Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
| Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood | |||
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| Studio |
 Techland
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| Publisher |
 Ubisoft
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
 June 30, 2009 July 2, 2009 July 3, 2009  |
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| platform | Microsoft Windows , Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 | ||
| genre | Ego shooter | ||
| Subject | Western , wild west | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Keyboard , mouse , gamepad | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
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| medium | DVD-ROM , Blu-ray , download | ||
| language | English , Polish , German | ||
| Age rating |
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| information | German version, uncut. | ||
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood ( CoJ for short : BiB ) is a video game from the Polish development studio Techland and was launched by Ubisoft . The first person shooter with a western scenario is the successor to the 2006 Call of Juarez , but tells the story of the first part. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood was first released for Windows , PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on June 30, 2009. A sequel appeared in the summer of 2011 and is called Call of Juarez: The Cartel , but unlike its two predecessors, it is set in the present. This was followed in May 2013 with Call of Juarez: Gunslinger , who is back in the Wild West , the last offshoot of the series so far.
action
At the beginning of the game you find yourself in the American Civil War on the side of the CSA ( Confederate States Army ), the army of the southern states. Since the brothers Thomas and Ray McCall desert to save their farm and help their family, the Confederation of the Southern States is on their side too.
When Thomas and Ray return to their farm, it has already been taken by the US Army . After Thomas and Ray shoot everything down, they find their dead mother and younger brother William again. Ray promises his brothers that they will rebuild the now completely destroyed villa as soon as the war is over. Shortly after the three of them flee to Fort Smith , Arkansas , their Colonel Barnsby arrives at the mansion and vows that he will hang the deserted brothers.
“ Atlanta burned because of men like this . […] Regardless of whether tomorrow or five years from now, it is certain that they will hang. "
The story continues a year later. William is entering a saloon where he finds his two brothers fighting. The reason for the brawl is that Thomas took the sheriff's daughter from his brother Ray . Immediately afterwards, the sheriff challenges one of the two McCalls to a duel. When McCall wins the duel, all the gunmen in the village shoot the three brothers, who just manage to escape to Mexico by stagecoach . At the same time they want to find the mystical Aztec treasure in Mexico because they need the gold to renovate their house. After the three fled, Ray warns Thomas that he will finish him off if he steals another woman from him.
While drinking tequila in a Mexican saloon , the Mexican beauty Marisa enters the bar and immediately attracts Ray's attention, but she is molested by two other men and ultimately abducted, leading the McCalls to free her. Ray was able to shoot one of the two in the saloon, which means that a whole gang of bandits is making life difficult for him. Later, when they rescue Marisa from the clutches of the bandits, the three brothers learn that she is the wife of Juan "Juarez" Mendoza, one of the most wanted criminals in all of Mexico. In gratitude, he invites the brothers to dinner. After dinner, Juan Mendoza offers them a plan to find the treasure and promises to share it with the brothers. In addition, Ray and Thomas agree to kill a man named Devlin, since he causes problems for Juarez by blowing up a lot of land in search of the same treasure.
Meanwhile, an Apache tribe discusses starting a war with the whites. Running River (the Apache chief ) asks his son, Seeing Farther, to procure 300 rifles for the tribe. Seeing Farther hesitates, but agrees. Meanwhile, the McCalls to Juarez return, which applies them to meet with an arms dealer, as the Apaches him a medallion promise that leads to the treasure. They only get this if Juarez delivers the 300 shotguns. Before the McCalls ride into town and storm the prison where the boy is supposed to be, Thomas talks to Marisa about Ray, who assures him that she only loves Thomas, but not Ray. Once in town, they free the gun man from prison. Shortly afterwards they flee to Juarez with the 300 rifles and the slide. Once there (the McCalls are elsewhere in the meantime), Juarez and the rogue negotiate, who turns out to be Colonel Barnsby.
It wasn't long before Barnsby showed himself to the brothers. They were supposed to meet with Juarez, but Barnsby and a few of his people are hiding where the brothers believe Juarez is waiting. The Colonel leaves all three tied up and forces William McCall to tell him the truth. When the three brothers are left alone for a short time, William manages to free himself from the chains and also helps Thomas and Ray to get rid of the chains. The three of them escape from the mine and meet Juarez and his wife Marisa in the Comanche Territory. Since the Comanches already have rifles, they shoot the brothers and Juarez, who therefore flee to the Apache territory. The Apaches, however, greet them with bows and arrows , as none of the 300 rifles can fire because everything was rusty and old wrecks from the war. Since Seeing Farther was very good friends with William McCall, his father Running River gave no order to shoot. The McCalls and Marisa are taken to the Apache village, where Seeing Farther decides to help the brothers to find the medallion. So he and the three brothers go to Navaho Territory, where the medallion was sunk in a lake a long time ago.
When they return, Seeing Farther devises a plan to get Marisa and William out of the Indian village. He also tells William the secret of how the locket is used. Shortly thereafter, Barnsby and his army attack the Indian village and of the tribe members only Running River and Seeing Farther remain alive. Seeing Farther, William and Marisa are taken hostage, and would only be released if Barnsby were given the locket. So Ray and Thomas go to a ghost town to free them. The two brothers defeat Barnsbys men, but when they storm the saloon in which Seeing Farther is being held, he is critically wounded. The chief's son, who is already dying, tells them that William and Marisa are still alive, but that they are in Juarez's hands. He also confesses to his father that he betrayed the tribe by giving the McCall brothers the medallion. The Apache chief threatens the tied Barnsby with a knife, but instead of killing him, he cuts his bonds and frees him. At the same time, Running River announces that it does not want to wage war any more.
William is asked by Juarez about the use of the locket, and instead of answering, he just says: "My faith is my shield." Juarez saw Marisa previously slipping William a revolver. In order to prove to him that even a staunch pacifist like him can kill a person, he orders one of his men to kill William. In self-defense, William draws his gun and shoots the attacker. Juarez then orders his men to kill William. Marisa asks Juarez to keep William alive by telling him that she will have a baby from Juarez. But Juarez doesn't believe you. At the same time, Thomas and Ray infiltrate Juarez's fort. Ray is supposed to free William and Thomas is supposed to find horses to escape and free Marisa. When Thomas frees Marisa, she tells him in false belief that William was killed and persuades him to abandon Ray and find the treasure with her because she also knows how to use the locket. Meanwhile, Ray saves his brother William from Juarez's men at the last second. The two can only escape through a channel in the underground, where they are intercepted by Juarez. Ray shoots him (apparently) in a duel.
The next scene shows Ray and William entering a large, centuries-old cave in which the treasure is hidden. Once there, they meet Thomas and Marisa. Ray wants revenge on his brother - he has taken Marisa from him. Both brothers face each other in a Mexican standoff when William stands between the two and forbids Ray to shoot Thomas. When William doesn't give up, Ray threatens him with a gun. William leads Ray to believe that he still has a revolver pocket and will use it. Ray pulls the trigger reflexively when William reaches into his jacket pocket. But the moment William falls, it turns out that he only wanted to reach for his Bible, which is now flying out of his hand. As he sags, the other two brothers suddenly see that Barnsby has shown up. At the same moment, a trap is set off, spilling the treasure with sand and forcing the brothers to go to an upper floor while Barnsbys men shoot them. When Barnsbys men are dead and he has Marisa hostage with him, Barnsby challenges one of the brothers to a duel in which the former colonel dies. The McCalls and Marisa decide to leave the treasure behind as it is cursed.
Through William's sacrifice, Ray turns to religion and wants - like his late brother - to become a priest because he understands what William was telling him. A few years later he also trusted Thomas and Marisa. In the final scene you can see that the McCall villa in Georgia is being rebuilt.
main characters
- Ray McCall: The oldest of the McCall brothers. Unlike Thomas, Ray can carry two revolvers at the same time, carry a detached Gatling , throw dynamite and kick doors.
- Thomas McCall: Thomas is the second oldest of the brothers. He can only carry a revolver, but he can handle a rifle or a shotgun all the better , and he can also shoot a bow and arrow and throw a knife. Thomas can also use the lasso to reach places that are inaccessible to Ray.
- William McCall: He's the youngest McCall you meet in the game. He dropped out of the seminary two years before events started to help his parents with the farm. William accompanies his brothers almost everywhere.
- Juan "Juarezô" Mendoza: Juarez is the most wanted bandit in all of Mexico. Most of the time he is an ally of the McCalls, only towards the end does he want to kill them. He is one of the few who knows that treasure exists and how to find it.
- Colonel Barnsby: He's Thomas and Ray's Colonel during the Civil War . Ever since Ray and Thomas deserted, he vows to let them down. He too wants to get the mysterious treasure into his possession, as his goal is to set up a Confederate army again to go to war again.
Gameplay
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood uses many Western clichés: gunslingers, duels, prison breakouts, bandits, bank robbers and Indian battles are the main components of Bound in Blood.
Character choice
Before almost every chapter you can choose whether you want to play with Thomas or Ray. In very few missions, only one of the two characters is available.
Open world
In two open-world scenarios you can accept optional assignments (seek out bandits, protect people, etc.), with which you can earn additional money . In the scenarios you can also find an arms dealer who can equip the player with ammunition or improved weapons. To return to the regular game, you have to talk to your other brother. There are also several smaller scenarios, for example an Indian attack on hermits, it is up to the player to take sides for the attacked and to help them. However, there is no reward, except for money, weapons and ammunition that the attackers may have dropped, which can be picked up.
Concentration mode
Thomas and Ray McCall each have a special ability called "Concentration Mode". The concentration mode is charged by shooting at opponents. If you have a full concentration level, you have to activate the mode within 60 seconds, otherwise it will be lost. If you use your concentration mode, the game runs in slow motion.
Thomas' concentration mode
Thomas' special ability works as follows: Up to six opponents are selected automatically, the player only has to pull back the gun.
Ray's concentration mode
If you activate the concentration mode with Ray, you have a short time to select twelve targets (also lamps or TNT barrels). If the time runs out or if the concentration mode is canceled, the targets are automatically aimed at and shot one after the other.
Co-op focus mode
When Thomas and Ray storm a building, they stand to the left and right of the door. As soon as Ray kicks in the door, you (also as Thomas) have two revolvers in your hand, with which you can kill the opponents behind the door in slow motion mode within a limited time.
Secrets
Up to five secrets are hidden in each level, which can be viewed in the game menu. A secret is either an original recording of a picture taken during the Civil War, or a dialogue by the McCall brothers. Secrets come in the form of scrolls, most of which are in a chest or box.
Duels
Duels are an integral part of Bound in Blood . They are usually played against the main opponent of the respective mission.
In a duel you face your rival and can move your own character sideways. As soon as the bell strikes, you have to steer your hand to the revolver as quickly as possible. When the gun is drawn, the game goes into slow motion and you have to aim and shoot the enemy.
weapons
The weapons in the game are virtual replicas of real weapons from the 19th century. The player can choose between different types of pistols, rifles and heavy weapons ( gatling ). Cannons are also available during the game. In addition to the various handguns, the player can also use bows and knives.
The weapons are in varying condition (rusty, normal, good, very good), which affects the parameters of penetration , accuracy and reloading .
Weapon list
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- heavy weapons
- Pistols
- Volcano (Volcano pistol, see Henry rifle )
- Ranger ( Remington New Model Army )
- Fast charger ( Smith & Wesson Model No 3 Schofield )
- Hybrid pistol ( LeMat Percussion Revolver )
- Deringer
- old Colt ( Colt Single Action Army )
- Six-runner
- Throwing knife
- bow and arrow
- dynamite
Multiplayer
The multiplayer mode of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood offers different game modes on several multiplayer maps. Up to thirteen different player classes are available here, all of which have different strengths, weaknesses and weapons. However, only five of these can be freely selected from the start. The remaining characters can be unlocked with the money acquired in ranked games.
The game includes the following variants:
- Shootout is structured like an ordinary deathmatch . However, it is not the number of kills / frags that decides here, but the amount of the bounty that is exposed to a player. This increases per kill, whereby the kill of a player who is exposed to a higher bounty has more weight.
- A variant similar to Team Deathmatch is the gang . Here the law enforcement officers play against the outlaws .
- In Wanted! a player is chosen at random at the beginning, who is then the wanted one . The aim of the remaining players is now to kill the wanted one. The person who succeeds in this becomes the wanted person himself.
- Also in the hunt for criminals a wanted person is chosen at random at the beginning of the round. However, two teams play against each other and receive a point if the wanted person survives for 60 seconds. If he dies or if he survives the time limit, the player on the opposing team becomes the wanted player who has the highest bounty.
- In the historical events mode , a scenario is played that is based on a true incident. The goal of a team is to complete several assignments (mostly entering buildings). The opposing team must prevent this for a specified period of time.
Web links
- Official Ubisoft website
- Techland website on Bound in Blood (English and Polish)