The McCall brothers return for gold and revenge in Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood.

The original Call of Juarez didn’t have a beefy multiplayer component, but the solo experience was engaging, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood follows suit accordingly.

Background:

Bound in Blood is a first-person shooter and the prequel to the original Call of Juarez, which was released for Xbox 360 in 2007; both games were published by Ubisoft and developed by Techland. Bound in Blood was released on June 30, 2009, for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Bound in Blood is a vast improvement over the original, which I also enjoyed. Fans of the original will be happy to hear the terrible platforming sequences of the original are absent in this prequel.

Bound in Blood takes place in the 1860’s, a few years before the original Call of Juarez. The three main characters are brothers: Ray, Thomas and William McCall. However, Ray and Thomas are the only playable characters.

Bound in Blood expands upon the chutzpah of the original game. Unfortunately, the multiplayer portion, while improved, still lacks in depth.

Visuals:

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood runs on the Chrome Engine 4, the successor to the Chrome Engine 3 that the original Call of Juarez used. The Chrome Engine was developed by Techland.

This game is pretty ugly. Textures are muddy, and detail is lacking. Every building looks the same, and character models are repeated far too often. Techland had no business putting rain sequences in this game– ugh. With that being said, the visuals are a clear improvement over the original game, but that isn’t saying much.

One notable beauty in this title are the vistas: Some are downright gorgeous. Just don’t get too close.

Solo:

The solo campaign is gripping and loads of fun. Each mission gives you the choice to pick which character to play as: Ray or Thomas. Ray is proficient with revolvers and can take a beating, while Thomas is a sure-shot with his rifle and is much more agile. Each character has a special concentration mode in which time will slow down and picking off enemies is nearly automatic. These sound like the perfect ingredients for an awesome co-op experience, but Bound in Blood unfortunately lacks that option.

Bound in Blood will take you all over as you go from the battle of Antietam to Mexico. The game offers some cool set pieces like blowing up a bridge before Union troops can make it across, Mexican standoffs, and regular standoffs.

The main story features the McCall brothers searching for a hidden treasure in Juarez, Mexico, so they can rebuild their family farm in Georgia, which was destroyed by Union soldiers. This is a story about love, greed and family, and each character has a well-sculpted personality.

The worst part about the game is also one of the most ambitious: standoffs. Like boss fights, you will encounter standoff situations quite a few times throughout Bound in Blood. Awkward controls and annoying timing make what could have been the best part about the game a chore.

Techland tried to incorporate some RPG elements into the game, like side missions and weapon purchases. While purchasing weapons is a nice feature, there isn’t really a large selection to choose from. The side-missions seem like an afterthought, a nice feature that wasn’t flushed out well enough.

The main campaign took me about seven hours to beat, but the ability to choose between two playable characters is sure to lengthen replayability.

Multiplayer:

The multiplayer component in Bound in Blood is an improvement over the original, but it still fails to really shine. There are a few game modes to choose from, but with few players still playing Bound in Blood I could only find deathmatch games.

There are now 13 classes to choose from, each offering different weapon layouts and other various attributes.

Players will earn money by completing goals and earning kills. Money can be spent on upgrades.

The game only offers seven maps out of the box, and that’s just not good enough.

Finding a match may also prove difficult, as not very many people currently play Bound in Blood.

Round Up:

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a great prequel to the original game. Bound in Blood improves every aspect of the original, but it isn’t absent of flaws. Muddy visuals and a weak multiplayer component may put some players off, but the single-player campaign is tons of fun and a different experience than most first-person shooters.

Fans of the original will appreciate the improvements Bound in Blood offers, and it’s a perfect opportunity for new-comers to dive into this wild-west opera.

Trailer: