Ray's segments work a little better, although some parts of the gameplay still don't feel right. One guy took six slugs from Ray's gun -- at close range -- and somehow survived. The quick draw contests don't work well either, with the player forced to perform tiring analog stick functions in order to pull out their gun -- not to mention aim at their target before they can shoot back. A "concentration mode" slows down time, letting Ray fill enemies with bullets with a pair of automatically moving reticules. Decent, but it feels tacked on.
The presentation has its moments. Players can look out over a ridge and then carefully maneuver their way down the side of a mountain into it, without the game taking a loading break. However, some details got lost in this process, making it look more like a high-end Xbox game than an actual product developed specifically for the 360. Some of the animations look stiff, too.
As for the audio, the Western-themed soundtrack sounds like it was yanked from a Sergio Leone film. The dialogue steals the show, however -- particularly Reverend Ray's. His scraggly preacher voice more than makes up for Billy's poor dialect.
Along with the single-player mode, Call of Juarez also has multiplayer options. Up to four players can battle off-line via split screen, while up to sixteen players can play online through Xbox Live. The online action gets very good, depending on the skills of the other players. Bonus bounty hunting missions open up and give the game replayability, for those stuck without friends to play against.
In the end, Call of Juarez is a love-it-or-hate-it game. Reverend Ray's segments and the multiplayer kick serious butt, but Techland would've been better off cutting out Billy and his platforming sequences entirely. Casual first-person shooting fans should skip over this one but western fans and those seeking something different, however, should saddle up.
Final Score: 6 (out of 10)
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