By Craig Pearson on March 14th, 2013 at 5:00 pm.
Extract from ‘An Oral History Of The End Of The World’, circa 2045. Subject: Male, 23, nameless.
Yeah, I can tell you when it all started. First there was that teaser trailer for the ‘reveal’ trailer. Then the trailer itself. We should have spotted the pattern right away and taken action. Two trailers in two weeks? It was obviously a beginning. If someone had deleted all the copies of Adobe Premiere from Ubisoft’s computers, we might have been spared. But hindsight is a son of a bitch, and here we are. There is no world left. Every computer was clogged with self-replicating copies of Call of Juarez – Gunslinger trailers. The sound of gunshots rang out of every speaker. Children started to speak in Ye Olde Western voiceover. We couldn’t Google anything. We didn’t know. We. Didn’t. Know. I blame Craig Pearson. If only he hadn’t posted the new trailer, all of this would never have happened. I can’t take it. I CAN’T LIVE LIKE THIS!
*sound of gunshot*
Ooh, a new Call Of Juarez – Gunslinger trailer! Exciting stuff. You might be surprised that I’m keen on the new game, given the horrors that Call Of Juarez: The Cartel inflicted on everyone. I’ve already had a look at the game at an Ubisoft event. RPS sent Adam along as well, and we were both impressed enough to walk around making fingerguns afterwards.
It’s a digital-download only return to the Old West, and it’s very silly: you’re a bounty hunter retelling his life story. With the exception of Michael J. Fox’s Clint Eastwood, you seem to have met every single notable Western figure. The likes of Billy The Kid and Jesse James will pop up in front of your six shooters, and while you start the game in Billy’s employ, I’m sure he’ll end up at the end of your smoking barrel .
It was the gunplay that got me most excited: the six shooters seemed really responsive and satisfying, especially in the time-clogging ‘concentration mode’: the slow-motion allows the player to pick his targets carefully and then fill them full of holes. Every blast from every weapon had a lovely ‘blammo!’ to it. It’s was nothing but exclamation marks and gruff men talking about honour and death, but it looked lovely and gave me hope. Just don’t expect Red Dead Redemption.
Warning: you have to be online to watch this streaming video. Ubi’s DRM has too far!
14/03/2013 at 17:07 mr.lutze says:
This DRM is bullshit, only shows me “This video is private” message.
Edit: It works now, but we should never forget about the issues this completely unnecessary viewing protection has caused in the first minute after launch.
14/03/2013 at 18:15 Ultra Superior says:
So you can shoot red gunpowder casks to create explosions, huh? Clever !
14/03/2013 at 17:07 Wreckdum says:
I click on the video and it says “This video is private”!! HOW DARE THEY! Is it because it is a UK trailer and I’m in ‘Murika?
EDIT: Nevermind it’s working now!
14/03/2013 at 17:11 Wreckdum says:
This reminds me of a cowboy game from yesteryear… I can’t remember what year but it was an old cowboy FPS. You could light dynamite sticks and throw them… Someone please for the love of god remind me of the name of an older cowboy FPS!
14/03/2013 at 17:15 Craig Pearson says:
This? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outlaws_(1997_video_game)
14/03/2013 at 19:47 Wreckdum says:
Thank you Mr. Pearson! First try! That is why I love this website. Man that was driving me crazy.
Edit: FML they don’t have Outlaws on gog.com
For the better because it’s probably best left to nostalgia.
14/03/2013 at 20:53 2helix4u says:
That box art is bad ASS though.
More of that and less bioshock infinity angryman + gun please.
15/03/2013 at 14:59 brulleks says:
Actually Outlaws still stands up pretty well, as long as you can cope with the archaic graphics (shouldn’t be a problem for regulars on this site, that). I played it about 2-3 years ago. The only thing that annoyed me about it was the horrible, horrible water system level, in which you could go round for hours and hours without spotting the right route.
14/03/2013 at 17:16 Surlywombat says:
Was it Gun? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_(video_game)
14/03/2013 at 17:16 rapchee says:
must’ve been “wanted!”, a half-life mod, based on this not-at-all generic description :)
14/03/2013 at 18:22 G_Man_007 says:
Best mod and cowboy-based game… Ever.
“Moind you, the jelly is a funny thing…”
15/03/2013 at 03:41 nearly says:
I was so partial to Fistful of Frags that I used to play it with bots after nobody played anymore :(
15/03/2013 at 01:23 sharkh20 says:
That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the screenshot.
14/03/2013 at 17:22 Guvornator says:
Off the top of my head – GUN, that Lucasarts one I forgot the name of, Mad Dog McCree or Blood Bros (2d shooter – you could throw dynamite and at the end of a level your guy did a little dance like he’d just set his pants alight)
Edit: Outlaws, that was it! Thanks Mr P
14/03/2013 at 17:23 Hydrogene says:
Were you thinking about Outlaws, by Lucasarts, in the nineties? I loved it! The intro, lifebar( playing cards!) and general atmosphere were great.
edit: Craig beat me to it!
14/03/2013 at 17:48 qwagor says:
Dead Man’s Hand? Loved the game mostly because of the music (Calexico)
14/03/2013 at 17:53 Kasab says:
Dead Man’s Hand, by any chance?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Man%27s_Hand_%28video_game%29
If not any of those, it could’ve been Western Desperado. You’re better off not asking further.
14/03/2013 at 22:00 Spider Jerusalem says:
i instantly thought of outlaws as well.
great game.
14/03/2013 at 20:20 Vandelay says:
Lucasarts needs to get on GoG and start selling Outlaws. I missed it first time around, but I do recall playing the demo many times.
15/03/2013 at 00:03 Spider Jerusalem says:
and grim fandango. and full throttle. and a bunch of other things.
14/03/2013 at 17:08 Paul says:
Video unavailable. Ubisoft DRM strikes back.
14/03/2013 at 17:25 Guvornator says:
…so how many people actually thought it was DRM preventing the video from playing? Be honest, now…
14/03/2013 at 17:12 Forceflow says:
I didn’t forget about Call Of Juarez: The Cartel yet.
14/03/2013 at 17:26 Guvornator says:
I didn’t forget about the first Call Of Juarez. That game has a little bit of my heart.
14/03/2013 at 17:50 LennyLeonardo says:
YES. More cowboy games with hammer fanning. That’s the ticket.
14/03/2013 at 17:33 PitfireX says:
Whenever I see a game like this, I feel like its karma coming back to haunt the people who purchase CoW:The Cartel, and games like sniper ghost warrior. We’ll keep having them as long as morons keep buying them…. also do you think Techland knows that guns don’t recoil like that?
14/03/2013 at 19:24 Gap Gen says:
I forgot about it, until someone mentioned the game, and then I remembered, which I presume means I failed one of life’s victory conditions.
14/03/2013 at 19:26 Davie says:
You know, despite the apparent irredeemable shittiness of that game (I never played it) I owe it a debt of gratitude as one of the trailers introduced me to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. That is definitely worth some points in my book.
14/03/2013 at 17:16 TheCGMaximum says:
All i can say is: wild west skyrim with guns with a toon shader, yes please
14/03/2013 at 17:28 sonson says:
That would also be New Vegas, I guess. But I would love a game which gave me the western bombast of NV without the Fallout stuff.
I love New Vegas as well, brilliant game, but the Western stuff is an incidental element rather than core one. I would happily pay money for a version which looked better, amped up the cowboy shit to 11, and allowed for shooting everyone in slow motion for “justice” .
14/03/2013 at 17:45 norfolk says:
Man, I literally just finished New Vegas the other day and I gotta say, I really didn’t like it. The towns were all boring and empty, I broke half of the quests by doing them out of order, and the final battle was so… anticlimatic. The engine felt dated too, but then again it’s 3 years old, so whatever.
Anyhow, I’m still waiting for The Great Western Videogame (for PC). Such a rich genre, and so perfect for the medium…
14/03/2013 at 17:49 Brun says:
Blasphemer! None shall sully the name of the Sacred Cows! The Hivemind tolerates no independent thought, all opinions must conform to the will of the Hivemind!
14/03/2013 at 18:22 norfolk says:
Wellllllll I really really liked Dear Esther, and am backing Sir You’re Being Hunted, maybe that satisfies my Hivemind quota?
14/03/2013 at 18:41 SominiTheCommenter says:
NEVER! As Quinns was banished, so shall you! Repent, or you shall perish!
In all seriousness, it’s one of my favourite games of all time, up there with the first 2 Fallouts, but I can see the rough edges cutting some people.
14/03/2013 at 22:22 SkittleDiddler says:
That shit’s getting old, Brun. Get over it.
14/03/2013 at 21:15 F3ck says:
F:NV is a canvas…mods are your paint…get crazy…
…that game can be almost anything you want…
…but not unlike STALKER, it’s more about the journey than the destination.
14/03/2013 at 17:19 sonson says:
Am actually really looking forward to this. Might even pre-order it.
Seems to have a real identity. A game about being violent and shooty and over the top in a context where it makes sense and actually adds to that. Dramatic clichés, actually done well, are hard to find in videogames. They’re usually masquerading as something mature and it comes across po-faced and earnest and dull. This looks drunk and dumb and violent and brooding, which is how a game about being a cowboy bounty hunter should probably look.
If the mechanics are good and the swagger in the trailer can be conveyed to the experience it looks like a really good time.
14/03/2013 at 19:16 norfolk says:
Agree 100%. Except the bit about pre-ordering, cuz screw that jazz. But everything else, yes.
14/03/2013 at 17:21 mehteh says:
“CoJ returns to its roots”
Its multiplatform status immediately makes me think no since all AAA multiplats are made and designed for consoles
14/03/2013 at 17:22 Shooop says:
Everything looks good except for the Gatling gun bit which is a typical bullshit turret section. MAKE IT STOP.
The wild west is an ideal place for gritty shooters, as it was mostly lawless for a good number of years. Why do developers seem adverse to making games about it?
14/03/2013 at 17:44 Brun says:
It might be because there’s a perception that westerns don’t really resonate with younger (i.e. “modern”, to use the developer terminology) audiences.
14/03/2013 at 17:46 analydilatedcorporatestyle says:
Add a ‘hockle’ button to that list, where you can launch a meaty phlegm lump at your chosen target (that lands with a satisfying ‘ploit’ sound).
14/03/2013 at 17:53 Brun says:
Wouldn’t even need to do that, you could make it chewing tobacco instead and it would fit better with the time period – ever seen The Outlaw Josey Wales?
14/03/2013 at 18:00 analydilatedcorporatestyle says:
Yeah! I now also want the ‘relieve of boots’ QTE, this could be both a moment of hilarity and a source of more sturdy footwear! GERRIN!!
14/03/2013 at 21:18 F3ck says:
“…now, spit…”
15/03/2013 at 15:01 Brun says:
“Buzzards’ gotta eat, same as worms.”
14/03/2013 at 17:27 Jonesy says:
Makes me wish for another Grand Theft Horse installment.
14/03/2013 at 17:50 Bostec says:
Me too, I would paint the town RED with a game like that. I wouldn’t kill anyone though, I don’t wish anyone DEAD because of it, probably feel a little bit remorse, maybe even some REDEMPTION if I did, ah well, never mind.
15/03/2013 at 13:23 Sparkasaurusmex says:
Not sure what’s with all those capital words, but surely this is what he was talking about:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfWp_1iClNg
14/03/2013 at 17:28 Unrein says:
Call of Juarez: Bound In Blood had the best feeling FPS gunplay I’ve ever experienced. Hope this will continue in the same vein.
14/03/2013 at 17:41 analydilatedcorporatestyle says:
Is that the one where you got two guns and auto-aim you couldn’t disable? If so it couldn’t hold a candle to the first!(which by my exacting standards wasn’t too bad)
Now where is my coat and the exit!
14/03/2013 at 17:51 LennyLeonardo says:
Hold a candle? A Billy Candle?
14/03/2013 at 18:23 Jimbo says:
Bound in Blood definitely deserved more love.
14/03/2013 at 22:25 SkittleDiddler says:
Apart from the godawful mandatory quickdraw sections, it was a decent game.
15/03/2013 at 13:30 brulleks says:
Yeah, those were completely un-fun and unnecessary. – particularly with the whole refusal to invert mouse problem (I had to pause whenever a quick-draw triggered, un-invert mouse in the menu, unpause, try to get my bearings and shoot, then go back into the menu and invert again).
But the rest of the game was better than I’d expected it to be after reading reviews, though still not a patch on the first one. It didn’t suffer from COD-itis as much as I’d feared it would.
15/03/2013 at 17:16 judge_za says:
i agree, guns were so satisfying to use in that game.
14/03/2013 at 17:37 One Pigeon says:
Ah the Old West. Where real men stood 5 metres away from each other and in the middle of the street to have gunfights, instead of using this namby pamby modern thing we call ‘cover’.
14/03/2013 at 18:19 Ultra Superior says:
Ah yes, real men. Long before this plastic surgery farce we live in now.
14/03/2013 at 18:21 Shooop says:
And in reality shot each other while they were playing cards or eating.
14/03/2013 at 17:40 ass wasp says:
Can a franchise that has only had 3 games, only one of which was decent, really return to its roots?
Did they plan that ridiculous cartel crap just so they could say that in this trailer?
14/03/2013 at 17:41 DickSocrates says:
I see they’ve implemented the ‘Django Unchained’ blood system.
If you haven’t seen it, there’s a lot of blood from EVERY gun shot. Big open paint-can-thrown-through-the-air dollops of it.
14/03/2013 at 19:24 wodin says:
Yeah and the bullets sounded and acted like mini arty rounds..great film though.
14/03/2013 at 20:14 phelix says:
Nothing like a little colour to liven up the place!
15/03/2013 at 14:09 brulleks says:
That was excellent. I was roaring with laughter at the cartoon violence. Can’t believe some people in the cinema were hiding their faces through squeamishness – it was all so over the top!
14/03/2013 at 18:04 oceanclub says:
Almost 30 years later, I still think Bank Panic is the best Western game:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_Panic
P.
14/03/2013 at 18:16 Ultra Superior says:
You have my pity, man.
14/03/2013 at 18:28 Grargh says:
The carriage in the second screenshot either had some very artsy modernist carving work done, or the texture was originally planned for a cigar box.
14/03/2013 at 18:36 Alliance says:
The enemy on the cover has no reflection in the puddle, therefor I conclude this game is actually about vampires.
14/03/2013 at 21:15 wodin says:
You made me look real hard..and he does..you can see his leg clearly…keep looking.
14/03/2013 at 18:41 P34nk says:
Do anyone know if this is even free-roam/open world game with narrative (like FC3) or more like the first CoJ? I’m not saying the first (or second one) is bad, it is just quite too linear and I am hoping for a more open world approach (like Skyrim-ized CoJ) where you can get better pistols and guns.
I’m really down for that.
14/03/2013 at 19:15 Snids says:
This is not that.
14/03/2013 at 19:17 Snids says:
Looks great. But I HATE the outfits. JUST MAKE COWBOYS LOOK LIKE COWBOYS. Not like post apocalyptic Final Fantasy bounty hunters.
14/03/2013 at 21:44 LennyLeonardo says:
You said a mouthful mister. By which I mean I strongly agree.
14/03/2013 at 23:11 Ansob says:
Will it use Bound in Blood’s cover system? It was really good and should be in every FPS.
15/03/2013 at 04:59 napoleon_in_rags says:
Not a single Call of Jua-duty: Gunslinger Ops II joke in these comments? I’m exceedingly surprised. Although maybe it was a bit too obvious…