Call of Juarez: A Good Western Experience

The early 2000s were a good time for videogames, with games like Hitman and Splinter Cell changing the landscape of the medium. One series that really took off was, of course, the Call of Duty series. The third entry in the CoD series was quite successful, but it wasn't as successful as the other, similar titles that were on the market at the time.

There were many first-person shooters on the market, the Call of Duty and Battlefield series' were dominating the market. One game that came - sort of out of nowhere - was Call of Juarez.

So, what was Call of Juarez? Was it any good? Is it worth playing today? Well, that's what we're going to cover today.

Let's look at Call of Juarez.

Developing a Western

Polish Developer, Techland, announced the game as Lawman at the E3 conference in 2004. Initially, the game was meant to be an arcade-like shooter, but the name was later changed to Call of Juarez in 2005 and the focus shifted from an arcade shooter to a more story-driven experience.

Now, the selection of the western genre is very interesting because it's not a genre that you see a lot of in gaming. Of course, that was kind of the point. At the time that Call of Juarez was being developed, the market was packed with WWII and sci-fi games and the devs wanted to throw in a wild card of sorts. They drew on a variety of western films including:

• The Searchers
• Pale Rider
• Unforgiven

The team also did a TON of research, making sure that the clothing, architecture and plants and animals were all accurate to the setting. The firearms reacted exactly as they would've back in the day (which I've got a few thoughts on, but we'll get to that).

Call of Juarez had a few different publishers. Ubisoft took care of the North American release with Focus Home Interactive and Auran Development handling the European and Australian releases respectively. The game was released on PC in 2006/07 with an Xbox 360 release in 2007.

It received a mixed response with the levels featuring Ray being praised and Billy Candle's levels being deemed lackluster. Some of the mechanics, most notably the whip and the platforming, were also criticized as fiddly.

The Story

So, you boot up the game and, after the usual dev screens, the opening narration and cinematic begins. The narrator explains that the story of the gold of Juarez has been told since the time of Cortes (spelled Cortez in the game). The treasure was originally taken by Spanish explorers from an Aztec city - Tenochtitlan - as a ransom for the king, but the Aztec Sun God put a curse on the gold in retaliation.

The treasure was lost near the town of Juarez in Mexico, and those who go searching for it tend to go mad. This madness has since been named the Call of Juarez.

Our story begins in earnest with young Billy Candle returning to the town of Hope, Texas after a fruitless two-year search for the gold of Juarez. Following a few misadventures in town, he finds that his parents have been murdered and goes on the run.

The story then switches to Billy's uncle Ray McCall a former gunfighter who is now the local preacher. When word comes in of gunfire on his brother's ranch, he goes to investigate and finds Billy at the scene of his parents' murders with the words "Call of Juarez" written on the barn door in blood. Ray returns to the church and dons the mantle of a gunfighter once more to hunt his brother's killer - apparently his nephew.

Where does Call of Juarez Shine?

So, where does Call of Juarez shine? What does it do well?

Well, for starters, the music is great. It fits the wild west aesthetic really well. Having played the guitar myself for years - though, I haven't played in a while, I loved the different tunes and how it changes depending on the situations.

The graphics might look a bit dated now, but I liked them, and additionally:

• The voice work is pretty good.
• The story is good, and fairly well-balanced.

Where Does Call of Juarez Stumble?

• Compared to some of the other shooters I've discussed here on Vocal, the gunplay isn't as satisfying. It's good, and the guns sound really good, but they don't have the weight of the guns from games like Medal of Honor and Call of Duty.
• The movement controls are a bit...awkward.

Final Verdict

My final verdict is...not perfect, but not terrible. It's worth playing even if it's just for the experience. It's a fun ride.