Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is the fourth entry in the Call of Juarez family which is developed by Polish developer – Techland. Following the panned and modern day shooter Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Gunslinger is a return to the western theme of the first two Call of Juarez games with some new elements to keep the game engaging and fun.

Story:

My Name is Silas Greaves and I’m a bounty hunter. My brothers were killed because of a game and now I want to find those responsible, on my journey for vengeance I crossed paths with men you might have heard of, some I worked with, others I hunted down, either way I had one job to do that was revenge.

For a few drinks I will let you hear my tale, now my memory may be hazy from the years or the alcohol, I don’t really know which but I do know this: I killed a lot of people, I made a lot of people suffer and become worse for wear on the way. Now 40 years older and still my revenge is not delivered but let me tell you the story so far of how I met Jesse James and his brother Frank James, Billy the kid, Pat Garret and many others while I tried to find one man Roscoe “Bob” Bryant.

Let me tell you my story as how I remember it.

Sound:

The sounds are quite nice, the background music is ripped straight out of a western and works well. Silas is usually talking over the music and his insights are good fun. The voice acting is good and sounds like characters out of a western.

The guns sound a little muted and each gun sounds similar but at different pitches, if it wasn’t for the things going on screen it would feel like each gun was the same. Even the running sound effects are pretty bland but they get the job done.

I would like to add that Gunslinger uses sound to notify you about nearby secrets and it works well.

Graphics:

The graphics seem dated by today’s standards and even by 2013’s standards. They are always a hinge of brown but I guess that is acceptable since it is the wild west and most of the world is covered in dirt and sand. At the same time the cutscenes are decently coloured and follow Max Payne’s comic style which I do enjoy.

The game uses red heavily to point out enemies and explosives when concentrating along with automatically targeted cross-hairs which are brilliantly obvious in this brown world and they do work well. Everything collectible has nice little gold particles coming out of them so that you can notice them easily.

The bullets actually exist so when time slows down you do get to see them either directly or through the trails they leave making for some split second dodging. This makes shotguns very scary since it launches so many pellets at you leaving you wondering what the hell to do. The firing effects from enemy guns feel right too, they are more subtle than blinding but do give the correct understanding.

Gameplay:

In the initial stages Gunslinger feels like your run of the mill shooter and let’s be honest: It is. That however doesn’t mean it doesn’t have redeeming qualities, it has them in spades. The bullet time and the wacky scenarios are just the tip of the iceberg.

The levels are linear and start pretty straightforward with you following a path and coming across some weapons, ammo and dynamite which you are going to need since that is the last bit of hope the game is going to offer you. This point on you are outnumbered, outgunned and on the higher difficulties out of hope. You need to choose the gun that is right for the scenario, either your long range weapons to pick off enemies camping on cliffs waiting to pick you off or dual wield your pistols to kill the guys coming for you and clear stage coaches before those darn outlaws get a chance to put you in the ground for good. There is a tad bit of tactical planning but the game forces you to use your wit to decide your attack, reload and to choose a time to come out guns blazing.

Silas however is not your typical cannon fodder and has a few tricks up his sleeve like his concentration which slows down time, marks all your enemies in red so that you can see them in the brown world as well as amplifying the damage he does. He also has unmatchable reflexes so when he sees a bullet coming to put him in an unmarked grave he can react and retaliate by dodging the bullet and returning the favour between the eyes of the hopeful that fired that shot.  

There is also a levelling system where you can improve Silas’ skills to make him carry more ammo, unlock deadlier weapons, dual wield already deadly weapons or just make him a more dangerous enemy to the outlaws who want to stop him.

All these make for gun fights where you have a chance but don’t be surprised to find yourself running for cover when you get too cocky and find out your Silas Greaves and not Rambo. In these cases you just want to find cover so that your health and last breath ability can regenerate so that you don’t die the second you pop your head out.

The only thing I’m not sure if I’m fond of is the duels where you need to keep your target positioned and not moving on an enemy to build focus and speed while you move Silas’ hand to a better position over his gun so that he grabs it faster. When the enemy goes for his gun you have to do the same and hope that your timing and positioning is right so that Silas’ can pull and fire before your opponent. The good thing is that if you don’t mind the XP loss you can fire early resulting in a dishonorable kill but letting you get back to the normal game which is fun.

Conclusion:

While the shooting mechanics are standard they are brought to life with Silas’ abilities, the rush from the overpowering odds and the level design that takes you through various parts of the old west like the city shootouts, the stage coach shootouts and the shootouts while you are stuck on a cliff, if we listened to Gunslinger the wild west only had shootouts and nothing else ever happened. This accompanied by Silas’ story makes for a well done and fun game that makes you curious what will come out of Silas’ alcohol infused mind next

Final Score: 8/10

While not a genre defining game Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is definitely fun and that is all I really want from a game. Since it launched at $20 I don’t see any reason not to buy it today.