Kotaku: call of juarez: bound in blood

The PlayStation 3 Buyer's Guide

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:00:00 MST

With at least one potential game of the year exclusively nesting on the Playstation 3 and a price drop under its belt, the PS3 has had a pretty darn good year.

My favorite among the games listed is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which probably isn't surprising. What is yours? Anything we didn't review that you would suggest?

Remember, the games listed aren't all recommendations. Instead we're providing this as a quick reference guide to help you decide if a game is a good gift or not.

50 Cent: Blood on the Sand

Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Third-person hip-hop shooter
Subject Matter: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand tells the unintentionally(?) amusing tale of rapper 50 Cent as he struggles to reclaim his diamond encrusted skull from a Middle Eastern bad guy. He's assisted by his G Unit hangers on and some laughably outlandish moments.
Value: An adequately long adventure, made seemingly longer by endlessly looping 50 Cent songs. There are much better games to give this holiday season.
Buy it for: someone as a gag. Or a die hard 50 Cent fan fresh from a six month coma.
Read the Full Review

Assassin's Creed II

Price: $59.99
Rating: M
Genre: Free-running platforming adventure game
Subject Matter: Assassinations and conspiracy spent mostly in 15th century Renaissance Italy.
Value: Lots more content than the first game had, probably lasting gamers at least double the time they spent with the first Assassin's Creed.
Buy it for: People who were let down by the first game, people who like history, beautiful scenery, dynamic platforming, solving mysteries and games that might be the Game of the Year.
Read the Full Review

Batman: Arkham Asylum
Price:$59.99
Rating: T
Genre: Action/Adventure
Subject Matter: Join one of comic books' most iconic heroes on an adventure in Gotham City's insane asylum, where The Joker is on the loose.
Value: With character ability customization, bonus challenge maps and tons of riddles courtesy of The Riddler, Arkham Asylum offers at least three playthroughs' worth of fun.
Buy it for: Batman fans and anybody jonesing for a Mark Hamill voice over fix.
Read the full review

The Beatles: Rock Band
Price: The stand-alone game sells for $59.99, the Limited Edition Premium Bundle sell for $249.99, the Rickenbacker 325 Standalone Guitar and the Gretsch Duo Jet Standalone Guitar sells for $99.99.
Rating: Teen
Genre: Rhythm music game
Subject Matter: The Beatles: Rock Band is a musical journey through the history of one of the world's most popular bands.
Value: For those new to the Rock Band phenomenon and fans of The Beatles, this 45-track game is well worth a purchase because this is the only way you'll play The Beatles music in a Rock Band game. If you're not into the band, give this a pass.
Buy it for: huge Beatles fans.
Read the Full Review

Borderlands

Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person shooter RPG
Subject Matter: Borderlands targets the loot-hungry region of the brain, offering four classes with which to stalk the planet Pandora, shoot things and level up, acquiring cool guns, sweet armor and totally rad superpowers. As role-playing games go, it's shallow, but offers a constant stream of junk food gaming.
Value: Seeing all that Borderlands has to offer could take hundreds of hours. But the real value comes in the form of being able to play with friends on PlayStation Network or via splitscreen.
Buy it for: the loot glutton with an itchy trigger finger and a history of playing Diablo.
Read the Full Review

Brutal Legend

Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature
Genre: Action Adventure
Subject Matter: Brutal Legend is a heavy metal-themed action game that combines racing, shooting, real-time strategy, and hack and slash into one slightly disjointed mix.
Value: Brutal Legend is a game from Tim Schafer, one of gaming's greatest comedy minds, and the absurd humor carries the game a long way. It's the story of a roadie who gets transported to a heavy metal world where he must raise an army to free the oppressed inhabitants. There's plenty to do, though the odd mix of genres might be too much for some players.
Buy it for: Anyone with a strong affection for heavy metal music or sa twisted sense of humor.
Read the Full Review

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Price: $59.99 to $149.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person military shooter
Subject Matter: Lead a team of elite commandoes in Modern Warfare 2 as they try to prevent a Russian invasion and global thermonuclear war. Then take the action online, going head to head against other well-armed gamers. It's loud, violent and a hell of a lot of fun to play.
Value: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's single-player storyline may be short, but the package more than makes up for it with ample cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Near endless replayability will be stoked with future downloadable content.
Buy it for: the Michael Bay action movie fan who likes his shooters bombastic and nearly devoid of a comprehensible story, one who doesn't shy away from ultra-violent fare.
Read the Full Review

Critter Crunch

Price: $6.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Puzzle
Subject Matter: A puzzle game with bug eating, cute critters and sorta cut, sorta gross tecnicolor yarn.
Value: The good puzzle game mechanic is strong and addictive — add to that beautiful graphics, a lengthy adventure mode and super fun multiplayer and you have a good time. With barf.
Buy it for: Gamers with a strong like of puzzle titles and no fear of cute puke.
Read the Full Review

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

Price: $39.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person shooter
Subject Matter: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a Civil War era first-person shooter.
Value: With an engaging story, wide open maps and plenty of mulitplayer options, this game will take up quite a bit of your time.
Buy it for: First-person shooter enthusiasts, fans of the Wild West and Civil War buffs.
Read the Full Review

DJ Hero
Price: $119.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Rhythm
Subject Matter: DJ Hero is a rhythm game featuring a replica DJ turntable so players can mix and scratch to the beat of original music mash-ups.
Value: DJ Hero features upwards fo 100 different DJ-driven mash-ups featuring songs from the 70's on up to present-day hits. Unlike the latest Guitar Hero or Rock Band games, however, it's only good for one or two players, so the party element just isn't there. The innovative turntable-based gameplay makes it a breath of fresh air in the currently band-centric music genre, but it certainly isn't as social.
Buy it for: Fans of eclectic music mixes and lonely Guitar Hero fans.
Read the Full Review

Dragon Age: Origins
Price: $49.99
Rating:Mature
Genre: Roleplaying
Subject Matter: An epic action roleplaying game set in a world besieged by evil inside and out.
Value: Dragon Age: Origins packs more than 100 hours of gameplay into this action RPG, with branching story paths that encourage multiple play throughs in order to experience it all. BioWare designed the game so it can be played by RPG gamers of any skill level, but mature content and strong sexual situations mean you might want to keep it in the high teens.
Buy it for: Anyone who has ever conversationally mentioned hit points.
Read the Full Review

EyePet

Price: £20 game only, £35 with PlayStation Eye (game currently only available in PAL territories)
Rating: E
Genre: Virtual Pet Management
Subject Matter: Using the PlayStation Eye, "directly" interact with a digital pet on your TV screen.
Value: Smaller kids won't mind the game lacks any real direction, they'll be happy to play it every few days just to check on their pet.
Buy it for: Kids who think Tamagotchi is so 20th century.
Read the Full Review

Fallout 3: Broken Steel

Price: $10 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3)
Rating: M
Genre: Post-apocalyptic role-playing game
Subject Matter: Fallout 3 expansion involving missions with a high-powered fighting force.
Value: High because it extends the level cap to Fallout 3, changes the game's ending and allows the adventure to be played infinitely once the story has "ended"
Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans who want to play more; essential for anyone getting any Fallout 3 downloadable content
Read the Full Review

Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta

Price: $10.00 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3)
Rating: Mature
Genre: Still a post-apocalyptic RPG
Subject Matter: It's Fallout 3 in space!
Value: Mothership Zeta gives the Fallout 3 player an entire spaceship to explore and make their own, some futuristic new weapons, and tacks a good five hours onto the regular campaign, making it a relatively fair value for your money.
Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans.
Read the Full Review

Fallout 3: Point Lookout

Price: $10 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3)
Rating: M
Genre: Post-apocalyptic role-playing game
Subject Matter: Fallout 3 in microcosm, set on a spooky island.
Value: Tons of content, and widely seen as the Fallout 3 downloadable content that best shares the strengths of the base game.
Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans.
Read the Full Review

Fat Princess

Price: $14.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action
Subject Matter: Capture the flag? No, capture the princess. And feed her cake, so she's fat and hard for enemies to cart her off.
Value: Single player weakness aside, the main draw here is multiplayer. That, and cake. Cake's always a draw. Always.
Buy it for: Gamers with a sweet tooth for multiplayer.
Read the Full Review

FIFA Soccer 2010

Price: $49.99
Rating: E
Genre: Round-Ball Football
Subject Matter: The best football game on the market.
Value: Almost endless. There are so many leagues and cups, and such a deep singleplayer experience, that it can be played to death until FIFA 11 is released. And that's before we even get to the 10v10 multiplayer…
Buy it for: Anyone who has even a passing interest in the world game.
Read the Full Review

Fight Night Round 4

Price: $59.99
Rating: T
Genre: Boxing
Subject Matter: Boxing
Value: Tons of fighters, good online options and no real competition.
Buy it for: Boxing fans or people looking for a fighting-based game that has longer-lasting fights.
Read the Full Review

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Price: $49.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action
Subject Matter: A arcade-style shooter loosely based on the live-action G.I. Joe movie.
Value: G.I. Joe is a movie tie-in strangely reminiscent of Konami's Contra series. One or two players take control of their favorite Joes from the movie and take on Cobra across multiple levels of run-and-gun action. There are a few unlockables catering to fans of the old cartoon series, but other than that this is strictly a movie-lover's affair.
Buy it for: Really, really big fans of the G.I. Joe live-action movie.
Read the Full Review

Guitar Hero 5

Price: $59.99 for the game, $99.99 with a guitar controller included
Rating: Teen
Genre: Music/Rythym
Subject Matter: It's Guitar Hero. You play a quintet of color-coordinated "notes" as they scroll downscreen to a new selection of music.
Value: Guitar Hero 5 offers a great suite of single and multiplayer modes, the most robust options yet for the series. What it doesn't offer is the series' most attractive soundtrack, despite an 85 song strong line up. Good for the new Guitar Hero gamer, but that money may be better spent on downloadable songs.
Buy it for: for Guitar Hero noobs who have extremely eclectic taste in music.
Read the Full Review

inFamous

Price: $59.99
Rating: T
Genre: Open-world action game
Subject Matter:Gritty adventures of an electricity-based super-hero from the makers of the Sly Cooper series.
Value:Designed to be played through twice to explore two distinct moral paths.
Buy it for: Super-hero fans and folks who like Grand-Theft-Auto style open-world games.
Read the Full Review

Katamari Forever

Price: $49.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Planet-building action
Subject Matter: Katamari Forever offers a greatest hits style package of the Katamari Damacy series' more memorable levels. Players will roll the titular sticky katamari over objects, building bigger and bigger piles of stuff to replace the universe's missing stars and planets and ultimately please the King of All Cosmos.
Value: At $49.99, Katamari Forever is the most expensive entry yet, a high price for a game that's largely rehashed content. But the content is vast and offers plenty to play. Sadly, there's no online component to help extend the experience.
Buy it for: the fan of quirky games who somehow missed every other Katamari Damacy game or the kid that longs to make snowballs in the summer time.
Read the Full Review

Killzone 2

Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Single-person shooter
Subject Matter: Killzone 2 takes the fight to the Helghast, with an invading force landing on Helghan.
Value: Even though this game landed back in February, you would be remiss if you forgot to check it out. Next to Uncharted 2, this is one of the top games for the Playstation 3. The chunky single-player experience backed by 32-player multiplayer matches makes this a very good deal as well.
Buy it for: Anyone with a Playstation 3 who some how missed this title when it first hit.
Read the Full Review

The King of Fighters XII

Price: $59.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Fighting
Subject Matter: SNK Playmore's latest entry in its King of Fighter series is a return to its roots with 2D fighting and hand-drawn graphics.
Value: The game feels largely unfinished — though, the parts which are done should please the hardcore fans.
Buy it for: Die-hard SNK fighting game fans.
Read the Full Review

Madden NFL 10

Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: The only video game licensed by the NFL, covering the current season.
Value: For the first time on the current console generation, Madden earns its must-own status among sports gamers. The fine-tuned action is slightly slower, creating greater big play potential on both sides of the ball.
Buy it for: Any sports gamer who doesn't yet have it. Madden is a no-brainer gift that any sports fan will enjoy.
Read the Full Review

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

Price: $59.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action RPG
Subject Matter: Tons of Marvel heroes take on tons of Marvel villains
Value: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 may not quite live up to the thrill of the original, but it is a more cohesive package overall, with a storyline ripped from Marvel's Civil War storyline and a good dozen hours of heroic fun for 1-4 players.
Read the Full Review

Marvel VS. Capcom 2

Price: $15.00
Rating: Teen
Genre: Fighting
Subject Matter: Marvel characters. Capcom characters. Fighting.
Value: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 contains one of the largest roster in fighting game history, with 56 Marvel and Capcom characters to choose from. The sheer amount of variety plus online multiplayer makes this one downloadable title well worth the price.
Read the Full Review

Mini Ninjas

Price: $49.99
Rating: E
Genre: Juvenile Bush Disguise/Phantom Removal
Subject Matter: Play as one of a band of adorable child ninjas on a quest to kill a bad guy and free the adorable little forest animals.
Value: A somewhat short singleplayer game, but the ability to play as one of several ninjas means there's plenty of replay value.
Buy it for: Anyone. Everyone. Kids will love the straight-forward combat, adults will find there's a great stealth and combat system lurking under the hood.
Read the Full Review

Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller Camo

Price: $49.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: N/A
Subject Matter: This wireless controller features programmable buttons, better triggers and a Modern Warfare 2 theme.
Value: It's a bit pricey, but if you're a big fan of the game and like the idea of programmable buttons, it's probably worth the $50.
Buy it for: Fans of Modern Warfare 2.
Read the Full Review

Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller Camo Faceplate

Price: $14.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: N/A
Subject Matter: This faceplate snaps onto your Playstation 3 controller.
Value: For $15 it's not bad, but not a great deal. Consider it a cheaper alternative to buying a new controller.
Buy it for: HUGE fans of Modern Warfare 2.
Read the Full Review

Modern Warfare 2 Combat Wireless Headset

Price: $39.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: N/A
Subject Matter: This wireless headset gives weak lip-service to Modern Warfare 2.
Value: The painful design and static-filled connection makes this a bad deal.
Buy it for: Someone you hate.
Read the Full Review

NCAA Football 10

Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: The tradition and pageantry of college football's 115 teams, plus any schools you might choose to create.
Value: NCAA Football 10 is the deepest simulation of a sport, on and off the field, of any currently available sports title.
Buy it for: Any sports nut with a serious helping of school pride or leftover nostalgia for college days gone by.
Read the Full Review

NBA 2K10

Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: NBA 2K10 celebrates the 10th anniversary of 2K Sports' best-in-class basketball simulation.
Value: NBA 2K10 offers a much more varied set of gameplay modes, both single- and multiplayer, than its challenger NBA Live 10. Its season simulation lacks the aspect of playing in this year's league but is deeper in all other regards. My Player, in which you create and control one player on his journey from prospect to all-star, is tough but a rewarding experience.
Buy it for: Serious basketball fans with some exposure to the sport in real life, either as a player or a devoted fan.
Read the Full Review

NBA Live 10

Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: NBA Live 10 is EA Sports' current title covering pro basketball's upcoming season.
Value: EA Sports has poured a ton of effort into resurrecting the franchise. New controls enabling you to move players off the ball on offense and defense are easy to learn and a real plus. Dynamic DNA allows you to run your season simulation as if it were taking place among current league events in real life.
Buy it for: Basketball fans who prefer singleplayer sports gaming, want a very accurate league simulation, and an easy-to-comprehend control set.
Read the Full Review

NHL 2K10

Price: $39.99
Rating: Everyone 10+
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: NHL 2K10 is 2K Sports' current title covering professional hockey's latest season.
Value: NHL 2K10 is still a runner-up to EA's NHL 10, but it is not without merit. It features the same robust multiplayer package as its NBA cousin. The action's a little arcadey, but it also is the only NHL title with the league's popular outdoor classic venues.
Buy it for: A casual-to-moderate hockey fan who enjoys lots of scoring action.

Read the Full Review

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Realistic military first-person shooter
Subject Matter: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a relatively open-world tactical shooter that has players trying to take the fictional island of Skira from China.
Value: Plagued with problems this shooter doesn't deliver much for the premium price you pay.
Buy it for: hardcore fans of realistic shooters that offer no chance for mistakes or do-overs.
Read the Full Review

Pro Evolution Soccer 2010

Price: $59.99
Rating: E
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: Football title encompassing international and club tournaments, manager modes and online play.
Value: Pro Evo's "Master League", a time-devouring game mode incorporating RPG and strategy elements, is the one area fans remain devoted to this series ahead of its rival, EA Sports' FIFA.
Buy it for: Football fans who like to not only play a good game, but also roll up their sleeves and get lost in a sea of statistics and growth charts.
Read the Full Review

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time
Price: $59.99
Rating: E10+
Genre: Third-person shooter (Ratchet sections); Third-person time-manipulation puzzle-platformer (Clank sections).
Subject Matter: The third PS3 Ratchet is still an action game, but has a stronger than normal narrative, as Ratchet discovers he's not the last of his species, while Clank discovers his origins.
Value: A bombastic single-player campaign full of spectacular cartoon visuals is designed to be replayed, with new content and missions available only after the first play-through is complete.
Buy it for: Jaded Ratchet fans who were waiting for the series to feel special again; fans of cartoon visuals who don't mind their entertainment feeling like a fun all-ages sci-fi adventure.
Read the Full Review

Resident Evil 5

Price: $39.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Survival Horror meets third-person shooter
Subject Matter: The latest iteration in the famed survival horror game ditches a bit of the slow pacing and fear for a bit more of an action feel.
Value: A worthy addition to anyone's library, but perhaps not the sort of game you'll keep around after it's completed.
Buy it for: fans of Resident Evil and those interested in the premise of the franchise but not in the steady pacing of the gameplay.
Read the Full Review

Street Fighter IV

Price: $29.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Fighter
Subject Matter: The next iteration in the storied and fabulous fighter brings with it a dynamic new look and a death grip on classic mechanics.
Value: Packed with playable characters both old and new and a mechanic that is timeless, the online play and in-room versus mode make this a great deal..
Buy it for: fighting fans, Street Fighter fans.
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Tekken 6
Price: $59.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Fighter
Subject Matter: Once you've mastered the moves of your favorite character, Tekken 6's 3D fights are all about timing and tactics.
Value: With 40 playable characters and a seemingly endless single-player campaign, Tekken 6 is a good deal for fans of the franchise willing to put up with some online issues.
Buy it for: fighting fans, Tekken fans, and maybe as a taste of something different for Street Fighter IV fans.
Read the Full Review

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Price: $59.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action adventure third-person shooter.
Subject Matter: A well-crafted story and pithy dialogue is backed by solid third-person shooter action, stunning Himalayan backdrops and a smattering of puzzles to solve and things to climb.
Value: The story-driven campaign will only take up about eight hours of your time, but the plentiful and creative mulitplayer modes are sure to be a lasting time drain.
Buy it for: anyone with a Playstation 3. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is destined to be one of the best games of the year.
Read the Full Review

WET
Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Third-person acrobatic shooter.
Subject Matter: Rubi Malone is a leather-pants wearing, wall-running, pole-spinning death machine. She can shoot two shotguns while flipping through the air, slide under tables to hamstring and gut with her sword, and regains health by swigging liquor.
Value: The single-player only game has a sizable campaign, fantastic music and troubled controls and camera work. It's sort of a mixed bag.
Buy it for: fans of Kill Bill and fast-paced action noire games.
Read the Full Review

Wolfenstein

Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Subject Matter: World War II First-Person Shooter with Occult Tendencies
Value: While Wolfenstein is an excellent first-person shooter from a technical standpoint, the story is a bit far-fetched and the multiplayer is disappointing, especially in the face of games like Modern Warfare 2.
Buy it for: First-person shooter fans looking for a little something different.
Read the Full Review

WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010
Price: $59.99
Rating: T
Genre: Pro wrestling
Subject Matter: WWE wrestling, with deep customization options allowing players to create and share their own characters, moves and — the big new addition — storylines.
Value: High value for those who will take advantage of the online play and content creation/sharing.
Buy it for: WWE fans, even those who don't like current WWE programming, since those disgruntled fans can create the WWE of their own liking using the game's deep editors.
Read the Full Review

The Xbox 360 Buyer's Guide

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 08:00:00 MST

New Halo, new downloadables for Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Grand Theft Auto, new Forza. It was a pretty good year for Xbox 360 owners.

Pick through the list to decide which games to give and get and leave a comment to point out any you would add that we didn't review.

And don't forget, this is more reference material than it is suggestion. Just because it's on the list doesn't mean we're saying you should get it.

Axel & Pixel
Price: 800 Microsoft Points ($10)
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Adventure
Subject Matter: A point and click adventure game about a man and his dog escaping a dream world with small doses of action.
Value: Axel & Pixel is a good couple of hours worth of relaxing adventure gaming, with a few action / racing segments tossed in to keep things interesting. It's very simply, extremely easy, and once you are done there isn't much reason to go back through it.
Buy it for: Adventure game fans and older parents, to show them that consoles have something for them too.
Read the Full Review

Borderlands

Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person shooter RPG
Subject Matter: Borderlands targets the loot-hungry region of the brain, offering four classes with which to stalk the planet Pandora, shoot things and level up, acquiring cool guns, sweet armor and totally rad superpowers. As role-playing games go, it's shallow, but offers a constant stream of junk food gaming.
Value: Seeing all that Borderlands has to offer could take hundreds of hours. But the real value comes in the form of being able to play with friends on Xbox Live or via splitscreen.
Buy it for: the loot glutton with an itchy trigger finger and a history of playing Diablo.
Read the Full Review

Brutal Legend
Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature
Genre: Action Adventure
Subject Matter: Brutal Legend is a heavy metal-themed action game that combines racing, shooting, real-time strategy, and hack and slash into one slightly disjointed mix.
Value: Brutal Legend is a game from Tim Schafer, one of gaming's greatest comedy minds, and the absurd humor carries the game a long way. It's the story of a roadie who gets transported to a heavy metal world where he must raise an army to free the oppressed inhabitants. There's plenty to do, though the odd mix of genres might be too much for some players.
Buy it for: Anyone with a strong affection for heavy metal music or sa twisted sense of humor.
Read the Full Review

Fairytale Fights

Price: $59.99
Rating: M
Genre: Action
Subject Matter: A quartet of cutesy fairytale characters set out to regain their fame by beating the beejesus out of other cutesy things.
Value: With two-player cooperative play and a four player battle royal mode, you can really let out you violent side in buckets of cartoony blood.
Buy it for: People who need a healthy way to blow off steam after a bad day at work. Just don't be standing next to them if the game happens to crash and they need an immediate alternative.
Read the Full Review

Forza Motorsport 3

Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Driving simulation
Subject Matter: Forza Motorsport 3 takes the driving simulation in a new direction, making it easier than ever to get into a car, upgrade it, tune it and take if for a spin. For more advance driving game fans, there's plenty of hardcore driving simulation to enjoy as well.
Value: Hundreds of cars, dozens of tracks, thousands of upgrade possibilities and an increasing amount of user-generated content available via the game's storefront, all purchased with in-game credits, not real money, make Forza Motorsport 3 a great driving value.
Buy it for: the Xbox 360 owner who likes to go fast.
Read the Full Review

Gears of War 2: Dark Corners

Price: 1200 Microsoft Points (about $15)
Rating: Mature
Genre: Third-person tactical shooter
Subject Matter: This downloadable add-on for Gears of War 2 lets players run through The Road to Ruin, a campaign level original cut from the game.
Value: With a new single-player level, seven new multiplayer maps and director's commentary, you can't go wrong for $15.
Buy it for: Owners and fans of the original Gears of War 2.
Read the Full Review

Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony
Price: $20 if downloaded through Xbox Live Arcade (requires a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV) or $39.95 if purchased as one half of the Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes From Liberty City disc (GTA IV not required; Episodes disc also includes the similarly-sized first GTA IV expansion, Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned.)
Rating: M
Genre: Open world, third-person shooter.
Subject Matter: Over-the-top modern crime drama set in a fictional New York City.
Value: Offers more content per dollar than just about anything else downloadable on the Xbox 360, a 13-hour-plus campaign, numerous side activities and returning multiplayer challenges similar to what was offered with GTA IV.
Buy it for: People who thought GTA IV was too tame and wished their lead character would be asked to parachute off skyscrapers, steal subway cars (with a helicopter), dance in a nightclub and cross paths with the last two protagonists in the GTA IV saga.
Read the Full Review

Halo 3: ODST

Price: $59.99
Rating: M
Genre: First-person shooter
Subject Matter: Daytime sci-fi military action interspersed with noir-inspired nighttime sleuthing.
Value: Varies depending on one's Halo experience. A seven-hour campaign and the offline Firefight mode can be played with up to four players and is all-new, but only three of the game's 24 multiplayer maps haven't been sold — and possibly purchased by the prospective ODST consumer — before.
Buy it for: Halo fans who either never bought Halo 3's bonus maps or wouldn't spend $60 of their own for ODST because they did.
Read the Full Review

Left 4 Dead 2

Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person horror shooter
Subject Matter: Four Survivors fight their way through a gory zombie apocalypse in the Southeastern United States, decapitating, dismembering and generally destroying every walking dead human in their path. Cooperative multiplayer is at the core of the Left 4 Dead 2 experience.
Value: Left 4 Dead 2 is a multiplayer game with a massive amount of replayability, but requires cooperative gameplay and reliable friends to fully enjoy. There's very little here for the lone, single-player gamer, so make sure that Live subscription is all paid up.
Buy it for: the grown-up Xbox Live Gold subscriber who believes there's no "I" in team and may be disappointed with the body count in Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3 ODST.
Read the Full Review

Lucidity

Price: 800 Points
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Platform/Puzzle
Subject Matter: Little girl Sofi wanders through her dreams, looking for her lost Nana.
Value: While the puzzle gameplay element is average, the art style is superb.
Buy it for: Tim Burton fans.
Read the Full Review

Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 Throat Communicator

Price: $29.99
Rating: NA
Genre: NA
Subject Matter: This throat communicator is meant to replace the need for a standard Xbox 360 microphone.
Value: The throat communicator does a great job of cutting down on room noise for your friends and feels pretty comfortable. If those things are important to you, you should pick this up.
Buy it for: Modern Warfare 2 enthusiasts, online gamers and friends who play in noisy settings.
Read the Full Review

Madden NFL 10
Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: The only video game licensed by the NFL, covering the current season.
Value: For the first time on the current console generation, Madden earns its must-own status among sports gamers. The fine-tuned action is slightly slower, creating greater big play potential on both sides of the ball.
Buy it for: Any sports gamer who doesn't yet have it. Madden is a no-brainer gift that any sports fan will enjoy.
Read the Full Review

Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station

Price: $5 (requires a copy of Mass Effect)
Rating: M
Genre: Bonus missions for third-person shooter/role-playing game
Subject Matter: Mass Effect gets a battle simulator to allow goal-based shooting challenges.
Value: High for those looking for something new in the original Mass Effect while awaiting the January sequel; low for people looking for what made the first game popular.
Buy it for: Mass Effect completists, though you'll only be able to buy them download points for this game or give them a small check.
Read the Full Review

Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller Camo

Price: $49.99
Rating: N/A
Genre: N/A
Subject Matter: This wired controller features programmable buttons, better triggers and a Modern Warfare 2 theme.
Value: It's a bit pricey, but if you're a big fan of the game and like the idea of programmable buttons, it's probably worth the $50.
Buy it for: Fans of Modern Warfare 2.
Read the Full Review

NBA 2K10
Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: NBA 2K10 celebrates the 10th anniversary of 2K Sports' best-in-class basketball simulation.
Value: NBA 2K10 offers a much more varied set of gameplay modes, both single- and multiplayer, than its challenger NBA Live 10. Its season simulation lacks the aspect of playing in this year's league but is deeper in all other regards. My Player, in which you create and control one player on his journey from prospect to all-star, is tough but a rewarding experience.
Buy it for: Serious basketball fans with some exposure to the sport in real life, either as a player or a devoted fan.
Read the Full Review

NBA Live 10
Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: NBA Live 10 is EA Sports' current title covering pro basketball's upcoming season.
Value: EA Sports has poured a ton of effort into resurrecting the franchise. New controls enabling you to move players off the ball on offense and defense are easy to learn and a real plus. Dynamic DNA allows you to run your season simulation as if it were taking place among current league events in real life.
Buy it for: Basketball fans who prefer singleplayer sports gaming, want a very accurate league simulation, and an easy-to-comprehend control set.
Read the Full Review

NCAA Football 10
Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: The tradition and pageantry of college football's 115 teams, plus any schools you might choose to create.
Value: NCAA Football 10 is the deepest simulation of a sport, on and off the field, of any currently available sports title.
Buy it for: Any sports nut with a serious helping of school pride or leftover nostalgia for college days gone by.
Read the Full Review

NHL 2K10
Price: $39.99
Rating: Everyone 10+
Genre: Sports
Subject Matter: NHL 2K10 is 2K Sports' current title covering professional hockey's latest season.
Value: NHL 2K10 is still a runner-up to EA's NHL 10, but it is not without merit. It features the same robust multiplayer package as its NBA cousin. The action's a little arcadey, but it also is the only NHL title with the league's popular outdoor classic venues.
Buy it for: A casual-to-moderate hockey fan who enjoys lots of scoring action.
Read the Full Review

South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!

Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Rating: Mature
Genre: Tower Defense
Subject Matter: South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play! has the South Park kids big towers to fend off enemies that range from gnomes to old people in an 11 mission campaign.
Buy it for: Fans of South Park, fans of tower defense games, and fans of both.
Value: The game features unlockable characters and challenging maps (especially the later levels), co-op and online. There are also unlockable clips from the show.
Read the Full Review

Trials HD

Price: 1200 Points
Rating: Teen
Genre: Racing/Puzzle
Subject Matter: Trials HD is a twist on motorbike racing: Players must navigate trick courses and tricky in-game physics as fast as they can.
Value: The game features over 50 tracks and seemingly simple, yet deep game play — offering replay value as your skills continue to get better and better. A level editor lets players make their own courses. It's the Excite Bike of the 21st Century.
Buy it for: Those who want more from their racing games than speed.
Read the Full Review

The PC Buyer's Guide

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:00:00 MST

Poor PC gaming.

There was a new operating system roll-out and it was completely ignored. The biggest launch in entertainment history included a game on the PC that played like a console title.

But that doesn't mean there weren't games worth picking up for your computer. Here's a run down of a few of those that we reviewed. Which would you suggest?

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

Price: $29.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-person shooter
Subject Matter: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a Civil War era first-person shooter.
Value: With an engaging story, wide open maps and plenty of mulitplayer options, this game will take up quite a bit of your time.
Buy it for: First-person shooter enthusiasts, fans of the Wild West and Civil War buffs.
Read the Full Review

Dawn of War II

Price: $40
Rating: T
Genre: The Waging Of Endless War
Subject Matter: Control a handful of Space Marines against the worst the Orcs and Tyranids can throw against you, your men and the Immortal Emperor.
Value: Fairly lengthy singleplayer campaign is bolstered significantly by a handy, and more traditional multiplayer component.
Buy it for: Warhammer fans who wanted Dawn of War to be more intimate, and anyone who likes a bit of RPG in their RTS.
Read the Full Review

Dragon Age: Origins
Price: $39.99
Rating:Mature
Genre: Roleplaying
Subject Matter: An epic action roleplaying game set in a world besieged by evil inside and out.
Value: Dragon Age: Origins packs more than 100 hours of gameplay into this action RPG, with branching story paths that encourage multiple play throughs in order to experience it all. BioWare designed the game so it can be played by RPG gamers of any skill level, but mature content and strong sexual situations mean you might want to keep it in the high teens.
Buy it for: Anyone who has ever conversationally mentioned hit points.
Read the Full Review

Empire: Total War

Price: $40
Rating: T
Genre: 18th-Century Musket Drill
Subject Matter: Take control of a European, American or Indian power of the 18th century and control every aspect of their military machine across both a strategic campaign map and tactical RTS battles.
Value: Even a single campaign play-through will take weeks. And there are dozens of available factions across three continents. It'll last for years.
Buy it for: Anyone who loves strategy, history or the smell of grapeshot in the morning.
Read the Full Review

League of Legends
Price: Free to $30
Rating: Teen
Genre: Real-time strategy
Subject Matter: Once a spin-off of famously fun Warcraft III, League of Legends is a simplified, highly-addictive strategy game of warriors, magic and monsters.
Value: The free-to-play game only charges if you want to pay for upgrades or to lock in your favorite characters. A fantastic deal for what you get.
Buy it for: people who enjoy strategy gaming and fans of games like Warcraft III.
Read the Full Review

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
Price: $39.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: Realistic military first-person shooter
Subject Matter: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a relatively open-world tactical shooter that has players trying to take the fictional island of Skira from China.
Value: Plagued with problems this shooter doesn't deliver much for the premium price you pay.
Buy it for: hardcore fans of realistic shooters that offer no chance for mistakes or do-overs.
Read the Full Review

Torchlight

Price: $19.99
Rating: Teen
Genre: Action RPG
Subject Matter: One of the most blatant Diablo clones ever created.
Value: Torchlight is one of the most blatant Diablo clones ever created, but it's also one of the most capable. There's a main quest with a good 10 hours of gameplay, with multiple side quests, random dungeons, and three different character classes, so the replay value is through the roof. For the price, Torchlight's value is downright amazing.
Buy it for: Diablo fans waiting for Blizzard to get the next installment out
Read the Full Review

Wolfenstein

Price: $49.99
Rating: Mature
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Subject Matter: World War II First-Person Shooter with Occult Tendencies
Value: While Wolfenstein is an excellent first-person shooter from a technical standpoint, the story is a bit far-fetched and the multiplayer is disappointing, especially in the face of games like Modern Warfare 2.
Buy it for: First-person shooter fans looking for a little something different.
Read the Full Review

Zuma's Revenge
Price: $19.95
Rating: E
Genre: Puzzle
Subject Matter: A color-matching, marble-shooting game for people with fast mouse reflexes.
Value: A massive amount of content compared to the original Zuma; the first playthrough of the game's main campaign levels alone lasts more than six hours.
Buy it for: Moms who need a new obsession for their PC; hardcore gamers who want an addictive diversion they wouldn't admit has hooked them.
Read the Full Review

Call Of Juarez Console Versions Patched

Mike Fahey — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:30:00 MDT

Ubisoft dropped us a line today to let us know that both console versions of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood have patches waiting for them, improving multiplayer connection and balancing.

PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood players might want to give online multiplayer another go today, as the latest patch brings a handful of important class balance changes to the Western shooter. Along with a fix to lower checkpoint loading times on the PS3, the Spy, Gunslinger, Hombre, Veteran and Sniper classes have all received tweaks in order to "offer the best experiences possible."

The Spy class gets a damage and health increase, while the Gunslinger scores reduced recoil and improved accuracy. The other three classes receive nerfs. The Hombre loses long range damage and gains extra recoil and reload time; the Veteran loses health, accuracy, and addition pistols; and the Sniper loses no-scope accuracy, damage, and health.

Seems like some significant changes there. Has anyone out there played Bound in Blood long enough to notice the difference?

Call Of Juarez Gets Custom Shootout Creator

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 02:30:00 MDT

You know, for all its flaws - and the game had many - I still enjoyed Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. So I'll be dusting it off now that a level creator is on the way.

The world builder will be available in two modes: a "simple" mode for basic level creation that's full of tutorials, and an advanced mode, which "boasts full capabilities of the professional tools used in the development of CoJ: Bound in Blood".

Which means you can cut out the rubbish parts of the game, concentrate on the parts it got right, and build entire levels around those good bits. Which is always a welcome move from hit-and-miss games like this.

In Case You've Patched Call of Juarez Lately ...

Owen Good — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 15:00:00 MDT

Ubisoft's put out word that any patches to Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, made available recently, were "wrongfully released" prior to Ubi's deadline and are not the final version. That will be available "in the coming days."

Word of this passed in an "ALL MEMBERS MUST READ" message on the Ubisoft forums. VE3D, which noticed the message, advises "backing up your save files, uninstalling, then reinstalling in preparation for the 'official patch.' "

ALL MEMBERS MUST READ - Important Patch Information [forums.ubi.com via VE3D]

Call Of Juarez DLC Delivers More Legendary Wild West Action

Mike Fahey — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 11:20:00 MDT

Ubisoft unleashes the Old West Map Pack for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood this Thursday, with four new multiplayer maps covering important moments in Wild West history.

General Custer sure is getting a lot of play lately. The famous Battle of Little Bighorn is not only the starting point for the upcoming time-travelling shooter Darkest of Days, it's also one of the four new multiplayer maps available on August 6th for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. Help General Custer escape his fate at the hands of the Indians on the Little Bighorn map, steal gold from the Vulture Mine, break out of jail in Fort Worth, or escape the Union's Elmira Prison Camp. All four maps are playable in any multiplayer mode.

There's no mention of a price in the press release, so we're going to assume the map pack cost $320, just so we can be pleasantly surprised when it doesn't.

Frankenreview: Call Of Juarez: Bound In Blood

Mike Fahey — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:20:00 MDT

Grab your hat and strap on your irons, we're going on a Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood review round-up!

Developer Techland revisits the Spaghetti Western in Bound in Blood, the sequel to 2007's Call of Juarez. This time around the game focuses on Thomas and Ray McCall, the original protagonist's step-father and uncle respectively, as they make their way from the front lines of the American Civil War to Mexico on a quest for the mythical Lost Treasure of Cortez. Gunfights, chases, and other Western-themed occurrences ensue.

As Crecente pointed out in his review, Western shooters generally fail to achieve the same level of acclaim as more modern day tales of bullet-fueled valor. Can Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood rise about the rest? Let's gather us up a game review posse!

Offical Xbox Magazine UK
This prequel starts out on a promising note. It's the height of the American Civil War, and the Yankees are murdering and pillaging their way through the state of Georgia. As cannons tear Thomas and Ray McCall's land asunder, there's hope this game can build on its fiery beginning. Sadly, it goes from the gritty thrills of an episode of Deadwood, to the easy-going cliché of the Milky Bar Kid adverts.

Eurogamer
Bound in Blood canters unapologetically through every western cliché in the book, and does so with enough vigour and sense of style that you'll enjoy the ride. The first chapter tips the nod to Call of Duty with its depiction of a battle in the Civil War, but then the brothers promptly become deserters and outlaws; they burst into saloons both guns blazing, pull bars off a jail window with a horse, steal a stagecoach, fall in love with a Mexican bandita, recognise the honour and pride of the Native American, and shoot lots of other Native Americans - as well as lots of Mexicans, lawmen, outlaws, Yankees, rebels and prospectors. They shoot lots of everybody.

1UP
...the single-player's strong focus on the McCall brothers makes the omission of co-op seem bizarre. With very few exceptions, you have an A.I.-controlled brother with you. The A.I. is actually decent, killing fools and navigating to objective points just fine — the amount of mistaken navigations or A.I. glitches is smaller than I imagined. Even the banter between the two — the way they simultaneously bicker/one-up/compliment each other — is surprisingly good...Perhaps there is some developmental reason I don't understand, but it's still odd to me that for every time I do a cooperative shoot-out with Ray and Thomas quipping about how ornery and badass they are, that I can never do that with a friend.

TeamXbox
Ubisoft even decided to go all out and put a robust little multiplayer experience in there. The game types definitely bring a few new fun components to old school FPS online multiplayer. But the classes seem a bit unbalanced to me, though I admit I've only played with the first six or so characters. Too many games I played were almost all Riflemen. Even so, the game types provide enough fun team-based experiences that don't mess too much with the source material in terms of power-ups and such. Ain't got no quad damage round these here parts, pardner. But we do gots a levelin' system and such, consarnit!

GamePro
Bound in Blood doesn't have any major flaws but I did notice that dynamite is way too effective in the hands of the enemy. They throw it like grenades and the heads-up display does a poor job of telling you where it lands; the only saving grace is that only a handful of enemies use them as thrown weapons. Engaging enemies at long-distance can also be tricky as it's sometimes hard to pick them out against the horizon.

Kotaku
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood doesn't redefine the genre, nor, I fear, will it win over the mainstream audience that these games so richly deserve. What it does do is offer gamers a chance to step into the boots of lawless men in lawless times, to slap leather, to avenge wrongs and to peek into the motives of single-minded men.

There's only one way to settle this fight. I just don't know what that is.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Review: A Fistful of Accolades

Brian Crecente — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:00:00 MDT

The western shooter seems to be a conundrum to developers. Despite valiant efforts, and great games, few have ever enjoyed the runaway success of their modern warfare counterparts.

In Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Ubisoft adds an interesting twist to the genre, having gamers play as either of two brothers with distinctly different play styles. The game also promises to deliver a wild west tale that taps into the best of the history and fiction of the America's early, lawless days.

But will that be enough?

Loved
Authentic Look and Feel: Almost more than anything, the touchstone for a western shooter is its ability to deliver a convincing milieu. To not just provide a first-person shooter dressed up with cowboy hats, but to put gamers in experiences steeped in the tradition of the classic Western. It's here that Bound in Blood hits its highest notes. The story is a cleverly crafted homage to western traditions. The weapons and their behavior are mostly detailed and realistic. The settings seem pulled from a diverse selection of great spaghetti, classic and modern westerns.

Engaging Story: Westerns are, or at least were, modern day morality plays. Sure, they entertained, but they also taught us something about the fiber of heroes, the face of villainy and how easy it is to sometimes confuse the two. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood does a heroic job of delivering a story in this tradition, tapping into the classic themes of lawless honor and family first, while neatly tying together the elements of the original Call of Jaurez's sometimes wanting back story.

Brothers and Arms: Rather than playing through the entire game as a single protagonist, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood tells its story through the eyes of three brothers, two of whom you control in turns. The game uses the ability to switch between brothers at chapter endings to develop two distinctly different modes of play. While controlling Ray McCall, gamers wield two six-shooters, firing them simultaneously. Ray can also throw lit dynamite, wears armor on his chest which protects him from bullets, and can kick in doors. He can't climb well or run very fast. Thomas McCall, on the other hand, is more agile, allowing him to better traverse obstacles, even using a lasso to climb up buildings and trees. While he can't fire two guns at the same time, he is better with the rifle and can eventually use a knife or bow to kill silently.

Strong Voice Dialog: Maybe it's because I'm a younger brother, but I found the back and forth between the brothers, mostly the two you can play as, engaging and, at times, hilarious. Their constant foul-mouthed jibes at one another helped set the tone for the relationship they shared, and in some strange way also helped me build a closer rapport with them.

Horseplay: The horses aren't as plentiful a I'd like them to be in the game, but once you find one and mount up they're a blast to ride. It's fun to pick people off as you barrel through a town on horseback, but just riding around is a satisfying experience.

Six Shooter Bullet Time: They may call it "concentration mode", but Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood has bullet time. There are moments in the game, usually following a cinematic, where you kick open a door and you and your brother get to blast away bad guys moving in slow mode but controlling the two crosshairs separately with the thumbsticks and pulling the triggers to fire. Each of the brothers also have their own concentration mode that can be activated during play. Kill off enough bad guys and you can press a button to drop into the mode. For Ray that means painting the slow-mo bad guys with the crosshairs until time runs out and Ray automatically empties his gun into them. For Thomas you just hold the trigger and flick the thumbstick as if it were a gun's hammer, blasting away the enemies. All three modes are extremely satisfying.

Wide Open Maps: The game takes place in a broad expanse of post Civil War America, with settings in southern plantations, high deserts, ruins, dusty towns and plenty of old towns and forts. All of the levels are packed with hidey holes, second floors and accessible rooftops, making gun play exciting and fast-paced.

Multiplayer Cowboys and Outlaws: Bound in Blood is everything you could want from a western shooter. Besides the traditional and team deathmatch, the game includes two other interesting modes. In Manhunt there are two teams, each taking turns either hunting down or protecting a wanted player. In Wild West Legends, one team has to complete a series of objectives, while the other tries to stop them. The objectives are all heavily themed to classic western story lines. Online play also includes more than a dozen classes, most of which have to be unlocked.

Hated
Buried Extras: A neat addition to the single-player campaign are a set of side missions you stumble across in some of the towns you visit. The side missions show up as wanted and help signs posted on the side of a building and playing through one just means reading the sign and going off after the objective. It's great, but unfortunately, they're tied directly to the games campaign and can't be reached separately, it seems, after you've beaten the game. It would have been nice if they allowed players, after they're done the game, to revisit the towns and finish this side missions, which aren't required but certainly add a bit of play to the title.

Sweet, But Short: There wasn't a dull moment, a bad mission, a poorly designed map in the entire game, but it only took me six and a half hours to play through it on the average setting. A quick fix would be, again, to let me go back into the side missions later on.

I love the western shooter, from Gun to Red Dead Revolver to Outlaws, and fortunately, developers don't stop trying to try to turn what is essentially a niche shooter into a mainstream hit.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood doesn't redefine the genre, nor, I fear, will it win over the mainstream audience that these games so richly deserve. What it does do is offer gamers a chance to step into the boots of lawless men in lawless times, to slap leather, to avenge wrongs and to peek into the motives of single-minded men.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood was developed by Techland and published by Ubisoft for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on June 30. Retails for $59.99 on consoles and $49.99 on PC. Played through the single-player campaign on the PS3, including several side-missions, and multiple matches of online multiplayer.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

DLC Bound for Bound in Blood

Owen Good — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 08:00:54 MDT

Techland, the developer of Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, announced three pieces of DLC are on the way but few other details. Two will be multiplayer map, the third is for the singleplayer mode.

No price points or release dates just yet. But the content will be available for all versions - PC, PS3 and Xbox 360.

Techland Announces DLC for Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood [VG247. Original article, in Polish, from Polygamia.]

New Juarez Trailer Sounds Like Porn Movie Script

Owen Good — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:00:00 MDT

I was going to introduce this clip with something about the game. But then, at 0:35 - "Don't you move, bitch." Followed by, "Yeahhhh! I'm comin'!" Please. There is no way that wasn't deliberate.

Call of Juarez:: Bound in Blood is cummin' to you June 30.

[via Gametrailers]

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Multiplayer Preview: All The Pretty Horses

AJ Glasser — Tue, 19 May 2009 10:00:00 MDT

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood builds upon the multiplayer mode from the original Call of Juarez by adding a lot more character classes.

The new classes are trapper, gunsmith, spy, officer, duelist, veteran, scout, native and hombre. The spy, officer, duelist and veteran are all locked initially, but the four original classes – gunslinger, sniper, rifleman or miner – are still around and keep things interesting.

ETA: Each class can be leveled up twice during multiplayer matches, but you lose those levels when you quit or finish the match unless you're playing a ranked match, in which case your character is persistent. Once you've earned enough money in ranked matches to unlock the four special classes, they stay unlocked for both ranked and un-ranked multiplayer games.

What Is It?
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a prequel to the 2007 PC/360 shooter-adventure, Call of Juarez. Players alternate between playing one of the two McCall brothers throughout the singleplayer game and choose a generic character to play for online multiplayer which supports up to 12 players.

What We Saw
I played the Wild West Legends mode and the Manhunt Mode. I believe there's only one other mode, a standard deathmatch. In Wild West, the players were divided into red and blue teams. One team would be Lawmen and the other Outlaws; the Outlaws' goal was to rob a bank and steal horses to escape and the Lawmen's goal was to stop them. At the end of the first round, the red and blue teams traded roles to replay the map. In Manhunt Mode, the same division of teams apply, but the goal is for the Lawmen to take control of points on a map and eventually capture the Outlaws' hideout.

How Far Along Is It?
Bound in Blood is due out June 30.

What Should Change?
I Don't Like The Cover System: This is a matter of preference more than a design issue – rather than tapping a button or making a conscious choice to go into cover, a character will stick to cover if he's close enough to the cover object and it's an object that actually counts as cover. This made cover confusing for me because I'd run to something that looked like it could be cover while being shot at, only I wouldn't stick to it and then I'd get shot and die. Or, I'd be trying to go around back en route to the stables and somehow I'd stick to the side of a building just as I was trying to fling dynamite, causing me to blow myself up.

Leveling Up Is A Risk: Multiplayer matches move fast, but it's imperative to level up your character. This creates a conflict when you know you've earned enough cash to level up, but you're in a firefight that doesn't leave any time to tap the menu button, select your class, press A, then press A again to confirm before exiting the menu. It's almost easier just to wait until you're killed before leveling up – but that's kind of counter intuitive.

What Should Stay The Same?
The Bounty System: The bounty system applies to all multiplayer modes and adds a VIP gameplay element to each of them. Every time you kill someone (even if it's by well-timed dynamite going off after you've already been killed), the bounty on your head rises by a dollar amount. Whoever kills you gets all of that money to spend on class levels. The VIP part comes from the sad fact that the guy who does the best is going to wind up the victim of everyone else's financial needs.

The Wild West Legends Mode: I enjoyed Manhunt mode and deathmatch is a requisite for multiplayer – but I truly appreciate a game that works with its theme to create a multiplayer mode that feels unique. The bank robbery match in Wild West Legends played up Bound in Blood's uniqueness as a Western-themed shooter and evoked my Texan childhood memories of playing cops and robbers.

Leveling Up Actually Matters: There's nothing more frustrating than pouring points into a character only to find it makes little to no difference in gameplay. This not the case with Bound in Blood; just one level in the miner class made me the most powerful player on my team because I suddenly had more ammo and more health than them. Then the other games journalists found time to pause and level up and that was the end of my short-lived superiority trip.

The Ethnic Classes: The native American can kill people in one hit (the downside being that his bow takes forever to draw) and the Mexican hombre has not one but two sawed-off shotguns. But the bigger part of it is that I'm glad to see Call of Juarez sticking to its Spaghetti Western guns. If only they'd add top-heavy, Derringer-sporting saloon girls. Then they'd really be representing every Western archetype I learned about during Go Texan day in school.

Final Thoughts
I'm looking forward to this game for a lot of reasons – and I confess most of those are part of the singleplayer game (dueling? Sign me up!). But it definitely sweetens the deal to have a solid multiplayer mode, especially if it honors the Western theme as thoroughly as the singleplayer. The only thing I can't weigh in on is the balancing: it'd take a lot more time than I had on hand to get a feel for all 12 character classes. But given that I never got bored playing multiplayer, I'm going to have lots of time to figure it out and I will probably enjoy every minute of it.

A Saucy Call of Juarez Wallpaper To Pass The Time

AJ Glasser — Wed, 13 May 2009 19:40:00 MDT

Two embargoes prevent me from saying too much about Ubisoft's Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood; but between this sexy wallpaper and the last trailer we saw, you've got all you need for now.

Just to get everyone on the same sexy page, here's what we know about the game so far so far: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is Techland's prequel to 2006's Western shooter, Call of Juarez. Bound in Blood focuses more on the gunslinging part than its predecessor and features a cool duel mechanic that simulates the Western quick-draw cliche. Players choose at the beginning of each level whether to play Ray or Thomas McCall — one brother's burly, the other ranged — and progress through a tale of blood, betrayal and presumably redemption because that's the title of the last trailer.

Be sure to check it out so you're not completely caught off-guard by the awesome when those embargoes expire. You can read our GDC 2009 impressions here to study up.

Grab the full-sized version right here.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood A Slick New Take on Westerns

Brian Crecente — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:00:00 MDT

The sequel to Call of Juarez is actually a prequel, set 20 years before the original western shooter.

In Bound in Blood players take on the roles of the McCall brothers. The story opens with the two deserting the confederate army and becoming outlaws. It ends, we were told, with a confrontation between the brothers.

"It's a story about the ties between brothers and how they can be destroyed," said producer Romain de Waubert de Genlis. "It's a very dramatic story, mature, adult."

When they set out to make the sequel, the team decided to concentrate on several key features.

They wanted to create a visceral shooter, de Waubert de Genlis said, getting back to the sense of the shooter, something action oriented with the focus on shooting.

The team added slow motion modes, concentration modes, for each brother to help gamers feel more like gunslingers in the game.

They also wanted to make sure to build iconic wild west moments into the game, so you get to rob a bank, attack a train and see plenty of wide landscape in Arizona.

The biggest focus, though, seems to be on the cooperative gameplay of the brothers. At the beginning of each level gamers get to choose which brother they want to play as. Each has a distinct style.

Ray is strong, skilled in close combat and is a more brutal character. Thomas is the smart one, using long rang weapons. He also can use a lasso to climb to higher vantage points.

The developers dropped into the game, about two-thirds in, to give me a chance to check out gameplay, though I wasn't allowed to actually play, just watch.

The level opened in a native American village with the colonel of the unit you deserted attacking. The colonel, they tell me, is the game's arch enemy, chasing you throughout the game.

The player runs up to find some cover and then uses a mode to slow down time and quickly paints a number of rebs with a targeting reticule. When time resumes, the character unleashes a flurry of bullets from his six shooter, killing all of them.

This special mode is activated once you get six kills, an icon shows you it's available, but you have to use it within sixty seconds or lose it.

Next he switches to two six-shooters, aiming and killing men as they run up to attack. Once he empties his guns he finds cover to methodically load each chamber of the gun before attacking again.

I also get a chance to see some horseback riding, with one of the characters shooting as he rides around the area. The game also features roping, which uses the thumbstick to sort of simulate the movements of trying to lasso an object.

Later, in another section, the developers show me a different special mode attack. In this mode you have to fan the thumbstick as if it's the hammer of the six shooter to take out multiple enemies.

The game will also have the occasional duel. In this mode you character takes up a large section of the screen, with the camera focus on the player's hip, hand and gun. You can also see the other character standing with his hand ready to draw.

Players will have to use one thumbstick to try and keep their character's hand as close to the gun as possible without touching it, and the other thumbstick to try and keep the enemy centered in the screen. When you hear a bell ring you slap the thumbstick toward your gun and your character draws. Then you have to pull the trigger as the targeting reticule automatically zips up from the ground, making sure to hit your target.

Without trying it myself, I can't tell how well it will work, but it looks like the type of experience that will be both fun and, in some ways, authentic feeling.

Bound in Blood's multiplayer is meant to be a gaming version of cops and robbers, with one side playing as the sheriff and his posse and the other playing as the robbers. While I didn't see multiplayer demonstrated, they told me that it will include a bounty system which increases the pay off for killing a player the better they are doing. The bounty earned in mulitplayer can be used to unlock classes.

Multiplayer will also include a wanted mode, with a team trying to take out the single wanted player and his protection.

As the presentation wrapped up I asked de Waubert de Genlis why he thinks previous western shooters haven't done so well and why he thinks this one will be different.

"There are a lot of reasons for that," he said. "There are trends. The sad reality is that because of what's going on in the world modern warfare has become more popular. Awhile ago it was World War II games.

"And I don't think there have been that many good western games with high production value. This is a fast-paced shooter, a very polished experience."

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Details, Trailer, Screens

Brian Crecente — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:00:00 MST

Ubisoft today released the first trailer and game details for their upcoming western-shooter Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, due out this summer on the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360.

The game, in development by Techland, will tell the story of the McCall brothers and take place in a variety of settings from "a ravaged Civil War-era Georgia to the Aztec ruins of Mexico."

The game will let you use a variety of weapons including canons and machine guns and includes shooting modes that can be unlocked with high accuracy percentage during shoot-outs.

Bound in Blood supports coop play, with gamers taking on the role of either Ray or Thomas MCall, each with their own gameplay style, specific abilities and weapons. The two characters specialize in close or long range fighting, can use lassos, dynamite and duel-wield.

The game will have the McCall brothers face a renegade Apache Chief, a greedy Mexican bandit, a vindictive Colonel, and others. It also will let players use horses, canoes, and wagons.

Finally, Bound in Blood's multiplayer will include multiple modes and maps. Multiple characters are unlocked for team-based objective modes or the straightforward team death match. A Bounty system allows players increase the bounty on their head with more kills. Getting rid of the deadliest among the players increase your bank roll.

Sounds like this game has oodles of potential.

Ubisoft Announces Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood

Brian Crecente — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:00:00 MST

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is coming to the PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 this year, Ubisoft announced today.

The game will be a prequel to the wild west shooter that was met with mediocre reviews in 2007.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood transports players from a ravaged Civil War-era Georgia to the Aztec ruins of Mexico. In the wildest West ever depicted, players can embody both McCall brothers in an intense Wild West storyline full of greed, lust and lawlessness that takes place during a legendary period of American history.

"Call of Juarez® was well received by gamers and critics,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Ubisoft. "We're confident this new collaboration with Techland will bring an even bigger and better adventure to fans of shooters and the lawless Wild West.”