Saddle up pardners: Today, you're riding out west with the EXP Gang. OK, I'll stop. This week, we discuss the recently released Western-FPS Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. We cover everything from co-op, to cover mechanics, to Confederates. Although the game had some shortcomings, it ended up provoking a fruitful discussion. Feel free to mosey on over to the comments section to share your thoughts.Some discussion starters:
- What are your favorite things about Western film and literature? What games (Western or otherwise) evoke similar feelings?
- How can the thematic topics seen in many Westerns (explorations of civilization and the wilderness, violence and the law, morality versus barbarism, etc.) best be incorporated into games?
- Are we getting to a point where co-op, much like competitive multiplayer, is becoming a standard feature that we expect from games?
- For those of you who played the game: What are your overall impressions?
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Show notes:
- Run time: 39 min 14 sec
- Music provided by Brad Sucks
what a terrible game. its first few missions clearly copied Gun, which copied western movies, mostly Once Upon a Time in the West and 3:10 to Yuma. I've been trying to pitch a western game for years, and until a developer is ready to do it proper(read: not a console fps) you're more than likely going to end up with a shitty, stiff world with little environment interaction, which is what call of juarez is. Bioshock, similarly, is a shitty fps but one that is set in a fantastically well done atmosphere with little need for development of the main character. Bioshock's atmosphere and "would you kindly" save it from being awful. Trust me, play it on mute. I couldn't even sit through the first few mission of juarez.
ReplyDeleteNES Gunsmoke FTW!
ReplyDelete@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI hope your pitch gets picked up. I'd be excited to see more inventive titles inventive .
Would it be giving too much away if you revealed the genre of your ideal Western game? Hold on, maybe I can guess...Kart racer? ;-)
By the way, what is your favorite FPS? I'm no expert when it comes to analyzing them mechanically, and I don't really remember the mechanics of Bioshock. As you say, the lasting impact of that game comes from its atmosphere.
@Will
I Googled that game after you left your comment, watched some videos, and came to the conclusion that it does indeed look epic.
favorite fps of all time is wolfenstein: enemy territory. hands down some of the best balanced maps and character classes in a fps. and its on a pc. with a keyboard. console first person shooters lack the responsiveness necessary to feel good imo...then again, i hate halo and the market seems to love it.
ReplyDeleteGunsmoke was pretty great as a pre-Mercs shooter, but my favorite western is Sunset Riders. look it up.
having worked on Gun and knowing what failed with that game, i think ill have to wait and see what rockstar is doing with Red Dead Revolver before revealing how id make a western, but i certainly wouldnt make a shooter.