those stealthy types will surely appreciate Billy’s soft step.

Sadly, the gameplay itself is far from outstanding. Nothing here can be called anything but average. Even though Juarez is a first-person shooter, it feels too stiff for the most part. Having to constantly reload isn’t much of a problem but if you’re not paying attention it could wind up holding you back a bit (most weapons don’t support automatic reloads). Weapons only last so long though, as they’ll take damage from both being fired and being fired at (which is sort of a cool idea, but isn’t integrated properly). There is usually enough weaponry lying about, and the selection is pretty good. The most annoying element, though, would be freestyle horseback riding. It’s a nice way to get around, but it handles horribly. Use horses when you need to, but don’t expect to enjoy it much unless you use the left trigger to control it better. Even then, it's not too grand. Quick draw battles also handle oddly, but that’s more likely because you’re trying to fire within a couple seconds. You’ll eventually get used to it and it will become a bit easier.

Enemy AI is disappointing. Supposedly, enemies work together, but that’s not too apparent in the actual combat. Sometimes they just don’t respond to you at all. For instance, in our run through, we had Ray throw a lit lamp towards an enemy to set the wall on fire. Ray was able to simply stand there and take misaimed gun fire while the enemy had no idea the fire was creeping up on him. Not too smart. Now this may not be representative of every situation with enemies in the game, but don’t expect anything mind-blowing. On the other hand, we will say that the Native American enemies you must fight have particularly good aim to go with their high-powered rifles, so be careful when playing as Billy. We couldn’t tell whether or not the varying enemy intelligence was intentionally integrated into the game.

After every mission, you’ll unlock Reverend Ray’s duels. You’ll be able to play through all of them in the same order, but there doesn’t seem to be any incentive to it. Once you beat the whole story mode, you’ll also unlock bonus missions. In the selection area, downloadable content through Xbox Live is hinted at, but there hasn’t been word yet as to when any content will be available.

Games, News, Reviews, Media and More