Buy Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

great game , best work of techland , worst work is dying light and the cartel .

graphic 6/5
sounds 6/5
gameplay 4/5

im still playing it evey night with gameranger .

This game is how sequels should be - it takes everything that was good about the first game and improves it, builds on the old characters, and smooths out the rough edges of the original. The two brothers play differently enough to give an incentive to play through it twice, so there's plenty of value to it. The only reason I ever had to not recommend it before was because the field of view was extremely low (46 degrees) with no way to fix it, but thankfully a mod has finally fixed that recently, allowing you to go up to 75 (which is still pretty low, but a lot more manageable). http://www.moddb.com/mods/call-of-juarez-bound-in-blood-realism-mod I don't recommend using the date-changing part of the mod (the read-me and description explains how to only apply the gameplay changes), but everything else about the mod is great. With this mod, I can finally completely recommend this game.

Also, on another note, if you have problems with the voices sounding like they were recorded in a bad microphone, you may need to lower the audio quality of your sound device in Windows. It probably won't be a problem for most people, but if you have a high quality sound system and use 24-bit audio, you may need to switch to 16-bit, 44100 Hz for this game.

Call of Juarez®: Bound in Blood is the second game in the series and story-wise it's a prequel to the first game. It is a story of a younger Ray McCall and his brothers Thomas and William.
Like its predecessor, the game is a first-person shooter with the Western setting. And like the first Call of Juarez it has a captivating story, a little "dark" atmosphere, two playable characters with two different playstyles (and this time - the ability to freely choose your character for a given episode, except for the first two "tutorial" episodes and the one near the endgame) and lots of gun-blazing action.
What I am going to say is that this game is in my opinion the best Call of Juarez game and one of the best western and FPS games I've ever played. Almost all the flaws from the first game are gone here, Bound in blood runs smoothly, has beautiful graphics, great atmosphere and soundtrack, cool plot that will keep you in tension for the whole game, epic finale that will probably make you shed a small manly tear, and two badass characters to play.
About the characters: Ray McCall plays almost the same as he did in the first game being able to dual-wield pistols and throw dynamites, although personality-wise here he is not a preacher and acts like a total badass. His brother Thomas is a little similar to Billy Candle - he is the agile guy of this game, he can do some lasso swinging, he can use throwing knives for stealthy kills (although you won't need to be stealthy in this game as much as it was needed in the first) and he can use a bow with arrows. There are still not that many weapons in the game, but there is definitely more, than it was in the first CoJ, and you can buy upgraded versions of the same weapon.
In the end, there is really nothing serious I can point out as bad things, I was completely satisfied with the game. If you liked the first CoJ, this is a must. If you like Western theme this is a must. If you want a cool story and a decent FPS game this is a must.
VERDICT: 9/10

+ Interesting/Captivating Story (even though a little cliched)
+ Very satisfactory shooting
+ Unique cover mechanics
+ High replay value as you can play each chapter with any one of the brothers (except the first 2, which are like an intro/tutorial to their abilities)
+ Nice environment, decent visuals.
+ Good controller support, with decent aim-assist. (I played with a KB/M though)

- Lots and lots of shooting, sometimes gets tedious
- AI is kinda wierd, they will keep throwing dynamite even if you run 1000 miles away from them.
- Not many guns/customization available
- Maybe the Option to SWITCH brothers at WILL would have made the game even more fun to play

Verdict: MUST BUY. The game easily justifies the 10$ retail price, I got it for 6$ in sale and was a steal at this price.

Do You Recommend this game?: HELL YES

New Hats, Old Tricks:

The original Call of Juarez, though ambitious and great, was a bit unpolished. Bound in Blood serves as a prequel to the original's story, and it manages to polish some mechanics from the original game, but it does not try to reach as far as it's predecessor.

Bound in Blood tells the story of the McCall brothers and it covers some familiar ground. Ray still charges in headfirst with guns blazing, while his brother Thomas acts as Billy Candle's surrogate, taking up the stealth and whip mechanics with a focus on long range weaponry (including the bow).

Overall the game feels very familiar, but with some slight gameplay changes. You can now (for most missions) choose which character to play prior to starting to the mission. This choice will slightly alter how you play a level (distraction vs. stealth), and it will also drastically change how you play. The mechanics of the two characters also feel a bit more fleshed out ( the slow down for Thomas is not limited to the bow, and Ray has more than a bible and breastplate to set him apart). One neat addition is that the brothers are usually working together and the AI is fairly competent. Though their one-liners outstay their welcome before the credits role, its neat to hear the brothers call out to each other and actually have them help, rather than the mostly isolated experience from the first game.

A few other slight changes include equipment. You will find and be rewarded with money that you can use to buy more ammo and better guns. You can also make extra money during a few little open world sequences where you can hunt down bounty. I never found myself too concerned with money, though I would run out of ammo every now and then, but I was always happy to get a better weapon. Overall though, the money is more of an optional bit of fun rather than a necessity.

The story, much like the first one, is not the absolute best narrative, but it serves its purpose well. Some of the ties it makes to the first game (both in the levels and characters) are pretty interesting if you were a fan of the first game. The lore and charm that the game is steeped in shines clearly in this entry, and it feels familiar in a good way.

Bound in Blood makes great use of its Old West setting to tell a story of sibling rivalry through solid FPS mechanics. Fans and strangers alike should give this entry a try.

Bound in Blood is a much smaller game than Red Dead Redemption, but it is still one of the best wild west themed shooters.

The Good:
-Decent story with good voice acting.
-The gameplay mechanics are solid, and not too repetitive.
-Graphics: While many things look average, some of the environments are truly beautiful (at times on par with Crysis 1).
-This game does not shy away from christian themes, which fit well with the story. And it does so without seeming unpleasantly pro or anti christian.
-A good manual save system (no annoying checkpoint reloads).
-No Ubisoft Uplay account required!

The Bad (mostly minor):
-A very low Field-of-View (not fixable) due to being optimized for console TV screens.
-The first level (tutorial) has clumsy scripting and mediocre graphics, but it gets better with later levels.
-Bodies disappear the moment you look away, due to silly Xbox360/PS3 RAM limits.
-AI is mediocre (not a big problem since most things are scripted)
-screen vibration effects severely overdone during scripted explosions.
-Enemies move like ants (no movement inertia), making aiming a pain sometimes.

The Ugly:
-No COOP mode! With the two protagonists working together, this game would have been perfect for co-op, and yet there is no co-op mode! What a missed opportunity!

Overall, I can easily recommend this game, especially in a sale.

For a game dated back to 2009, COJ:BIB shows that the developers, Techland, have learned some lessons from their previous COJ games and concentrate on shooting people rather than playing Indiana Jones or Tarzan, and they certainly built up a bunch of characters that have a bit more dimension than typical western shooter fare, and it is only surpassed by the latest COJ: Gunslinger.

BIB has the McCall brothers, with family in Georgia, fighting as a part of the Confederacy trying to hold back the Yankee army against General Sherman's raid. You'll spend most of the first part of the game shooting Yankee soldiers defending your homeland, so to speak, and later, fight your way home to save your brother and mother... against orders to withdraw, which makes both of the McCall brothers deserters. Without too much of a spoiler, by the time they arrived, mother's already dead, and the younger brother actually is a priest and will not fight. After fighting they way out of Georgia, McCalls drifted to Arkansas, enraged the local sheriff (by spoiling his daughter), who challenged them to a duel, got killed, and the entire town started to hunt them forcing them to run for Mexico, where the senior McCall, Ray, told them about the alleged treasure of Juarez, and how they can claim it and use it to rebuilt their family.

The two brothers have different specialties. Ray, the older and stronger brother, is a close quarters combat guy with dual revolvers and dynamite. He can use concentration (COJ's "bullet time") to designate targets for rapid salvos killing a whole slew of targets at a time. Thomas "Tom", the middle brother, prefers a ranged and stealth attack. He is deadly with a rifle, he can throw knives for silent kills, and he can use a lasso to raise himself to a better elevation for better sniper kills. He can also use a bow later in the game. He also has a concentration mode but he can only engage up to 6 targets in a "quick draw".

At the beginning the scripted missions are one following another, and sometimes you can choose which brother to play in the mission, with slightly different branches and levels, as it's two different POVs of the same game. Later, when the game opens up, you can roam the land and take on side missions for extra cash, treasure, and so on, and encounter traders with better weapons available for sale. There are even random encounters.

There are quick drawn duels in the game where you need to keep the guy in view and keep your hand near the pistol, and use the mouse to "draw" the pistol and shoot. This mechanic was vastly improved in Gunslinger though.

The game, being old runs fine on a 3 year old gaming laptop even at higher resolutions. While the tasks are a bit monotonous (shoot people) it's what makes Western a Western, right?

I personally prefer Gunslinger. Skip the Cartel, IMHO. Play this and Gunslinger should be enough COJ.

Want an engrossing single player experience?
Want cool guns?
Want it cheap?

Here you go.

This review is a little lengthy, so if you just want a quick summary of why I recommend this game skip the Results and read from there.

Techland makes a fantastic continuation onto the Call of Jaurez Series with Bound in Blood. A brilliant game brings amazing level design, amazing combat systems, beautiful scenery, and the perfect ambience to life.

Story:
Call of Jaurez Bound in Blood acts a prequel to Call of Jaurez. The story takes off with the alleged rivalry between Thomas and Ray McCall; yet, how did the rivalry all begin? The game takes off during the Civil War playing as the McCalls as they fight for the south. As they abandon the cause and go out on their own the story takes off with how the Gold of Jaurez and the beautiful Marissa draws the brothers to unite but then tears them apart.

Campaign:
This epic campaign allows you to play as either Ray or Thomas McCall for each mission. Both the characters play differently with Ray being similar to Call of Jaurez. Ray has perks in pistol usage and can use dual pistols unlike Thomas who plays stealthier using a Bow and Rifles. Both of the brothers can wield rifles and pistols, but Thomas can wield a Bow, Lasso, and Knives while Ray can wield twin pistols and dynamite. Thomas being the younger of the two brothers must help his older brother climb up ledges and complete tasks while Ray typically sits back and supports him. There are fifteen chapters, although two of those chapters are open world and offers three missions each. You can purchase weapons within most levels that make your character more powerful, although they are not entirely necessary. The campaign is incredibly easily even on Hard difficulty, but once you complete the campaign you unlock Harder difficulty. Almost every level contains a duel which allows you to test your dukes with fast timing draw.

Gameplay:
Unlike in the predecessor they have fleshed out a lot of the kinks in the combat system. The duel system pits you one on one with an adversary where you must line yourself straight in with an opponent, rapidly draw your gun at the sound of a bell, and pull the trigger. Each of the two brothers has a different quick draw technique which requires different mechanisms to implement. I personally did not like Thomas’ quick draw as it is limited to one pistol and doesn't give you control of what is going on around you. There are many weapons which offer three different stats: Reload Speed, Damage, and Range. Although none of these guns list ammunition capacity which is incredibly important.

Hints:
>Don’t purchase ammunition; it is completely worthless as you find so much of it during the game.
>The Volcano Gun carries twelve bullets, which is the largest out of any pistol.
>The Heavy Rifle is essentially the scoped rifle without a scope.
>There is no Superb Scoped Rifle; you might as well buy the prime one as it kills almost all enemies in one hit. (You can also find one on Chapter 11 at the point where the wagon gets stuck in the river).
>Apparently your money transfers over to the next play-through.

Results:
If you are a fan of the Western Genre Call of Jaurez Bound in Blood is a fantastic play-through. Luckily because it is a prequel to the original Call of Jaurez you can play this game prior or without playing the original. The campaign adds amazing depth to the lore of Call of Jaurez and its beautiful storyline draws the player into a gripping tale. The campaign is a good length, about seven hours and eight hours if you do all the side quests in the open world chapters. Because of how the two brothers’ play differently I could easily play this game again just using the other brother because it would alter the game significantly. If you love shoot ‘em up westerns, just want to go on a killing frenzy, or desire a good store then this is the game for you. I don’t buy many games at full price, but at $9.99 this game is a steal.

Pros:
+Fantastic campaign
+Beautiful level design
+Offers two open world levels that allow you to explore while being based on linear gameplay. [I am not a fan of open-world first person shooters, but by only partially integrating open world dynamics into the campaign really makes a good twist].
+Amazing weapon combinations which each offer great potential to how you play the game.
+A story which gets you to continue playing even if only just to figure out what happens next.
+You get to fight during the civil war, against the Indians, and as a bandit.

Cons:
-For some odd reason when I started the game the opening cinematic, Ubisoft Logo, and the menu cinematic where all upside down. [At first I thought it was some artsy design, but then I noticed Ubisoft was not tlosidU].
-The duels can be irritating as you have to drag the mouse down to draw the pistol [if you have a tiny space for your mouse this can be hard].

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Rating: 8/10
Overview: First Person Shooter

The Good:

+ The game is a prequel to the first Call of Juarez telling the story of Ray and his two brothers on their journey to discover the lost gold of Juarez. The characters are extremely well done and the story is interesting enough to hold the entire game together and keep you interested until the very end.

+ Before every mission you have a choice to play as either Ray or Thomas. Each one has their own unique pros and cons and sometimes in the mission they may diverge and go on separate paths offering a different perspective in certain situations.

+ The western frontier setting once again takes center stage and is even more beautiful and breathtaking than the original.

+ The shooting mechanics are greatly improved over the first game.

+ Soundtrack


The Average:

Every once in a while you will have a one on one duel in which you have to be quick to draw out your gun and shoot your opponent. These moments are pretty intense and fun and its handled extremely well. The only problem however is that using a mouse makes it almost impossible to succeed. After failing many attempts, I switched over to a controller and was able to beat in on my first try.

The level design itself can also feel a bit repetitive at times. The levels are way more linear than the first game but the objectives in each mission starts to feel the same half way through. Go here, kill all the enemies, rinse and repeat.

As you play, your npc companions will often comment on how well or badly you are doing. It makes the characters more believable, however after hearing the same comments for the fifth time it starts to get annoying.

Regenerating health trivialize battles


The Bad:

-In what has to be one of the stranger bugs I've ever experienced, the videos are upside down. This is almost a universal issue with the game with no fix/patch in sight. Not exactly a good impression when you start the game and literally the first thing you see is a game bug.

Conclusion

A HUGE improvement over the first game, just about everything has been upgraded and improved upon. At times though I felt like I was playing Call of Duty: The Western. Regenerating health, linear levels, and shooting hordes of bad guys over and over again. A fun game and worth checking out.