Until recently, something resembling a Mexican standoff seems to have arisen around videogame Westerns. Developers simply weren't willing to take the risks necessary to create a really great Wild West experience as publishers wouldn't back them financially, which was due to the fact that the gaming public hadn't shown a sufficient appetite for the genre, which in turn was because no one had managed to create a really great Wild West experience. This uneasy impasse looks like it's about to come to an end however, as not one but two high profile gunslingers are dusting down their ponchos as they ready themselves to mosey down videogame main street. While we'll have to wait until the end of the year for Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption, Polish developers Techland are going for their guns right now with their first person shooter Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood.

While videogames have warmly embraced cops and robbers, and soldiers of both the sci-fi and standard variety, it's somewhat strange that the same welcome hasn't be extended to the Wild West. After all, the genre has an inherent sense of time and place, and the open plains can be just as malleable and evocative a backdrop for complex and compelling characters as space or the skyline of any city; and if the likes of Back to the Future III and City Slickers have taught us anything, it's that time on the old cattle trail can be a whole lot of fun.

Despite having such auspicious reference points to plunder from however, it's highly unlikely that Bound in Blood will feature a scene where a pixelated Billy Crystal is hilariously dragged behind a horse until he's brought to an abrupt halt by a cactus to the crotch. Coming two years after the original Call of Juarez was released on Xbox 360 and PC, Bound in Blood is both a sequel and a prequel whose events take place before those of the first game. Set at the end of the American Civil War, it's the dark tale of how the lives of two brothers, Ray and Thomas McCall, are irreversibly changed by the conflict, how temptation derails their good intentions, and how Ray becomes the man of God we met in the first instalment.

With such a deep well of inspirations to draw from, it should almost be impossible for Techland to fail to capture at least some of the essence of the Old West, both visually and mechanically. Now in its fourth iteration, the company's Chrome Engine specialises in recreating the epic, widescreen environments that epitomise the region, and just as the barren beauty of the vistas make for an arresting contrast, so do the two brothers; while Thomas is a relative master of agility and precision who, when he's not using throwing knives or a rifle to pick off enemies at range, wields a mean lasso to access hard to reach places, the older Ray is more rugged and durable, allowing him to get in close with twin pistols and sizzling sticks of dynamite.

The siblings' differing specialities also extend to the ways in which they mete out maximum amounts of damage during the Concentration Mode, which becomes available when you've racked up a sufficient number of kills. Although it's a slowdown shooting system that's very similar in the action genre, each brother has their own unique variation. When controlling Ray for example, you have a limited period to highlight targets that the grizzled cowboy then deals a quick, lead-induced death to once time runs out. With Thomas on the other hand, concentration does the aiming for you, so all you need to do is pull back on the analog stick at the right moments to fire your weapon.

Although there will be times when you're forced to play with a specific McCall, for most of Bound in Blood you're allowed a free hand on the reigns when it comes to switching between the two. No matter what your preferred option though, along the way you'll be treated to the chaos of the Civil War trenches, the powder-keg peace and quiet of frontier towns, the flurry of pounding hooves that accompanies a stagecoach stick-up, and even the chance to try and sink a lavish paddle steamer with a cannon. Bound in Blood would also have a nerve calling itself a Western if it didn't feature some one-on-one duels, and thankfully it does, saving such events for some of the most important adversaries you'll run into and recreating the way these moments are exercises in anticipation by focusing in on every small movement that both men make before the vital split second when it's 'kill or be killed'.

Ridding side saddle to the single player story is a posse of standard multiplayer options for up to twelve players, accompanied by an interesting bounty hunter system where the more kills you rack up, the higher the price on your head becomes. If Techland can make these mass shootouts as naturally exciting as those from the movies then they'll be part of the way to a successful game, but the real test will be how well Bound in Blood's single player mode can combine a gritty plotline with its less serious, spaghetti Western style action. Come this July it could be high noon for the Call of Juarez series.

Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is scheduled for release on Xbox 360, PS3 & PC on 3rd July 2009 in the UK and 30 June 2009 in the US.

Previewed by James Hamblin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).