Rather than assume the role of one character in Call of Juarez you'll switch between two main characters; Billy Candle and Reverend Ray. Billy Candle is a drifter who has been looking for the Call of Juarez gold. When Billy is unable to find the gold he goes to a town called Hope to visit his mother and stepfather. Unfortunately not all goes to plan when Billy realises his mother and stepfather have been killed, rather than stick around Billy flees the scene with Reverend Ray spying him running away. Reverend Ray is Billy's step uncle. As implied by his name Reverend Ray is a religious man but after seeing Billy run away he decides to pursue Billy.
A new meaning for the term bible basher
While the idea of playing as two characters and experiencing the story from the perspective of both may seem like an appealing concept it really isn't. Everything you expect from a western themed shooter can be found in Ray's levels, you'll experience shootouts, pursue outlaws and generally experience gun duels. Whilst the shootouts and gun duels aren't original, Reverend Ray's secret weapon is. You see, the Reverend can use the bible as a weapon. By "firing" the bible the Revered will start reading passages from the bible which will entrance your enemies. As soon as they're entranced all you need to do is pull out your weapon, shoot your enemies and send them to the heavens.
Billy's levels however are tedious experiences that you'll want to rush through quickly. The story has been set up well in Call of Juarez so that the threads link, but as soon as you know you'll need to take control of Billy the outlaw you'll let out a groan. Billy very rarely uses his weapons (which basically consist of a bow and arrow and a pistol) and most of the levels featuring Billy are stealth levels. This means you'll spend quite a bit of the game hiding in bushes, slowly crawling around trying to find a safe route away from people. The stealth segments of the game are long drawn out affairs that will soon begin to grate on your nerves. When you're not trying to avoid enemies stealthily you'll also need to use Billy's whip to grab onto nearby branches, as the game is played from a first person perspective these challenges are tough, simply because it's very difficult to see exactly where you're aiming. In fact, you'll probably manage to complete Billy's levels just because you will know that soon enough you'll be able to take control of Reverend Ray again.
It's quiet, too quiet.
The multiplayer contains seven modes with over fifteen maps. There are four classes; sniper, rifleman, miner and gunslinger. The classes dictate what weapons you get and are quite balanced, so skill, rather than class dictates who wins in multiplayer battles. The scope of the maps vary, with some of them looking like something cooked up in about ten seconds whereas others will quickly become personal favourites. As Call of Juarez is the first western themed online shooter in a long time we can see the game becoming quite popular online.
Graphically Call of Juarez is quite impressive. The environments are a highlight. It's difficult not to be mesmorised when you're at the top of a mountain overlooking a town. Character models however aren't all that impressive and during the horseback riding you'll see quite a bit of pop up. The audio in the game is quite decent too, with a brilliant soundtrack complimented by some solid voice acting.
Aside from the main single player story mode there is also a dueling challenge option as well as a few bonus levels. The main single player mode will last about ten hours, as the game is rather linear there is almost no reason to come back to the single player aspect of the game after you've completed it once. There are posters hidden throughout the levels to find, but the only real reason to find them is for achievement points. On the subject of achievements the majority of them are devoted to the single player but to get all 1000 points you'll need to explore everything the game has to offer.
Time to go shooting
Gamers who pick up Call of Juarez likely want what half the game gives you; western themed shooting. Reverend Ray's mission are brilliant fun and if you didn't have to take control of Billy at all then the single player mode would be a lot more enjoyable. The storylines of the two characters seamlessly intertwine but shooting through town as Reverend Ray then having to sneak through the shrubs ten minutes later without being detected just feels awkward. However, Reverend Rays levels are solid enough to recommend Call of Juarez. The game doesn't do anything fundamentally new but if you're sick of all the World War II themed first person shooters then you could do a lot worse than spending some time in the Wild West.
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