Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

I came across this game by watching game review videos on Youtube. I added it to my wishlist from hearing about its special story telling mechanic. During the game you play the story of the protagonist as he is telling it to a couple of locals in a saloon. You here both the narrator (protagonist) and the locals discuss certain details of the story while you are playing it. Whenever someone notes an inaccuracy or the narrator adds another detail, these changes are made visual while you play (for example, a doorway appearing out of thin air or whole pieces of scenery or enemies being replaced before your eyes). This gives the game a unique look and feel, which I haven't experienced anywhere else. The game at its core has very descent shooting mechanics, combined with a good progression system. Additionally, it switches up the gameplay with dueling sections at the end of most chapters. The gameplay remains enjoyable till the end, and also has an extra difficulty grade which unlocks upon completion. Even as one of my first playthroughs of a western shooter game, I rate this game 5 stars.

To be clear, I'm writing this from a perspective of someone who's more used to old-timey FPS games of the 90s and early 2000s which generally didn't hold your hand. Picked up CoJ: Gunslinger on sale because it looked neat and came away pleasantly surprised, but couldn't fail to notice the hall marks of an 2010-era FPS: - Very linear levels with little to no player freedom, walking from set piece to set piece. - One-way drops leading into obvious combat arenas with enemies surrounding you from all sites. - Sudden and frankly disjointed QTEs that tend to also disable your movement keys. - Game slowing down your character (no more sprinting) or even time to make sure you hear that piece of dialogue. - An abundance of dialogue in general you can't hear or follow over the gunfire. - Frankly pointless skill progression system. So not exactly what I was looking for. Regardless, I did enjoy my time with this game and it managed to absorb me into the story courtesy of superb voice acting, well-crafted cut scenes and the overall ambience. Essentially boils down to an old cowboy sharing his life stories while getting drunk with strangers, so everything tends to be ridiculously over-the-top spaghetti western style nonsense. Who cares about historical accuracy? I love it! There's also an underlying dark theme to it as Silas is a broken old man with a troubled past and many regrets. A relic of the past without a purpose in life. The last two missions kinda ruined the experience, however. Movement and gunplay were also excellent. Silas controls like a human being rather than a featherweight super soldier. All guns felt great to use with some believable weight to them, but I certainly did miss clouds of black powder smoke! Silas' "Concentration" superpower worked well enough for me. I also enjoyed the instant action arcade mode, which uses slightly modified levels from the campaign but with way more enemies. I did not like any of the duels, though. Recommended.

It's easy to tell that Gunslinger was never a high-budget production with its many re-used assets, similar level designs (particularly the town shootouts), and an army of cowboy clones. Nonetheless, Techland managed to cobble together a very enjoyable (spaghetti) Western romp with plenty of fun shootouts. I particularly like its approach of story-telling, playing out like a series of dime novels from one level to the next as the protagonist talks about his exploits. I especially liked how they made playful changes to how the level played out by plopping in new paths and scenery as he changed the way he was telling/misremembering his often very quite tall tales of bravado. A good time to be had as long as you lower some of your expectations. ;)

The game which I've enjoyed the most. To bad it is not also on Linux . Superb music. Enchanting scenery. Real heart palpitations. My favorite parts- the scenery oh my Lord! such scenery, so good I would have made so many masterpieces from the game. I would have enjoyed even just walking in this game. The guns- art on show. The skills points and the ability to develop on your way gives the supreme edge for a banal shooter.It becomes a strategy game. Music - that has been a new discovery for me. Raw country music with some rock; delightful. The multiple plots, diverse enemies and styles of fight - just fascinating. Shooting in scenery for an edge, or birds for fun, as you are falling. Splitting dynamite in the air. Better then any western movie. I do not need better graphics. Just open world and more scenes where to use a bit the brain and stealth. More righteous indignation – like the revenge of the blood and fight for a better world and pile and piles of more missions. Wish there would just be other at least 10 games like it. The only one on the market. Good taste for all the details. Cheers for the best team. Thanks GOG for managing all my saves and accomplishments over the years and on working stations.

I really enjoy this gem. This was the final installment of the series (as far as I'm aware) and is the best of them. The story starts with a old gunslinger going into a small town and people start asking who he is when he enters a saloon. He claims that he is a famous bounty hunter and begins to tell different stories of famous outlaws he had killed throughout his career. The gameplay is smooth and fun. It has a arcade feel to it (in a good way) that keeps you coming back for more. You have a small skill tree to help you play the way you like. The graghics hold up nicely but can still run on a toaster. If you like feeling like your a badass cowboy out for vengence, this game does a good job. I highly recomend if your into single player shooters.