Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (XBOX 360)

Gamecow’s Price	RRP $109.95     Save $12.00 $97.95
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Genre	First Person Shooter
Platform	XBOX 360
Release Date	02/07/2009
Rated

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood (XBOX 360) Product Information

Call of Juarez®: Bound in Blood is the prequel to the Wild West action shooter Call of Juarez. As the McCall brothers, players enter a doomed quest for the legendary Gold of Juarez leading them from a ravaged Georgia during the Civil War to the Aztec ruins of Mexico. They make their lawless trail into the wildest West ever depicted, using their gunslinging skills and killing all those that stand before them. But when the brothers face lust, their bond of blood feels thinner than ever …

Features:

• Top gunslinger: Harness a variety of weapons from various pistols to heavy-calibre cannons and machine guns. Every accurate shot increases your concentration, allowing you to unleash deadly shooting modes when outnumbered, and even deadlier ones when the brothers work together.
• Dual collaborative game-play: Choose to embody Ray or Thomas, each with a distinctive game-play style (close or long range), specific abilities (lasso, dynamite, etc.) and an arsenal of deadly weapons (dual guns, long-range carbine, etc.). Take advantage of each of their strengths and join in the fiercest fights imaginable.
• Never-before-seen Western experience: Experience the iconic settings full of outlaws, the West before it was tamed. The McCall brothers face a renegade Apache Chief, a greedy Mexican bandit, a vindictive Colonel, and more, all driven by greed with moral disregard. Use horses, canoes, and wagons to explore the vast natural landscapes of the mythical Wild West and its legendary period.
• Innovative online multiplayer: Developed in unison with the single player mode, multiplayer offers numerous modes and maps to guarantee endless hours of Wild West mayhem.  Gunslingers, bandits and marshals struggle online for the bounty. Multiple characters are unlocked for team-based objective modes or the straightforward team death-match. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood introduces a Bounty system, which sees players increase the bounty on their head with more kills. Get rid of the deadliest among you to increase your bank roll!

Call of Juarez 2 Bound in Blood (XBOX 360) Review

Ubisoft and Techland have done well to release a solid first person shooter in the form of Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood, a prequel to the quirky Call of Juarez that graced the shelves two years ago. Competing in a field that is cramped with futuristic alien shooters, World War II simulators and Modern Warfare games, Bound in Blood provides something different from the rest of the pack. It’s a welcome change, but unfortunately is held back by some technical issues and repetitive gameplay.

Players are introduced to the McCall brothers Ray and Thomas, both soldiers in the Confederate army who leave their postings to save their family property from the oncoming Union forces. After the destruction of their homeland the brothers set off west to discover fortune and glory. The Confederate troops are hot on their heels due to orders from the McCall’s former commanding officer, and with some resistance from local law enforcement you’ll be battling against various factions as you eventually strive to find the treasure of Cortez.

This is a prequel game, and chances are many of the people playing Bound in Blood have never set their hands on the first title. Fortunately, you don’t need to have played the first title to “get” what is going on, as each chapter is narrated by the youngest McCall and flesh’s out the story and character of the two brothers. It’s well done and everything ties together nicely.

You have the choice of playing as either Ray or Thomas at the beginning of each mission for most of the game which is a welcome feature. Each brother has his strong and weak points, Ray can absorb a lot more damage due to his body armor and can pick up heavy items and smash through doors. Thomas is a better shot than Ray and is more about agility and stealth. It’s a great contrast and playing a mission with one or the other will truly change your playing style to fit the situation. It’s a mechanic that is simplistic yet works so well to keep things truly interesting.

Once you have been fighting off waves of enemies, you’ll eventually be paired up against other enemies in a duel. It takes skill and patience, you’ll need to keep your enemy in front of you at all times, and you won’t be able to draw your weapon until you hear a bell being struck. The target reticule will directed at your enemy and through timing and skill you have one shot to land a fatal blow. It’s an exciting moment that get the blood pumping and is truly unique to the title, yet it can be frustrating enough to ruin the experience.
Bound in Blood features an expanded multiplayer component, featuring a total of thirteen player classes. Each class has a unique armament along with varying speed and health stats which keeps things interesting. Each enemy you kill online rewards you with some cash, which can in turn be used to upgrade you character’s stats. Seven Maps are included with the game, along with five fun game modes. Wild West Legends being the standout. It’s reminiscent of Assault mode from Unreal Tournament, one side is tasked with objectives while the other side is tasked with defending said objective. This is a perfect formula for some EPIC battles and is a lot of fun.

The audio presentation is rather good, the voice acting is top notch, and the little arguments that Ray and Thomas have will resonate with brothers as similar arguments that have been had around the house. The musical score feels like an old western movie and suits the title perfectly, and the gunfire and explosions are spot on.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a fantastic sequel that really steps up and offers something different. The story is compelling and really adds more to the first title which is great. Solid gameplay elements and great characters make this title worthwhile, regardless of the technical issues in the graphical department. If you want something a little different in a shooter, this is it!

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