Call of Juarez: Gunslinger

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger has a lot of charm in its short but appropriately wild Old Western campaign, with an excellent storytelling twist and fast-paced arcadey gunplay against wily black-hats. Why it puts such emphasis on its broken dueling mechanic is confounding, and its ludicrous load times and occasional crashes are marks against it, but the good beats out the bad and the ugly.

Other western games may better capture the grandeur of the American West, but pure, outlandish spaghetti western gunfights have never been more thrilling than they are in Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. Let's just hope this marks an exciting new direction for the franchise and not yet another outlier in its ever more schizophrenic history.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is a funny game and a satisfying romp, with clearly influenced ideas that all have their own unique little spins. I'll fully admit that I went into it expecting another damp squib, but came away thoroughly impressed. While it sadly won't get much attention, given the fact it launched quieter than a church mouse with its mouth stapled shut, I wholly recommend it to fans, newcomers, and those who felt burned by the last awful game in the series.