aking into account all its infamous renegades and legendary shootouts, Westerns should mesh perfectly with video games. Yet somehow we’re still waiting for the pixilated equivalent of Clint Eastwood to steal the show. Call of Juarez is the latest hombre to draw its pistols, but it’s no Josey Wales.

Call of Juarez’s biggest strength is its unique plot, which places you in the role of the hunted – Billy Candle, a rogue accused of murdering his beloved mother – and the hunter – Reverend Ray, a preacher with a dark past guided by a vengeance-fueled belief that he is God’s wrath incarnate. The game smartly implements many classic western action scenarios to keep gameplay fresh, including stagecoach chases, train robberies, saloon shootouts, and high noon gun duels. While many of Billy’s missions task you with using the clumsy stealth mechanic to sneak though areas populated with dangerous foes, the Reverend focuses solely on spreading the piercing word of God to banditos via smoking revolvers.

The first-person perspective works adequately for gunfights and exploring the gorgeously rendered Wild West, but not all of the game mechanics are so successful. Outside of the poor stealth elements and awkward fistfights, the most annoying mechanic is easily the mandatory auto-save, which can interrupt the action at the most inopportune times. For instance, during an epic shootout, the game saved while I was a mere heartbeat away from death.

If Call of Juarez skipped its forgettable multiplayer and adopted a sandbox world more like Oblivion with fleshed out areas to explore and side missions, it could have been the gunslinger I’ve been waiting for all these years. As it stands, it’s a respectable if unambitious title that should tide over Western fans until the holy grail of six shooters rides into town.