Call of Juarez Preview
Techland, Ubisoft
FPS, Release Date: Summer 2007
Posted April 12th 2007

Close your eyes, lean back in your chair and try to think of the last good Western video game you played. Can't think of any? We're not surprised, because while we did manage to come up with one (Red Dead Revolver was decent) it proves our point that we have yet to play a solid Western video game on any console. That's where Techland and Ubisoft come in with their upcoming Summer 2007 PC/360 release "Call of Juarez". Combining the always-enjoyable "bullet-time" feature and insanely delicious graphics, COJ looks to finally serve as that badass Western shooter that we've been waiting a long time for. Now remember, due to current staffing limitations here at CD (there's only two of us, ha) we do not preview every friggin game that's slated for release. Since we only have four hands, well make that three after my partner's bear trap incident last weekend, we only preview the best games or ones that we feel have an immense amount of potential. Our theory is if it's a shitty game, why the hell would you waste your time playing it anyway? After doing our homework, we can honestly state that Call of Juarez has bad ass potential oozing out of every orifice, and we feel that you should know about it. Yeah, we're cool like that.

In this upcoming droolathon otherwise known as Call of Juarez, you'll be playing as two different characters throughout the single player campaign: Reverend Ray, a former gunslinger who apparently found God and Billy the Candle, who scored the creative nickname due to the shiny medallion he wears on his chest. Both these characters' lives are intricately intertwined; more specifically Reverend Ray turns out to be Billy's stepfather's brother (yeah, reminds me of Spaceballs too). Being a priest, Reverend has the ability to quote from the scriptures which can incite fear and pants-pissing by his potential opponents, causing them to run away or freeze in complete fear which avoids a gunfight altogether. While the Rev likes the straight-forward approach, Billy likes to pretend he's a rogue and hide in the shadows, being all nimbly-bimbly like a cat. To counter the mighty gunslinging prowess of the Rev, Billy has been given a whip that not only serves as a highly effective weapon, but it also allows Billy-Boy to climb up objects, buildings, and cliffs. The storyline revolves around the game's title; the "Call of Juarez" translates to leaving to hunt for the ancient indian treasure that nobody has ever been able to get, until now. From what we've seen, read, and been told Call of Juarez has really captured the look and feel of what the ol' West was really like, and it's got the storyline and characters to prove it.



Graphics and storyline are great, but make a game they do not. Gameplay is what brings home the award hardware, and in Western shooters that always seems to be an issue. The introduction of the already-mentioned "bullet-time" feature helps a ton in the gameplay department, even if it's not so revolutionary anymore. The bible-quoting ability and Billy's mad skills with his whip set this game's potential even higher, although the real question comes down to the controls; more specifically the gunfighting controls. Ubisoft has been so kind to tell us that COJ will feature three gunfighting modes: manual, concentration (which is their ver of bullet-time), and focus. Hitting "X" on your keyboard will throw your character into focus mode, blurring out the sides of your screen but focusing on the target directly in front of you. In other words, if it's one on one we'd recommend hitting X. Concentration mode as we said is Techland's western version of bullet-time, in which everything slows down for a few seconds allowing you to take out as many people as you can. Manual, well, I really hope I don't need to explain what you do in manual mode. The real potential issues come with how fluid these mechanics feel in real time, and since we haven't had a chance to play it yet we can only speculate. We were told that when your character is dual wielding two pistols, the mouse buttons will act as the triggers for each weapon, left and right. At first thought it sounds like an awkward setup, but after thinking about it that layout is about as simple as you can get. Once again, nothing revolutionary here but sweet Mariah is there potential.

I almost forgot; there is one other juicy tidbit gameplay mechanic that I need to mention. It's not revolutionary, but it does give COJ a lot bigger fun advantage than your traditional FPS in that the environments are highly destructible. If you think of your typical Wild West Town, the buildings are usually made of wood, meaning they're susceptible to fire. One of the cool features with this is if you've got a bunch of bad guys holed up and garrisoning (spelling? ahh fuck it) a building, just light the mo-fo on fire like a pyro and watch them run out screaming for their lives. Again, this isn't anything revolutionary, but it does give the player many more options to consider other than running in guns blazing.

Call of Juarez, as you've seen from the trailers and pictures below, looks awesome. Maybe it's because I love good Western flicks, or maybe I'm just that much into video games; regardless, if you're still reading this there's a really good chance you're in the same boat and agree with me. Or ... you're just that friggin bored. Call of Juarez is slated to hit store shelves this Summer of 2007, and will be released on the PC as well as the Xbox 360. If you've got both I'd recommend the PC version, just due to the whole keyboard/mouse setup, since it's a lot easier to play FPS shooters with. As always we'll have more news and info on COJ when we feel like it, so until then, keep clickin.



Call of Juarez Videos:
Check out the Gunfighting in COJ!Click here to watch the badass COJ trailer!

Call of Juarez Screenshots:





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