An interesting change of direction and a newfound reductionist approach sees this western themed shooter reclaim some previously lost energy, despite a distinct lack of ambition.

Shown from the memories of cowboy Silas Greaves, the game is told retrospectively throughout. It’s a nice twist on what otherwise would be a rather uninteresting story, as segments get rewound and retold to suit the exaggerative story best. Gunslinger has some cool, comic-book style cut scenes that help add to the tall-stories style of the narrative. Furthermore, the level of self-indulgent cliché on exhibition here is just above the threshold of bearable, as the title never takes itself particularly seriously in its tour of the old-west. Keeping its head above water nicely, the narrative material is thoroughly exhausted come curtain-close, but it is a close run thing and for the less patient, the repetition may begin to grate.

The latest iteration to the Call Of Juarez series sees an interesting new artistic direction take centre stage. A cell-shaded, colorful edge plays nice contrast to the over-the-top blood and gore that comes tearing out of enemy’s chests upon death. All of which ensures the game has an eye-popping, engaging aesthetic that makes the title more memorable than an average grey and brown shooter.  There’s a level of vibrancy on show that is rare, between an alternative colour palate and a tongue-in-cheek style, Gunslinger has just enough to keep the eyes drifting amongst its ultimately repetitious formula.

On a technical basis, Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger is consistently competent and therefore good fun, if not a touch forgettable. It plays out as a supremely linear FPS with tunnels full of bad guys. Duel-wield pistols, rifles or shotguns are the sticks of death on the menu, all of which pop in a delightfully western way. Adding to the fun presentation of the title, enemies rip open in a crimson flurry as they descend into a slow-motion tumble, subsequent to being hit. Which is easier on the eyes and adds to the empowering sense of being a wild-west hero.

A couple of nice additions to the title on a mechanical front are the concentration mode, (which is a pretty scandalous rip-off of Red Dead Redemption’s dead-eye meter) and a means of avoiding a bullet to the head known as sense of death. The former, as expected, fills as enemies are killed and enables the player to slow down time for easier shots. It’s acceptable enough in its execution and is genuinely helpful towards the latter stages of the game. The latter is a rather hit-and-miss addition that enables the dodging of fatal bullets using the analogue stick. However, due to the restricted perception of an FPS it’s often unclear and therefore frustrating. On a technical level, the title suffers from an understandable lack of ambition that results in a set of mechanics that have been done elsewhere, and done more proficiently.

This being said, Gunslinger possesses a surprisingly deep upgrade system for a title of its size. Split into three distinct categorizations, upgrades are provided in the form of Ranger, Gunslinger and Trapper additions. These effectively equate to long-distance, duel-wielding and close-quarters upgrades respectively. All of which add a nice tactical variety and help promote varying play styles. Ensuring that the title has enough variation in approach to warrant multiple play-throughs and also offer a challenge to players of multiple inclinations. This aside, the upgrades and abilities are only variations upon the same core and in reality the way in which objectives are tackled will remain the same regardless; kill lots of bad guys in an area, before moving onto the next.

A healthy scattering of secrets that reveal more of the mythos of the west add a nice level of distraction for a short period, even if it is little more than fleeting. These act as a nice summary for the games overall approach to its western narrative; it’s homage. Playing out as a tribute to all of the great western characters, it’s often little more than a rehash of old ideas, with a new lick of paint. A lack of any kind of distinct originality isn’t enough to take the fun out proceedings, but it is rather damning in light of what has been done with this theme in the last few years.

Like most series, Call Of Juarez has suffered a regrettable lull in previous iterations. However, Gunslinger’s more compact approach sees this linear shooter stripped of any excess in favor of a more reductionist approach. In doing so, the title admittedly loses a certain level of originality but in turn regains a clear sense of focus and concise direction, resulting in a shooter that provides a fair share of western fun.

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