Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

Greetings, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is the fourth game in the Juarez series and brings the franchise back to the Western genre. The game was released in 2013, offering the player the chance to complete three different playable segments which include the campaign, a duelling section and an arcade mode. The story has a minor link to the original plot that is covered within the first two games as the McCall brothers are only mentioned in Gunslinger’s storyline rather than involved in it. Call of Juarez: Gunslinger follows the adventures of a new protagonist over a long time period that begins and ends in the year 1910. I’m unsure if there are any references to the third instalment in the series as I haven’t played the Cartel but I would imagine that due to its negative reputation, Techland and Ubisoft would want to distance the two games.

The plot begins with an old bounty hunter, named Silas Greaves, entering a saloon. Greaves entertains a small group of patrons as he drinks by retelling stories from his bounty hunting career that involve him hunting down legendary bandits and outlaws such as Jesse James. The patrons play only a small role in the plot, mostly asking Greaves questions, and as such they lacked a chance to develop their personalities. Despite this criticism, the main protagonist of Silas is an interesting character with an intriguing style of narration. Greaves’ storytelling contains elements of humour and exaggeration in his recounting of his adventures as he is an unreliable narrator or is misheard by his audience, leading to confusion.

The plot is short and very simplistic with only one twist at the end but in my opinion that doesn’t make the game any less entertaining. It is revealed at the beginning of the story that Silas is seeking revenge on three bandits for crimes they had committed in his past, his most prominent target being a man named Roscoe Bob Bryant. His motivation for tracking down Bryant and his companions isn’t revealed until later on in the story. While on his quest for vengeance Greaves often hunts down infamous outlaws, a factor that makes the patrons question the authenticity of his tales.

While the game is short in the campaign mode it makes up for it with memorable music, an interesting art style and two other playable modes that were already mentioned. The story mode contains an additional task for the player to complete. The player is meant to explore the map and discover the locations of nuggets of truth, items that provide information on historical figures and events. It took me a while to get into Gunslinger but I enjoyed it in the end. I am unsure what the future of this series will look like or if there will be another instalment.

Plot=7/10

Characters=7/10

Graphics=8/10

Overall=7/10

Quote of the Day

Don't talk like you're one of them! You're not... even if you'd like to be. To them you're just a freak, like me. They need you right now, but when they don't they'll cast you out, like a leper. See, their morals, their "code"... it's a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you - when the chips are down, these, ah, "civilized people"? They'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve.

Joker

The Dark Knight