For the PC release, the European version, that was out quite a while ago, was DX9. The North American version, which is somewhat more recent, has a DX10 mode.
The story of the SLEEPER HIT of the year: Call of Juarez
- Thread starter Cyan
- Start date
heh, that's fine. This game almost came unnoticed as it's been very quietly hyped both by gamers and the developers.
?! Yes, it'd be a good feature in a game where you want to keep the medics down.
Sadly, after Halo 3 came out the multiplayer is not very active currently. Neither is dead, but it just became "stationary" now.
Sometimes I have had trouble finding a MP mode I would like to play but other than that, you can always find a deathmatch going -which I also like, of course, but you get the idea-.
The multiplayer runs great as it isn't glitchy although it can get laggy sometimes, but this is not common. There's a new patch coming out,probably bringing more content to this game mode -there are approximately 40 MP maps by default-.
All in all, the multiplayer of this game is fascinating to me, due to two main factors: the maps and the characters.
The diversified gameplay characteristics of the maps require smart tactics, sharp eye.., etc, and given the fact that most maps take place in typical western towns of the 19th century, everything look so natural.
Also, it is VERY balanced because there is nothing unnatural in the characters.
They start with different weaponry but they are basically average *human beings* and their differences (the most noticeable one being the Gunslinger`s ability to reload revolvers faster than anyone) are minimal but crucial to fit to your style or the map, as expected.
Taking into account the naturalness of the game in that regard and the realistic environments where town gunfights take place, it made me think about how to increase the level of interactivity in games.
For instance, if someone is chasing you... what if you could enter a building and close the front door just to take a breather, plus waiting there for your opponent?
Another example: there's a MP map which features a two floored Old West bank. There are similar maps where you can get to the roof of the bank and snipe opponents, but not in this one.
There are half open windows in the second floor, and you have a decent field of view to the street from there, a fact which made me think something like: "well, what if I could open the right or left side of the window a bit more thus increasing the FOV by a 20-30%?". It would be an amazing feature.
It's not the classic sniper position but the standard rifle would do fine because it's a great medium range weapon and you are somewhat close to the street.
There is not matchmaking support, you can search for games in a classic fashion, based on your favourite MP mode, player or ranked matches, etc. It does the work very well.
Fixed, many thanks.
Hmmm, very interesting stuff. Fixed, thanks.
Other than that, I'd just want to point out that the demo features the 3rd stage of the game which is an okay level by CoJ standards, it shows some nice details, but if you want to impress people with fancy graphics and great gameplay the 10th stage and some others, for instance, would be probably better for a demo.
It's a good game and the scores aren't that bad.
However, I will never understand -and for that I mean NEVER- some harsh reviews of this game, especially TeamXbox.
What's the problem? Is it because Techland are new and "poor" and they are making their way in this industry while, for instance, Bungie and Turn 10 games are always pompous and glamorous and deserve a 9+ score just because they say so?
Heck, I could even agree with the score Arstechnica gave to Halo 3, because it undeserves the masterpiece label. It's just an average game. There are very gross cases of undeliverers of goods such as Forza 2 but I prefer to keep my opinion to myself on this one not to scare people but that's another story.
I've seen videos of this game running on the PC and the 360 version seems more enjoyable, mainly because of the aforementioned controls and the stable framerate adding to that that multiplayer is perhaps less foreseeable because of the awkward nature of console controls for FPS games. Sometimes you do great, while others you just feel clumsy but the thing is that you are having a lot of fun.
Edit: Some neat stuff which is common to both versions of the game.... It's just an amusing fact about Call of Juarez, something that I like a lot just for the fun of it. It
lies in stacking a big pile of boxes and then setting fire to it using a brass oil lamp burner. :smile: It's a great shield against enemies and it's also hilarious.
In fact I'm quite surprised with the Benchmark results towards the end of this video; http://youtube.com/watch?v=SSsUUB-ykyc
Looking at the specs that top end PC is orders of magnitude more powerful than the X360.
Talks about bad optimization while, on the contrary, it's actually very well optimized on the Xbox 360. It's hardly surprising CoJ is a strenous game and turning a good level of AA on could bring some PCs down to its knees.
Not a direct answer to your question as Dave Baumann provided you with the info your were requesting, but well....
Sadly, this game would deserve more hype than it has received. The game really worths every penny of it, imo.
It's a long game, counting on my fingers it took me around 20 hours to beat the campaign mode for the first time.
Also there's plenty of secrets to get along the way (a secret *weapon* -glitched, it's going to be patched because it's unreachable-, Wanted posters, and a new difficult mode -you don't unlock this finishing the campaign on Hard, you need to do something different-.
In conclusion, I am very fond of the entire experience.
The extra missions are also great, and they would be very good levels in the campaign mode.
Currently I'm playing online and trying to complete the game on the tougher difficulty mode (finished it in Normal and Hard difficulty modes). Apart from the fact I'm having some trouble completing it I think I'm doing quite fine.
One thing I love about this generation of consoles is that I'm discovering the games I like.
Back in the GC-Xbox-PS2 era to be honest I was a complete newbie and I asked people for recommendations on Xbox games, my 1st console, and when I did Halo and PGR2 were often the first games on their lists. They were right and I basically purchased AAA games in 2004 and 2005, so I am thankful.
Now the situation is different. I am an early adopter and I've had to find out by myself what games are (or could be) worthy from my point of view as much as from others.
Some of my "discoveries" are that PGR3 is not even close to PGR2, Halo 3 is good game but it's not as determinant for me as Halo 2 although I still like it, Forza 1 was great but FM2 is soulless and hopeless, yada yada yada.
Call of Juarez is not perfect by any means but it remains an innovative, satisfying game with newflanged technology and what it does, it does very well.
Cheers m8
This may be hard to read because the guy can't write, but it sums up what I thought of the game...
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/thelawman/player_review.html?id=484338&tag=readerreviews;continue
It is very strict in what it lets you do and what you must do to proceed. I like to be able to be able to choose how to play games. This game initially feels like it is going to be a sandbox world, but it certainly is nothing of the sort.
Gun is probably the better western shooter, IMO.
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/thelawman/player_review.html?id=484338&tag=readerreviews;continue
It is very strict in what it lets you do and what you must do to proceed. I like to be able to be able to choose how to play games. This game initially feels like it is going to be a sandbox world, but it certainly is nothing of the sort.
Gun is probably the better western shooter, IMO.
I agree with him in the caves part. There are a couple of levels in the caves which are grey and colourless but other than that what he wrotes makes no sense.
I've never found those glitches he mentions and I can tell you that, in fact, I tend to wander around quite a lot and try different things commonly.
The game has probably been patched since then or a new patch is coming out but the X360 version is fine. I had never heard about such issues.
Edit: It's not a short game by any means because it has 16 levels being the first two the easiest, obviously. Also there are four secret missions and a hidden character..., among other neat stuff and secret achievements.
I'm not getting why you guys think this game, a first person shooter, would work better on a gamepad. Its an FPS and one designed for the PC first, of course its going to work better with a Keyboard/Mouse. I would hate to try some of those shoot outs on a pad unless your helped out by some serious auto aim (which in itself is bad).
I also don't know where your getting the idea that the PC has a worse framerate than the 360 from. At max details the game will bog down the most powerful PC's but max details = 2048x2048 shadow maps and its they that are the main performance killer. Like I said I can quite happily hit over 60fps most of the time on a GTS with shadow resolution at 1024x1024 and shadows at medium which i'll bet is exactly what the 360 runs at (albeit at a lower resolution with less AF)
Its nothing to do with optimisation. That video was of the DX10 benchmark which while looking much better than the DX9 and 360 versions of the game, also is massively more strenuous on the hardware. Add to that its using 2048x2048 shadow map resolution and high detail shadows, plus 1280x1024 res and 4xMSAA. In other words every setting is higher than the 360 version.
I finally tried out the XBL demo of this game and I have to say.. WTF? It really isn't remotely comparable to the PC version. The resolution seems very low and there's certainly no AA. Framrate is at best 30 fps and the controls are crap on a pad.
I also remember someone telling me a while ago (evidently not in this thread) that the 360 version allowed independant control of your pistols when in concentration mode via the analog sticks which I ceded as an advantage. But its blatantly not true. The control scheme is exacly the same as the PC version.
In summary, the game looks a fair bit worse than the DX9 PC version, the framerate is worse than on a GTS 640 and the controls suck. Its no wonder this game hasn't made a splash on consoles.
p.s. sorry for the rant but my expectations of the console version were very high after some of the posts here, and after playing it a moment ago, it doesn't even come close to meeting some of the things I have read.
I also remember someone telling me a while ago (evidently not in this thread) that the 360 version allowed independant control of your pistols when in concentration mode via the analog sticks which I ceded as an advantage. But its blatantly not true. The control scheme is exacly the same as the PC version.
In summary, the game looks a fair bit worse than the DX9 PC version, the framerate is worse than on a GTS 640 and the controls suck. Its no wonder this game hasn't made a splash on consoles.
p.s. sorry for the rant but my expectations of the console version were very high after some of the posts here, and after playing it a moment ago, it doesn't even come close to meeting some of the things I have read.
