Call of Juarez
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| Call of Juarez | |
|---|---|
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| Developer(s) | Techland |
| Publisher(s) | Ubisoft Focus Home Interactive Ascaron |
| Engine | ChromeEngine Open Dynamics Engine (physics engine) |
| Version | 1.1.0.0 (November 28, 2006) |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Xbox 360 |
| Release date | Benelux & France: 7 September 2006 (PC) UK: 15 September 2006 (PC) US: 5 June 2007 (Xbox 360 and PC) |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: M (Mature) 17+ PEGI: 16+ |
| Media | DVD |
| System requirements | Windows 2000/XP, 2.2 GHz Pentium 4/Athlon 2400+, 512 MB RAM, GeForce 6600/Radeon 9800, DirectX 9 sound card, 700 MB HDD |
| Input methods | Keyboard, Mouse, Gamepad |
Call of Juarez is a Western-themed first-person shooter from the Polish developer Techland. First released for Windows in 2006, it was ported to the Xbox 360 on June 5, 2007.[1][2] The North America release of the PC version is one of the first games to utilize Microsoft's DirectX 10. It was released on June 12, 2007.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
Call of Juarez is loosely based on a number of Western movie hits from the last four decades, particularly the Spaghetti Westerns that became popular in the sixties and early seventies. The game features two different characters: Billy Candle, a young fugitive accused of murder and the Reverend Ray, an ex-outlaw who turned to religion, believing that God Himself has chosen him to be the instrument of His wrath. He often presents himself as "God's wrath" and "God's right hand".
Billy's character provides stealth and sniper elements to the game. With his whip he can latch onto objects to get into hard to reach locations. Later in the game, Billy acquires a bow, which can be used for ranged stealth kills.
Reverend Ray can enter Concentration Mode allowing him to hit multiple targets in a drawn-out second. Along with his other weapons, Ray wields his bible and spouts fire and brimstone scripture while he blasts the enemy with his trusty six shooters. The reverend also wears a cuirass that protects him from all bullets hitting his chest. Some of Reverend Ray's levels will end in a quick-draw gunfight between him and a main antagonist in the level.
Although violent enough, Ubisoft has eliminated corpse beating and will eject the player from the game for beating a corpse, an animal, or attacking an innocent person.
[edit] Story
[edit] Plot
The story follows the adventures of both characters, switching from one to the other from mission to mission.
In the opening, the narrator tells the legend of treasure of Aztecs, which was allegedly meant as ransom for Montezuma held hostage by conquistadors. The treasure was lost long ago and never found again. Nevertheless, many daring souls set out to retrieve the riches of Aztec Empire, but the treasure is rumored to be cursed and anyone looking for it will find nothing but death.
One of the protagonists begins the story with his memories of his past life. His name is simply Billy; since he has no idea who his father was, he has no real last name. His mother gave him a medallion in his early childhood which had a candle on it, so the other kids nicknamed him 'Billy Candle'. Due to his Mexican ancestry, he suffered racial prejudice from the local population. He especially hated his stepfather Thomas, who beat him every day. Billy soon had enough of it and left town to go after the rumored treasure of Aztecs, but after two years of fruitless searches he found nothing. So Candle finally returned to his hometown of Hope to see his mother. Unfortunately, he is greeted by the sight of his dead mother, lying underneath the words "Call of Juarez" written in blood. Whilst he is there, he is spotted by the other protagonist Reverend Ray (essentially Billy's antagonist at first as he works against him). On seeing Billy standing over his dead mother, the Reverend presumes that Billy is the murderer; a view which is encouraged by the fact that Billy runs from him in fear, rather than claiming his innocence. The Reverend decides that it is his duty as God's emissary to track down and kill Billy for the crime.
The story unfolds from the two different points of view, with Billy Candle attempting to clear his name whilst on the run, and the Reverend Ray in his pursuit, only slowing to take part in violent skirmishes and confrontations that block his path.
[edit] Characters
- Billy Candle: A young drifter of Mexican descent, and one of the story's two protagonists. Anti-social and flighty due to his upbringing and the constant prejudice he experiences from those around him, Billy has been on the run for most of his life. After returning home after searching for the legendary Gold of Juarez, he finds his mother and step-father dead and flees, giving his step-uncle the idea he was the one who killed them. Though he is on the run for most of the game, he eventually must face his enemies in order to protect those he cares about.
- Reverend Ray McCall: An old gunslinger turned preacher, and Billy's step-uncle. Mistakeningly believing that Billy is responsible for the murder of his brother and his wife (Billy's parents), Ray takes up his guns again to hunt down Billy in the name of justice. Though he is Billy's antagonist for much of the game, he eventually realizes the truth and assists Billy in his quest.
- Juarez: The main antagonist of the story. A powerful bandit leader, known only as "Juarez" after the town he is from. He is also Billy's biological father, and responsible for the deaths of Billy's mother and stepfather. Juarez is after the legendary lost treasure of Juarez, and is after Billy's amulet which holds the key to finding the treasure.
- Molly Ferguson: The daughter of a wealthy rancher, whom Billy fell in love with. Her father is killed by Juarez's men, and Juarez holds her captive in order to force Billy to locate the treasure of Juarez for him.
- Calm Water: An old Indian medicine man who rescues Billy and nurses him back to health after he falls into water, after having been shot by Reverend Ray.
- Clyde Forrester: The owner of the local Saloon in Billy's hometown of Hope. A racist, religion-hating, violent trouble-maker, and a long-time enemy of both Billy Candle and Reverend Ray.
- Tom Manson, Ty Stewart, and the McLyde brothers: Juarez's main henchmen, the men responsible for killing Billy's parents. Pretending to be Texas Rangers, they deceive Reverend Ray into helping them launch an assault on Ferguson's ranch in search of Billy.
- Suzy: A prostitute working in the Hope Saloon, and a childhood friend of Billy's.
[edit] Voice cast
- Marc Alaimo as Reverend Ray
- Robert Greygrass as Calm Water
- Shannon McNally as Suzy
- Ralph Alan Steadman as Clyde Forrester
- David E. Taylor as Billy Candle
[edit] Reception
| Reviews | |
|---|---|
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 8 of 10[3] |
| IGN | 7.5 of 10[4] |
| PC Gamer UK | 8 of 10[5] |
| PC Gamer US | 70%[6] |
| Compilations of multiple reviews | |
| Compiler | Score |
| Metacritic | 74 of 100[7] |
[edit] References
- ^ IGN: Call of Juarez 360 bound
- ^ Gamespot: 360 Call of Juarez sounding in summer
- ^ Kieron Gillen (2006-09-18). Call of Juarez Review. EuroGamer. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
- ^ Miller, Jonathan (2007-06-05). Call of Juarez Review. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
- ^ Gillen, Kieron (2006-09-13). Call of Juarez. GamesRadar. Retrieved on 2008-02-20.
- ^ Osborn, Chuck (October 2007), “Call of Juarez”, PC Gamer (Future Publishing) (no. 166): 56
- ^ Call of Juarez: Reviews. Metacritic.
