Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood

There’s something untameable in the Western; its gritty, lawless heroes seem perfect game fodder, but most developers seem unable to put a bridal on that Western spirit.

While Call Of Juarez’s gameplay left some things to be desired back in 2006, its main character (Reverend Ray McCall) was pure Western. After all, it isn’t every day you’re introduced to a character that preaches from Bible in thunderous tones while laying about him with his deadly shooting irons, sending the wicked to meet their maker. Convinced Billy Candle had murdered his brother and his wife, the righteous Reverend cut a swathe through the West looking for justice, memorable long after the game. With such a strong character, it’s hardly surprising the developer chose to return to Juarez for another game.

But rather than just continuing his adventures, Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood is a prequel and Ray’s origin story. It takes us back to the wild adventures of a younger, outlaw Ray, and his brothers (gun-slinger Thomas and young priest William McCall) in the years before Ray’s own priesthood. It’s also a well crafted family tragedy, and we enter the story in classic Spaghetti Western style with Ray and Thomas facing off in a deadly duel over the love of raven-haired Mexican femme fatal Marissa. As brother William watches on in horror, he begins recounting the series of events that brought them to this impasse, and the game takes us through them – playing as two increasingly estranged brothers.

It’s an excellent narrative, and while we don’t often tout an FPS for its story, it’s one of the better ones we’ve seen in a long while. What elevates Bound In Blood, bringing its characters to life, is the almost movie-quality voice acting – particularly from veteran Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor Marc Alaimo (Gul Dukat) who voices the gruff and increasingly out-of-control Ray.

You get to know these brothers as they banter back and forth, and there’s an authenticity here that charts the fall of a pair of men succumbing to their wild outlaw side, their lust for gold and a no-good woman. You’ll play as the McCalls initially fighting in the Civil War on the Confederate side, before deserting and becoming desperate outlaws on the rampage, looking to get themselves a portion of the Aztec gold in Juarez.

While Bound In Blood’s gameplay doesn’t quite reach the heights of its narrative, it’s still good, solid combat, and driven set pieces resonate with it to make you feel like a legendary movie gunslinger. The various weapons in the game have a pleasing and realistic feel and few things feel as satisfying as drawing a bead on an enemy, and letting rip with both barrels of your pistols, sending them spinning to the ground. Your opponents tend to rely upon numbers, but effectively use cover and dodging as best they can. As you might expect this to be largely run-and-gun combat, but the differences between the characters and their special ‘Concentration modes’, where they tap into the mystical skills of the gunslinger, adds spice to the proceedings.

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