Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a Western themed first-person shooter video game set in the years of 1864-1866. Developed by Techland and published by Ubisoft, it is a prequel to Call of Juarez. The game was released in North America on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 30, 2009; followed by the Australian, European and Japanese releases, July 2nd, July 3rd and July 23rd (respectively). Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood features Ray McCall as the protagonist and Thomas McCall as deuteragonist. See the review here.

Gameplay
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood uses Techland's Chrome Engine 4. There are four difficulties, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard, the last being unlocked after the game is completed. According to its creators, it was aimed to make the player's experience as the "best West ever created". The game derives from the spaghetti-western genre. In most chapters the player can select whether to play as either Ray McCall, or his brother Thomas. Ray is more durable and stronger in close quarters combat, can dual wield revolvers, carry a gatling gun and use dynamite. While Thomas is less durable, he is deadlier at long range with a rifle, can use the bow and use the lasso to reach higher places. Sometimes either brother has a different effect on a mission, where the player will run into split paths for each brother, or certain key points where one brother needs to do a certain thing while the other does something different. For example, Thomas might need to cover Ray while the latter plants dynamite on something.

One of the most notable changes from Call of Juarez is the addition of ironsights for rifles, a single revolver or shotguns. Bound in Blood features regenerating health, as opposed to Call of Juarez's traditional health system. Many models from the previous game such as signs, objects, horses, vegetation, and weapons were recycled, as were several sound effects were also reused. It is impossible to harm civilians, as any attacks will not faze them. In Chapters VI and VIII there is free roam, in which the player can take bounties as a hired gun. Out in the wilderness in these chapters the player can find ruined buildings, farms, camps and bandits that can be occupying these. The player may also come across bandits attacking travelers, and it is up to the player's discretion whether or not to intervene.

Both these chapters feature shops, that will sell ammunition and weapons in normal, Prime and Superb condition. Other shops can found in other chapters, usually appearing as traveling merchants. Throughout the chapters there are secrets, found in chests that will unlock artwork or memories that can be viewed from the menu. Chests may also contain money, dynamite or ammo. Most often at some point during a chapter, the player will have a showdown with an enemy, often the leader of the chapter's opponents. During the duel the player's opponent will sidestep, the player must match his movements in the opposite direction in order to keep their enemy in focus, while keeping Ray/Thomas's hand hovering over his gun and waiting for the bell to sound before he draws.

While their hand must be kept near the gun for a successful duel, if moved too close, too fast, the character will suddenly close his hand then wave his index finger towards the screen as if he was saying "No, no", this will also reset the distance between his hand and the gun. As soon as the bell rings, the player has a very short period of time to pull the analog stick/mouse in towards the gun, then take the shot when the cross hair lines up with the enemy's body. If the first shot is missed or drawn late the opponent will shoot the Ray/Thomas and the duel will have to be tried again. As the player progresses in the game duels get harder, opponents will circle more and in different directions to throw the player's shot, and draw faster.

Multiplayer
Multiplayer consists of 2-12 players in a single match. There are thirteen classes (Six of which are available at the start) and eight maps. Weapons are in regular condition at the start of every match for every player except the host, who is granted Prime weapons. Using cash obtained from killing other players and taking their bounties, a player's weapons can be upgraded to Prime and either more health or more speed can be purchased (for a specific class) for a price, but this effect will only last until the end of the match. The cash earned during a match is added to the player's profile cash, which is separate and is used to unlock the remaining seven classes. There are five game modes:

Manhunt - The objective is to protect or hunt the wanted man. There are two opposing forces, Outlaws (Red Team) and Lawmen (Blue Team). A random individual on either team is selected at the beginning of the match as the wanted man. The team with the wanted man defends their comrade while the opposing team tries to eliminate them. Before the attacking team is alerted who the wanted man is, the defending team is granted a small window of time to prepare their defenses. When they are killed by a member of the other team, that team's member with the highest bounty will become wanted, and so on. If the player who is supposed to be the wanted man is dead during the swap, then the player who has the second highest bounty on the team becomes the wanted man. If the hunters do not kill the wanted man when time runs out, the other team gains points. The team with the highest score at the end of the time limit wins the match.

Posse - Players work together as the Red Team or the Blue Team to kill the most members of the opposing team before the time limit runs out. Getting more than one kill in a row gives more points to the players' teams' total score.

Shootout - A traditional deathmatch mode, where it is every man for himself. The player with the most kills at the end of the clock wins the match.

Wanted - A different version of Manhunt where the wanted man faces all other players alone. Hunters cannot harm each other, only the wanted man. When a new wanted is selected, that person gains invincibility for a few seconds in order to give them time to reach cover.

Wild West Legends - The two teams alternate in attacking and defending various objectives, and recreating famous events which happened in the historical Old West. In a match, there are two rounds. During a round, the Outlaws must reach a certain object in the map and set dynamite on it (some objectives include things like blasting doors, or using horses). The Lawmen must prevent the enemies from blowing up the objective. When the dynamite is set, the fuse lasts for a certain number of seconds before the detonation, and the Lawmen have a chance of defusing the dynamite during this time. If it blows up, then the the players have to move on to the next objective. There is a certain number of objectives which Outlaws have to complete. When they complete all of them, they win the round. However if time runs out, the Lawmen win. After the first round, the roles are reversed, the original Lawmen become Outlaws, and vice versa. At the end of the second round, the team which won both rounds wins the match. If both teams have won a round, then the team that took the shortest time to win as Outlaws wins the match.

Classes

 * Duelist
 * Gunslinger
 * Gunsmith
 * Hombre
 * Miner
 * Native
 * Officer
 * Rifleman
 * Scout
 * Sniper
 * Spy
 * Trapper
 * Veteran

Maps

 * Burnside's Bridge
 * Coffeyville
 * Frisco
 * Magnificent
 * Nogales
 * Stinking Springs
 * Taos Pueblo
 * Tombstone

Chapters

 * Act I: We Are Family
 * Chapter I
 * Chapter II
 * Chapter III
 * Act II: She Looked Like An Angel
 * Chapter IV
 * Chapter V
 * Chapter VI
 * Act III: I Don't Know Who You Two Are Anymore
 * Chapter VII
 * Chapter VIII
 * Chapter IX
 * Act IV: Deeper Into A Wilderness
 * Chapter X
 * Chapter XI
 * Chapter XII
 * Chapter XIII
 * Act V: My Faith Is My Shield
 * Chapter XIV
 * Chapter XV

Characters

 * Ray McCall - The oldest of the McCall brothers, Ray becomes infatuated with both Marisa and the Lost Gold of Juarez.


 * Thomas McCall - The middle brother of the three McCalls. He falls in love with Marisa and also lusts after the treasure, creating tension between he and Ray.


 * William McCall - A preacher and the youngest of the brothers. He attempts to dissuade his brothers from following a dark path.


 * Juan "Juarez" Mendoza - Juan Mendoza, nicknamed Juarez after the town he was from, a powerful Mexican warlord. He becomes the McCall's partner in trying to locate the Gold of Juarez.


 * Colonel Barnsby - The main antagonist and former commanding officer of Ray and Thomas during the War Between the States. Barnsby made a promise that he would hunt down and kill every deserter from his unit in the war, holding those men responsible for the loss of Atlanta and the death of his family. Refusing to accept defeat, he has gathered an army of Southern soldiers who were not yet ready to admit defeat.
 * Marisa - Juarez's manipulative mistress and love interest of both McCall brothers, she hates Juarez and wants him dead.


 * Sergeant O'Donnell - A former Confederate Sergeant and Colonel Barnsby's second after the war, as he chooses to accompany Barnsby on his mad quest.
 * Running River - An Apache Chief who wishes to start a war and sends his son to acquire weapons from the Mexican people, in exchange for the medallion, which is the key to finding the Gold of Juarez.
 * Seeing Farther - Son of the Apache chief Running River. He is sent by his father to get hundreds of rifles in exchange for the medallion, in order to start a war against the white man.
 * Devlin - A wealthy man from Ireland who uses his considerable wealth to search for the Gold of Juarez via mining.
 * The Rattler - Devlin's second in command, an outlaw that has come to be known as the Rattler because of his quick draw.
 * Marshal Mike - A U.S. Marshal in Fort Smith, Arkansas. His daughter Betsy fooled around with Thomas McCall, and enraged he confronts the McCall brothers with violent intent.
 * Devlin's Bodyguard - An Irishman serving as Devlin's personal bodyguard.
 * Unidentified Pinkerton Agent - A Pinkerton agent sent to apprehend Juarez's gunrunner.
 * Unidentified Boss - An outlaw who robbed wealthy Mexican Borubaro Peirero.
 * Unidentified Mexican - One of Juarez's men. He finds conflict with Thomas McCall and challenges him to a duel.
 * Randy Snipes - A wealthy rancher with many hired guns at his side, he has attempted to seize Freeman's land in the past, but on his next attemp he has not counted on Freeman's own hired gun.
 * Julian Ramos - A notorious criminal with a bounty on his head. A McCall comes to collect it.
 * Jim Peters - A gentlemanly outlaw with a sizeable bounty. A McCall comes to collect it.
 * Florez - Leader of a band of criminals that stole cattle from the Mexican government.
 * Lieutenant Fox - One of Ray McCall's commanding officers during the war.
 * Mr. Freeman - A rancher that has earned the ire of Randy Snipes, who has continously tried to obtain his ranch.
 * Pitt Jackson - The McCalls' neighbor, Union soldiers try to burn him alive in his home.
 * Minor Characters - A list of other, more minor characters in the game can be found under "Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood" heading.

Weapons

 * Cannon
 * Chair


 * Classic Gun


 * Classic Rifle
 * Classic Scoped


 * Dynamite


 * Gatling Gun
 * Heavy Rifle
 * Heavy Scoped


 * Hybrid Gun


 * Ladies Gun
 * Lasso
 * Oil Lamp


 * Peppergun


 * Quickshooter


 * Ranger


 * Sawed-Off Shotgun


 * Shotgun


 * Throwing Knives


 * Volcano Gun

Secrets
For a full list of secrets, see the Secrets article.

Achievements/Trophies
For a full list of achievements, see the Achievements/Trophies article.

Comic
A four page comic was released that takes place between Chapters II and IV, it can be found in the Comics article.

Trivia

 * Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is the only game in the series in which the player can choose between chapters who to play as.


 * This is the only game in the series to have the player fight in a war.


 * Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is also the first game to use Cooperative Concentration Mode/Team Entry.


 * The only game in the series where the player cannot use melee.
 * CoJModding.com is an official modding site for the game. Players and modders are able to download tools and add-ons needed to make new multiplayer or singleplayer maps. There are over 300 files currently available.