Although it is few of it's kind, it is an excellent western FPS that will immerse you in wild west gun-slinging fun.
The graphics of this game are decent. Nothing to brag about, but during some points the games environment will have you stopping and looking around. Especially when you are in the Indians' territories surrounded by waterfalls and mountains. That is when the environment shines. Most of the game take place in a desert location, which isn't too impressive. The character models are stiff and clanky sometime, which manages to throw off the good voice acting. The characters sometimes look like puppets, or robots who have not been properly oiled in their joints.
The game play is enjoyable. Like any other FPS, you will find yourself going from location to location simply shooting up anything that gets in your way with occasional chances in which you will be able to control horses, ride in carriages, and canoe down a rivers. At the beginning of each level you will be able to pick whether you want to control Ray or Thomas. Ray plays more like a tank. He is able to use shotguns, gatling guns, dynamite, and duel-wield any type of one-handed pistol. He is designed for up close action opposed to his counterpart brother. Thomas is the sniper in a sense. He is able to use a lasso to get to high places, he has knives and bows for stealth kills, and he is an expert at the rifle which provides the chance to stand back from the action and simply pick off enemies from afar. Each brother also has their own special attack known as "concentration mode". This mode allows you to go into a slowed down state in which you can easily take down tens of enemies at one time.
Playing as one brother over the other is really a decision of choice. No level is based around having an advantage for a certain brother, so whichever brother you pick before the level is based on how you play FPS. Their are also certain levels in which the brothers split up and go separate ways during a level. There is no real missed opportunity here since these split-ups only occur about twice the entire game. Nothing really deserving of going back and playing the level again as the other brother. Oh, and the third brother, William, isn't playable. This is good because he is more of a plot enhancing character/ narrator of the game, and also quite annoying at times.
As I said before, the game will have you traveling around the South looking for the Call of Juarez. As you move from town to town you will simply navigate through cities and forests shooting up everything. Every single boss battle in the game takes the form of a quick draw mode. This is a mode in which it is two characters standing opposite of one another waiting for a queue to draw their guns and fire. You use the left thumb stick to keep the enemies in your sights, while also using the right thumb stick to keep your hand close to your holster. once the bell rings you simply move you hand as close as possible to your holster and shoot. This can be very aggravating sometimes considering the computers response is quite fast. There is no room for even the smallest error. This also provides no challenge in the boss area. Every boss has the same quick draw setup and even if you die you simply restart at the beginning of the quick draw, and after you memorize the patter of the queue then you already win. Through trial and error the last boss is as easy as the first boss.
Throughout the game you'll also find "secrets" inside of chests that unlock artwork with commentary and old picture from the civil war.
Twice during the game you are offered a chance to buy guns and do extra missions for extra money. Money is acquired from dead enemies, chests hidden around a level, bags hidden around a level, and rewards from side missions. Money doesn't really play a big part in this game as it seems to be enforced. The money is used to buy ammo and better versions of guns, but this all seems irrelevant. Their are only three types of ammo; pistol, rifle, and shotgun, so no matter what pistol, shotgun, or rifle you have you'll always have ammo. I never found myself once buying ammo. Getting gun upgrades is just as pointless. The guns themselves only get more shiny/ glossy as you upgrade them and the only real upgrade that increases is their reload speed. No matter what level or gun you seem to use, one or two shots kills and enemies no matter what. Also, the higher the levels get the better guns the enemies drop. So you might spend $500 on a gun upgrade on level three, but in level ten every enemy is dropping a better upgrade, for free. And also, since all the boss battles are one-hit quick draws, then there is also no need to really upgrade weapons.
The side missions seem irrelevant also. They mainly focus on having to kill a gang of thieves, or retrieve some items, but all boil down to simply killing everything and then getting into quick draw sequence.
These little breaks in which you can do side missions and buy weapons may seems like a break in game play, but are ultimately just really not needed. playing through the game regularly will allow you to obtain enough money to buy decent guns, and since the point of the side missions is to get money to buy better guys, they tend to seem like time-wasters.
The online version is very......strange. I tried to play online about three times, but found myself scratching my head. Unlike Killzone 2 the graphics and game play elements change drastically during online play. Characters are more clanky and less detailed, the reaction time with gun kills are slow, some enemies stutter back and forth through the level, and when some enemies climb up ladders their whole body just moves straight up with no animation, and they are invincible to gunfire.
Also, there were not any instructions on what to do or how to do it. The game threw you in the fire and made you learn. Another thing was that online just wasn't exciting and once I did get the hang of it, I found myself just being bored. This problem is also effecting other games too since most of the times you can't even find a full game of people to play with, or a match in general, because people just aren't playing online.
The overall game is fun. I always enjoy FPS because they just provide a fun experience and are all varied. But this is the first western style FPS I've ever played, and I really enjoyed it. Aside from the not so great online play and the fact that you'll beat the game in about one day, this game is quite fun. There is no point in replaying the game twice as a different brother since their is no defining reason other than game play. For the short amount of time you do spend on this game however, you'll feel immersed inside of the western society as a wanted criminal participating in jail breaks, Indian battles, quick draws, and horse chases. It's fun and I would recommend it as a rental.