| Author | Review |
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Drachen77
133,664
TA Score for this game: 2,256
Posted on 07 September 09 at 08:57, Edited on 10 September 09 at 08:27 |
This review has 16 positive votes and 3 negative votes. Please log in to vote. |
Call of Juarez is one of those games that when you play it you enjoy it, but you realize it could have been so much more. Developer Techland had some excellent ideas for a genre (Wild West First Person Shooter) that is sadly under utilized. The Wild West provides an amazing canvas to use for video games but the games Gun and Red Dead Revolver are two of the only ones that spring to mind. Juarez tried some new things but in the end couldn't quite get it down.
One of the things Techland did right was the graphics. They capture the western United States beautifully. From thick forests, to wild rivers, to snow capped mountains and deep valleys; you really feel there. It could practically double as a tourist video for South Dakota. Another wonderful innovation tried was the "concentration mode" which allows you to slow down time to aim your bow-and-arrows or six-shooters just right. That brings up another great idea, you get to play the game from the perspective of two different players. The first is Billy Candle, a young half Mexican/half Native American who has returned home after looking for a secret gold treasure. The second character is the Reverend Ray McCall who has turned to God after a life of crime. Reverend McCall also happens to be Billy's uncle. The story begins as Ray tries to track down Billy after appearing to see Billy kill his mother and step-father. The story arcs follow the characters as Ray chases Billy all over the place. It is actually a compelling story and the characters do have good voice work although many lines are very cheesy.
Unfortunately, the game just has trouble getting the little stuff down. For instance the "platforming" aspects of the game are terrible. Some parts of the game require you to use a whip to latch on to things and swing around. But something in the game is just...off, and you have trouble judging distance. There are many of these trial-and-error sections that can be quite frustrating. Picking up things and moving them around can be much harder than it should be too. The object you are carrying just floats in space in front of you so you start running into walls and dropping it. You really feel kind of silly trying to move a box three feet but you drop it five times doing it. And the most egregious error of all, the multi-player. Juarez would be court evidence #1 in the case against multi-player being included in all games. It is truly awful. From terrible lag to weak maps, it is nearly worthless. About the only online games you will find are people trying to boost the nearly impossible multi-player achievements.
Techland should be credited for trying something different in an industry that has so many copycats. Call of Juarez tried to be different and succeeded most of the way but got dragged down by silly things that could have been improved or omitted. It is definitely worth a look if you are looking for something unique or you enjoy the wild west.
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