The classic American Western is possibly one of the most under-utilised genres in modern-day gaming, which is a helluva shame really. There's been some classics over the years like Sunset Riders, as well as some questionable efforts like Mad Dog McCree, but even with such highs and lows, it's easy enough to count `em all with the chambers of your twin six-shooters. And despite a brief resurgence of interest with Red Dead Revolver and Dead Man's Hand (and some, would argue quite validly, Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath) on the original Xbox, the Wild West faded into obscurity again, blown away with the dust and tumbleweeds. Until now that is, with Ubisoft releasing the Call of Juarez, an all-new Western with its sights set firmly on unseating GUN from its high horse.

Call of Juarez settles comfortably into the saddle somewhere between your old classic Spaghetti Westerns and more modern interpretations like Deadwood. That is to say, it blends a gritty, realistic take on the old West with all the gun-slinging, dynamite-throwing, pistol-duelling action of the genre classics. It also takes the bold step of putting you in the shoes of two very different characters whose tales are intrinsically linked throughout the game. The story begins with Billy, bastard child who has never known a father, treated like dirt by his mother's new squeeze, until he runs away from home in search of the legendary gold of Juarez. Years go by and he finds nothing, and eventually he heads back home to get on with his life.

Things go south when he returns home to find his mother and step-father brutally murdered, and to make matters worse, his step-dad's brother, the Reverend Ray McCall, saw him at the scene of the crime and has now sworn to exact his bloody and righteous vengeance on Billy's hide in the name of the Lord. This sets up the game's hunter-hunted dynamic really well, and helps weave a tight, enjoyable narrative, driven by classic clichés, unforseen twists and, of course, lots and lots of gunfights.

Ray and Billy both handle quite differently without being jarring; one relies on stealth and is nimble, the other wears armour and can dual-wield a sawn-off shotgun with the Bible. If that fact alone doesn't make you rush out to buy Call of Juarez, then there's something wrong with you, or maybe you just need some persuadin'. The two storylines often cross over and after playing as one character you may revisit the same location from a different perspective as the other protagonist, which is better than it sounds. For example you may be trying to sneak past a gang of banditos as Billy to get through an abandoned mine, while Reverend Ray just charges in guns blazing, catching sight of Billy once or twice before he escapes and the story advances.

Call of Juarez plays out entirely in the first-person, and although most players will be more comfortable with Red Dead Revolver and GUN's third-person, it actually works really well. The weapon models are detailed and the way the game focuses in a realistic manner depending on where your sights are pointed when in aim-mode makes for an engaging FPS experience. Developer Techland's proprietary ChromeEngine looks and feels a lot like a slightly simpler version of the Gamebryo engine Bethesda used to create Oblivion. As such, the game handles expansive and open environments well, which is essential for creating the pioneering feel needed in a good Western.

That said, the game does a good job of feeling desolate, but not always for the right reason. As you traverse the mesas or woodlands in the game, aside from the odd butterfly and dust motes, there's no life at all, giving the levels a really empty feel. It's a shame too, because the odd darting rabbit or deer would have kept you on your toes a little bit more, never sure if the movement was fauna or foe. Of course, given the dearth of actual enemies or room for exploration it doesn't really make that much of a difference. It's rare that you encounter more then four or five foes at a time in Call of Juarez, and the distance and time between these little set piece battles often drags on unnecessarily since you're essentially being led down a linear path to each conflict in a lot of cases.

Yet it is these set-pieces that define Call of Juarez as a Western, because the genre itself relies so heavily on them. Walking through a deserted town, you can almost *see* the balsa-wood shop-front props bending in the breeze; you know the doors won't open because there's nothing behind them besides the sound-stage. When you enter the abandoned mine, you *know* you'll be in a mine-cart at some point and that there will be both dynamite and cave-ins. That there's a whore-with-a-heart-of-gold and a corrupt sheriff isn't unexpected; rather it is required. Call it cliché or genre-convention or whatever you want: Call of Juarez relies on it, and in the game's defence, it works quite well.

Of course being a Western, your range of firearms is a little thin compared to your average sci-fi FPS extravaganza, but it gets the job done. There are dynamite sticks, bows'n'arrows, rifles, shotguns, and even a whip that can be used to either smack your foes or grab onto tree-branches to swing Indiana Jones style. But the trusty six-shooter is your bread-and-butter regardless which character you play. Ammo is plentiful, rate-of-fire is solid, and you can dual wield which allows you to spit lead death faster with them than any other weapon. The coolest feature is reserved for Reverend Ray though – he can enter a slow-mo mode that allows him to get the drop on foes and target specific areas for maximum pain. This can be done at any time after a brief cooldown, but it is of specific use during the various Duels he will encounter throughout his quest for vengeance.

Duelling is one of the highlights in Call of Juarez, much like it was in Red Dead Revolver, actually. Just like in the old movies, you face off against your foe as the timer counts down, and when it hits zero you draw your weapon by pulling down on the thumbstick then up again quickly, then aiming and firing for effect. Draw too fast or waggle the thumbstick too much and your targeting reticule will be all over the place, making it much harder to pull of precision shots. You've got six (naturally), and if you use them all up, you'll need to wait to reload, while you try to dodge any incoming bullets. Once you beat them in the singleplayer story, there's a separate Duelling mini-campaign for you to battle your way through, often involving two or even three opponents at once!

If pistol-duels aren't your cup of tea but you're still craving more, Call of Juarez comes with a few bonus missions in the form of a mini-campaign once you beat the main game. Unconnected to the core story, it puts you in the shoes of a freshly-minted sheriff putting the kibosh to nefarious activity in the area. These missions ramp up the difficulty a few notches and there's more combat more often, and if the promised Downloadable Content is anything like this, it will be very welcome indeed. There's a bunch of collectibles to find too – mock wanted posters of the dev-team filled with in-jokes and weird comments – for those completionists in the audience. The Achievements are an odd mix, some requiring you to kill X amount of people with a bow/fire/headshot/mine-cart, while others are for feats of multiplayer prowess.

Yes, Call of Juarez ticks the obligatory "Multiplayer” checkbox, and as you would probably imagine, it's a pretty standard fare. The usual deathmatch and CTF variants are present, as well as Gold-rush (where you have to collect gold ingots that are lying around or squirreled away inside the bodies of your enemy) and an interesting Famous Events mode. These are really just themed variants of the other game modes, but may put you in the shoes of the Outlaw Jesse James and his gang trying to rob a bank and escape, for example. It's nothing to write home about and it isn't setting Xbox Live ablaze with interest either, but with a few friends or a decent pick of random players, you can milk a few more hours out of ol' Juarez before you send it off to the glue factory.