Xbox Live Verdict: Call of Juarez: BB

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Compared to modern weapons, the guns of the Old West were very primitive things. The sophistication was all with the gunslingers, who needed speed, accuracy and grit to get the job done. Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood has a unique personality, not least because there aren't any spammable machineguns or rocket launchers. The combat is all about precision.

Anyone can be killed with a single headshot, so while taking more time to aim can be risky, it can also pay dividends. However, failing a shot feels like a huge missed opportunity. If you get caught in a one-on-one shootout it can feel extremely tense.

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The most addictive mode is "Wild West Legends," a series of objective-led battles based on actual historical events, such as the Dalton Brother's raid on Coffeyville and the outlaw's horseback escape from Nogales. One team plays as the outlaws, the other as the lawmen, and they swap over after a time limit has expired, or all the objectives are completed.

Wild West towns make for entertaining battlegrounds and it really does feel like something out of a Spaghetti Western as you're dashing between houses. There are multiple routes through the buildings, and plenty of ways to flank the enemy. Because only one objective appears at a time, the combat is neatly concentrated into one area, and many battles soon transform into dramatic sieges around the main buildings.

Deathmatch and posse (team deathmatch) modes are much more frantic. A lot of spawn camping goes on in these modes though, with some players shamelessly spurred on by the "earn one million dollars" Achievement.

The major sticking point is the unbalanced class system. The classes are more than just a series of weapon load-outs, they also take varying amounts of punishment and can run at different speeds. Some are much, much better than others. The rifleman has excellent ammo capacity and pinpoint accuracy from range, rendering the sniper almost redundant. At close range, the hombre with his twin sawn-off shotguns and high durability makes him a popular choice.

Many of the character classes have to be purchased, so you can't access the best ones for some time. You can also buy weapon upgrades, but these only last until the end of the current round, making them a luxury for new players.

There are an abundance of games running at the moment, although don't expect much in the way of conversation. In an entire afternoon of play, we only heard one person say anything. The mission objectives are straightforward, so no one really needs to shout commands or strategies. They all just get on with it.

Almost every FPS has its online foibles, and Bound in Blood has several unwanted quirks. There's no party support, spawn camping is very easy and if the host quits during the unnecessarily long post-match report screen, everyone loses the money earned during that game.

Despite this, Bound in Blood's multiplayer is actually more fun than its campaign mode. It just goes to show how real opponents can make a game come to life. The class system feels unbalanced, but stick with the decent characters and you'll find a shootout that's more than wild enough for the Old West.

Ben Talbot