Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Comments by Oli Welsh

I am scared to click that link... (at work)

it's not very safe

If you enjoyed the first one you'll enjoy this - though maybe not quite as much (just a slightly less) - graphically I've thought it was superb - excellent textures, good settings, but lipsyncing sucks. Speech is top marks again - though I can't comment on the multiplayer side as much as when I've been trying to play it no one was on and only 30 on the leaderboards.

@ Oli

360 version? Loved the first one (even the Billy bits - my God that sounds dirty...) and this sounds pretty cool. Not every game needs to draw you in and amaze you with all elements - sometimes, a decent, solid effort with good graphics is all you need, like Black, for example.

Does it have annoying stealth bits?

If not, I'll give it a go

7 must have a whole sub-score point range - 7 1/2, 7+, 7 ^3. It's probably only visible for people getting +7.

This review makes me think I should finally get its predecessor. I remember enjoying the demo and I always have the urge to play series from the start. I still have RE4 lying around, because I haven't played Code Veronica yet.

@Brooze - one stealth bit which you don't have to use stealth in if you don't want to.

Im enjoying the first one in preparation for Bound in Blood. I played the PC demo way back before it came out. I dont know why I never picked up the 360 version before.

Gerogia?

Hohum, it does sound a little more mundane than I had hoped for.

PC version pre-ordered, thank you very much :)

Think i will pick this up MP sounds decent. Am a bit of a sucker for a Wild West story anyway. Seem to remember a Lucas Arts title on the PC eons ago, Outlaws I think?

Beastmaster... What the fuck? It deserves a 7 because you haven't played it and didn't know it was out!? Jesus Christ, some of you 11 year olds need less gaming and more schooling.

Look forward to getting it...1st was great....you know why Ray's going to turn to the bible though, as opposed to the 1st which had a brilliant ending...and prologue...still, look forward to Friday

It sounds as a good game, so a 7 seems nice. Maybe I'll pick this one up. I love western environments and the whole atmosphere at it.

@ schachmatt, it's a prequel:).

On spec, I think I'll give this one a miss, if only because the last one's "unique" blend of religion and violence made me so sick that I deleted the demo. I mean, if I want to play "Fred Phelps: The Video Game" I need psychological help... not a game to encourage me.

"Shooting The Men Who Are Quite Far Away And Difficult To See."

Gah! Pixel clicking!!! Can work on a PC or with a mouse, but sucks several sorts of b*lls on a thumbstick if you have to do it quickly. Would be much better up close and personal quick draw combat - particularly as a six shooter couldn't hit a barn door beyond a couple of dozen yards.

I'm wondering if this might be an 8/10 on the PC since hitting miniscule targets fast is a bit easier with a keyboard and mouse?

I can't get along little dawgie, I can't even get one that's small ;)

reads more like an 8. It sounds great. Another dead space perhaps?

i got the impression that the review paints it as a rather dull game, shooting people hard to see in the distance doesnt sound like my idea of fun.

Got my copy and looking forward to playing it. :)

I'm playing this now, and I quite like it. 7 is probably the right score. It won't blow your socks off, but its definitely worth a look and can be very atmospheric at times.

hmmm...it looks like I got nicely panned for my "lazy" comment...

I guess I'll just have to accept that 7/10 is the score that most games will get nowadays and rent them from that well known chain of video rental shops.

Dead Space got a 7 and I almost didn't buy it, which was a mistake because when I bit the bullet I found that I really really liked it...IMO one hell of a sleeper hit.

Alone in the Dark got a 7 and I did buy it. Junk.

Therein lies my frustration.

I'm really enjoying this game at the moment. I'm only on the third act, but as the review states it's a great old school shooter with some great touches. In places it's among the best looking FPS' of the current generation, and it's great to see a non Unreal 3 engined game standing tall against the best of 'em. The 'high noon' one on one duels are particularly well done, and stunning to look at.

This one plays much more like Call of Duty than the original, but that's not a criticism. For my money it's a much more 'even' experience than the first and one that I'm thoroughly enjoying.

If you like FPS games, and fancy break from the generic sci-fi / world-war 2 theme then this is well worth a look.

I found the first game a bit scrappy and rough when I tried the demo plus it ran like a dog on my old PC. 360 version was even worse IMO. Got the sequel ordered for the PC though as it looks more interesting and polished plus the mouse and keyboard will probably make it easier to play than the console versions. :)

@laudy - Alone in the Dark should never have got a 7 IMO. It was a terrible game on the PC and 360, mainly because it was ruined by poor controls, awful driving bits and other stupid design decisions like having to kill enemies with fire, etc. Even the improved PS3 version was still undeserving of a 7. 6/10 maybe.

How on earth EG thought such a broken game was a worth a 7 I do not know. Must check to see who reviewed the game and put them on my "approach with caution" list!

"Therein lies my frustration."

@ laudy

Your frustration seems to be that you're buying games based on what the tiny number at the bottom says, and not what the previous two pages have told you about it.

My advice would be to, yes, rent before buying, and also canvas more than just Eurogamer when laying down money for something.

@ laudy

I hear you. But you don't go to EG for the actual numeric value of the reviews, you come here for the bad puns and many attempts at whittery (for better and for worse). Video reviews are so very much more informative. Try looking up gametrailers or classic gameroom HD for some footage on your game, that will probably give you more info to your liking about the well.. actual game.

@Harmonica

I wanted to +1 you, but pressed -1 accidentally.

:-/

/sausage fingers

edit: Oh wait, I can still change that. Nevermind, carry on. :)

All is well in the world :)

I am a complete Westerns nerd, erm, as the name suggests, so I am pretty dead set on getting this, mainly because I have been burnt before on horrible games in the same genre (Gun, anyone?) but this looks like a peach. Frankly the review had me at 'authentic' and 'gunslinging'.

For those who have already played it: might Western fans add +1 to the score?

+1 for the mention of video reviews. GameTrailers are especially good for those. It's great to watch the game and listen to a commentary. They're also good for highlighting flaws and bugs in the game's too, something that you don't quite get a sense of from reading a written review. I wish EG would do video reviews, almost all the decent sites do them these days.

I prefer written reviews. Looks and bugs arent as important to me anyway. I feel i get more info from written reviews regarding the stuff that really matter.

Thanks for the comments, gents

@ Harmonica

I read the reviews of both games in full before making the decisions I made. For me Dead space is more like 8 and alone in the dark more like 6. A generic 7 doesn't help to make informed decisions, which, after all, is what a review is all about no? You are quite correct about canvassing opinion though. I actually bought dead space after reading the review on gamespot...never looked back.

@ Darren

I cannot disagree with your assessment of alone in the dark. worse on the 360 you say? Good grief.

@ notmyrealname

That's fair enough, but I would be pretty put out as a reviewer on this site if folk didn't come on here to take their reviews seriously...depends how much they're getting paid I guess ;-)

@ muscleblade

I gave you a +1 because i prefer written reviews as well, you are supposed to get more from a written review. hands up, who on here prefers a book they've read to the big screen attempt of the same piece of work?

I prefer written reviews as well. They mostly cover more than a video review and you get a better idea how the reviewer looks/thinks about the game.

@Milky1985, "..wonder if i can get alist of all eurogamer scores to see just how many 7's have been shelled out!"

I dunno. Where would you be able to find such a list?

Oh wait, I know. You could click on the fucking Reviews link on the left hand side of the page.

Yup, that'd do it.

I prefer written reviews. Looks and bugs arent as important to me anyway. I feel i get more info from written reviews regarding the stuff that really matter

Same here, in general, but Gametrailers in particular - while the reviews as such aren't anything spectacular - are damn good at picking out flaws and quickly demonstrating them with a few accompanying gameplay scenes. I find that very helpful if I want to know if a flaw I just see mentioned elsewhere would really annoy me.

Written reviews are fine for detailed info but quite often I find reviewers don't mention things like tearing which can ruin a game for me so that's why I like video reviews. For example, in this review there's no mention of it at all, instead it's reserved for a screenshot caption where it's described as "terrible" and very easily overlooked IMO. They also show how smoothly (or not) said game runs, all useful things which you cannot envisage accurately from a written review. After all a reviewer's definition of a "smooth framerate" is a very subjective thing.

You also get to hear some of the voice-acting, music and sound effects too in video reviews, handy as audio is often overlooked in EG reviews unless it's noticeably bad. I think GameTrailers video reviews are the best out there for showing me what the game's like in the absence of a playable demo.

Of course playing a demo is the best way to experience a slice of the game but not every game has one, e.g. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood! A video review is, thus, the next best thing in my eyes.

"I think GameTrailers video reviews are the best out there for showing me what the game's like in the absence of a playable demo. "

Fine then you can go to Gametrailers for the video reviews no need for Eurogamer to do the same. Im not a huge fan of demos either btw. I usually just try the demos of games i know im going to buy anyway. The Too Human demo did put me off that game to be fair, but so did the reviews. The RE5 demo almost put me off that game too, but its my favourite game so far this year by far.

''who on here prefers a book they've read to the big screen attempt of the same piece of work? ''

Ehm.. in that case you are comparing the articles here to mostly literature pieces that are not rarely regarded as classical.. that's ... I dunno, that's WRONG

hahahaha:P No seriously I check this site more often too than I do video review sites. But I always view them (the vids) when I am having doubts on a possible purchase. And why not, it's all free

/scoots off to park

Glad they didnt release a singleplayer demo for Bionic Commando. I didnt like the game all that much in the start. But after learning the controls and how to play the game well i loved it. My playthrough on the hardest difficulty is something i will remember for a long time. Hugely enjoyable.

Another mediocre on-the-rails FPS with poor graphics and boring gameplay. Character models and their animations look especially dated and awful. Feels like playing an old 2004 game...

meredix, you've downloaded wrong game.

meh!

Don't care what reviewers say.All i care is that it has a brilliant multiplayer.

Speaking from experience.. or?

The multiplayer does sound good, reminds me of RTCW.