Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
DEVELOPER: Techland
PUBLISHER: Ubisoft
RELEASE DATE: May 22, 2013

As a fan of all things old west, I crave video games set in those times, and there haven’t been a whole lot of them to enjoy. The best so far has been Red Dead Redemption, but the ultimate would be a first-person open-world RPG western, kind of like Fallout: New Vegas but in the late 19th century and without all the apocalypse stuff.

It was this wish for more first-person western games that first drew me to the Call of Juarez series. The first game was a little rough around the edges, but because it was a western FPS it gained a special place in my heart. The sequel, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, was actually a prequel, and also an improvement over the first game. Then came Call of Juarez: The Cartel, which has no place in this conversation because it jumped to modern day Los Angeles and made me very sad.

I wasn’t the only one saddened by this attempted escape from the old west, and developer Techland and publisher Ubisoft took notice, returning to the franchise’s roots for the fourth game in the series, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. But is it worth your time?

The Call of Juarez video game series is a bit of an awkward one, to say the least. The first two games in the series—Call of Juarez and its prequel, Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood—are by no means considered to be great by most people. But if you’re really into westerns, such as myself, they can also be a ton of fun to play.

Then came word of the third game, which would be called Call of Juarez: The Cartel and be set in modern day Los Angeles. As you might have guessed, both fans of the previous two games and non-fans alike scratched their heads at the move. And unsurprisingly, the game did not do well at all.

To developer Techland and publisher Ubisoft’s credit, they learned from the mistake, and are now returning to the old west with Call of Juarez: Gunslinger. Continue below for more and to check out a gameplay trailer for the game.