History VideoGame / CallOfJuarez

''CallOfJuarez'' is a fast-paced, adrenaline-driven {{Western}} FirstPersonShooter, where the player [[AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent alternatingly assumes the roles of Billy and Reverend Ray]], who is after his head. Billy is more of a FragileSpeedster with heavy emphasis on [[StealthBasedGame stealth]], whereas Ray is a MightyGlacier ''and'' TheGunslinger, which allows for an interesting twist: revisiting [[RemixedLevel the same level]] (Ray is chasing after Billy, after all) never grows boring, thanks to the vastly different gameplay styles of the two.

* InterserviceRivalry: Between the FBI and DEA in ''The Cartel'', to the point that a detective from the LAPD is brought in to keep the peace between the two. This goes so far that in the final level [[spoiler: the FBI Director ''authorizes the assassination of the DEA agent''.]]
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Ben [=McCall=] gets Jesus to talk by threatening to hang him with a noose, and Kim, Ben and Eddie repeatedly punch and kick strip club owner Javier until he gives up the location of the missing girls.
* JigsawPuzzlePlot: In "The Cartel", each character gets unique cutscenes and bonus objectives that won't be heard from the perspective of others.
* JokeItem: The Ladies Pistol (Derringer) in ''Bound in Blood''. It's the weakest firearm in the game, and only holds 2 shots. It takes at least 3 or 4 hits from it to kill most enemies. At gun stores it's the cheapest weapon available, and rightly so.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Alvarez escapes punishment for his crimes regardless of what ending you get. If you try to kill him and your partners, he uses a grenade to escape and you end up in a shootout with your partners. If you take him alive, he gets complete immunity in exchange for his testimony against Dickson. Also, if you choose to kill your partners, Shane Dickson also gets away with her crimes and even becomes promoted to director of the Justice Department, although it's implied in Kim's ending that despite her apparent success, the stress that she may one day be found out is getting to her.]]
* LargeHam: Michael Duke in ''Cartel'' turns into one during your boss fight with him.
* LemonyNarrator: Silas in ''Gunslinger'' will often comment on the situation and if you wait too long, he'll even get impatient with himself.

** He does it again in the sequel, too, which is notable because all the previous bosses were standard one-shot-one-kill quickdraw duels.
** This actually happens a few times in ''Bound in Blood''. Both battles against [[spoiler: Col. Barnsby]] are this, along with some random bosses thrown in during the sandbox segments.
* {{Mayincatec}}: The final prize in the game are the cursed Aztec treasures.
** The treasure is identified as the ransom for Montezuma, seized by Cortez's men. The {{Mayincatec}} temple near Juarez, roughly 1000 miles north from the territory of the Aztec is another thing though.
* MightyGlacier:
** Ray combines the toughness and power of a MightyGlacier (and he is immune to frontal attacks thanks to the cuirass he's wearing) with speed of a Trick Shot, thus being effectively indestructible in combat. Think Death Star on legs.
** But he was {{nerf}}ed somewhat for ''Bound in Blood''.
** Ben [=McCall=] from ''Cartel'' is also this.
* TheMole: [[spoiler: Shane Dickson in ''Cartel''.]]
* MooksButNoBosses: ''The Cartel'' doesn't have any one-on-one boss fights or quickdraw duels, unlike the first two games. The closest it comes are a few fights against an enemy gunship, and [[spoiler: the final 3-way shootout between the team members if you choose to kill them.]]
* MultipleEndings: ''Cartel'' has four different endings, though only one of them is "good" and you can only get that one by [[spoiler: choosing not to kill your teammates at the very end]]. Interestingly, the "bad" ending for each character can only be unlocked by getting a high enough Secret Agenda score playing through the entire campaign.
* MyGreatestFailure: In ''Cartel'', [[spoiler: a recording by Patrick Stone reveals that he never forgave himself for not testifying with Ben against Alvarez for the rape and murder of a Vietnamese girl. This would cause Ben to sever ties with Patrick, despite Patrick still thinking of Ben as a friend. In fact, Patrick entrusts his daughter Jessica to Ben because he's the only person Patrick can trust due to Ben's unwavering sense of justice, which makes Jessica's death sting even harder.]]

* NeverFoundTheBody: You fight Juarez as a ClimaxBoss in the second-to-last level of ''Bound in Blood''. At the end, this trope is invoked so he can return to be the BigBad in the original game, twenty years later.
* NewOldWest: The setting for ''Cartel'' on paper. In practice, the game mostly takes place in the streets of L.A.
* NonActionBigBad: The Cartel leader, Juan Mendoza, in ''The Cartel'' doesn't take any real action throughout the entire game, [[spoiler:and is killed in a very AnticlimaxBoss fashion at the end without any real fanfare]].
* NonActionGuy: In ''Bound In Blood'' there's William, the youngest [=McCall=] brother, a non-violent priest.

* PreAsskickingOneLiner: In "The Cartel", Each characters will blurt out one of these when they activate Concentration Mode. Ben's one-liners are bible-themed, Eddie's one-liners are gambling related and Kim's one-liners are generally involve an adjusted variation of the MirandaRights.
* PowerTrio: The [=McCalls=] in ''Bound in Blood''. William is the [[TokenGoodTeammate Super Ego]]; Thomas, the Ego; and Ray, the Id.
** In ''Cartel'' Ben [=McCall=] is TheBigGuy, Kim Evans it TheChick and Eddie Guerrera is TheSmartGuy.

* TheRemnant: In ''Bound in Blood'', Colonel Barnsby and his Confederate remnants are undaunted by the end of the American Civil War, and start up a gun-running operation in the hopes of putting together enough money to finance a second rebellion.

* SassyBlackWoman: Kim Evans in ''Cartel''.
* SequelDifficultyDrop: ''Bound in Blood'' has RegeneratingHealth, and also does away with the stealth segments and platform jumping which were the primary source of FakeDifficulty in the original game. This is balanced out somewhat by making BulletTime slightly less common (you have to earn it by killing enemies, instead of it regenerating automatically every few seconds), and also by having Ray be somewhat {{Nerf}}ed.
* SiblingTeam: Ray and Thomas in ''Bound in Blood''. William, too, though he is a NonActionGuy.
* SinisterMinister: William is a rare full-on subversion, while Ray occasionally dips into this trope.

* ShootHimHeHasAWallet: {{Invoked}} by [[spoiler:William in ''Bound in Blood'', when he acts as if he is reaching for a gun to make Ray shoot him, whereas in reality, he pulls out his Bible]].
* ShoutOut: One of the achievements in ''Cartel'' is called [[Film/{{Machete}} "The Border Crossed Us"]].
** Probably unintentional, but a drug dealing BigBad named [[TheSimpsons Mendoza]].
* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Ray and Thomas get into these regularly.
* SociopathicHero: Ray and Thomas in the prequel. Both out to amass fortune to rebuild their family home, but gleefully engaging in as much chaos as possible as they do it. ''Especially'' Ray.
--->'''William''': Do not violate the word of God! The Fifth Commandment: 'ThouShaltNotKill'.
--->'''Ray''': ''[gesturing to the numerous corpses]'' It's a ''little late'' for that, little brother!

* SpringtimeForHitler: In ''The Cartel'', Jessica Stone points out that the anti-Cartel task force is so dysfunctional, and all of its members so obviously corrupt and[=/=]or crazy, that it seems like it was intentionally set up to fail. [[spoiler: She's right. Deputy Asssitant Director Shane Dickson, the head of the task force, is the Cartel's mole inside the U.S. government.]] Yet, despite all that, the 3 crooked cops eventually ''do'' succeed in bringing down the Cartel.

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: The trio of "The Cartel" generally do not get along well and are quite hostile towards each other due to InterserviceRivalry and each character tend to be crooked to some extent. [[spoiler:They can even end up turning against one another in the ending]].
* ThrowDownTheBomblet: Ray can throw sticks of dynamite, whereas Thomas can't.

* UnexpectedGameplayChange:
** After several levels of linear cowboy slaying, Billy wakes up from a headshot to the face to find himself dumped into a WideOpenSandbox spirit quest taking place in a ''huge'' continuous forest and lake map.
** Happens again in ''Bound in Blood''. Chapters VI and VIII are like mini-sandboxes that pop out of nowhere and then are never seen again.
* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: Averted in ''Bound in Blood''. This move, used by enemy gunfighters, is actually fairly useful for dodging your gunfire due to the low rate of fire of the period weapons of the time. Their A.I. is also smart enough to use it mostly for diving behind cover, instead of just doing it randomly out in the open.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential:
** Ray can shoot an enemy a couple of times, reload, go into BulletTime and unload two pistol magazines into said enemy. Plus a couple to the head if you're accurate enough.
** It's also possible to kill civilians in ''Cartel'' and your teammates won't call you on it, but you will fail the mission if you kill too many.
* TheVietnamWar: Antonio Alvarez, Patrick Stone, and Ben [=McCall=] of ''Cartel'' are veterans of Vietnam.
* WakeUpCallBoss: The second duel in ''Bound in Blood''. There is zero margin for error, and you ''will'' die repeatedly until you learn the duel mechanics properly. This is a huge jump in difficulty compared to the first duel, an old man who's slow as molasses.
* WeCanRuleTogether: Juarez makes this offer to [[spoiler: his son]] Billy at the end of the first game. Seeing as how Juarez recently beat him unconcious as well as kidnapped his girlfriend and threatened to rape and kill her, Billy isn't remotely interested.

''CallOfJuarez'' is a series of {{First Person Shooter}}s set in TheWildWest and, in one installment, the NewOldWest, and revolving around the cursed gold of the eponymous Juarez and TheGunslinger family of the [=McCalls=] whose fates seem to be tied to it. It is developed by the Polish studio Techland.

!!''Call of Juarez'' (2006)

!!''Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood'' (2009)

->''"Yesterday, we were a ''family''..."''

''CallOfJuarez'' was a critical and financial success and a prequel, ''Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood'', was developed and released mid-2009, centering on Ray and his brother Thomas' exploits in their youth. After deserting from the [[AmericanCivilWar Confederate Army]] shortly before its defeat, the [=McCalls=] find their old home burned down, their youngest brother William being the only survivor. To rebuild their home, the three travel to Mexico to find the legendary treasure of Juarez but [[TokenGoodTeammate William]] worries that his brothers are [[TheDarkSide becoming outlaw murderers]] who only want the money...

''Bound in Blood'' keeps the fast pace of the original, but shifts the narrative focus towards the intense FamilyDrama of the [=McCalls=]. Gameplay-wise, the game adds RegeneratingHealth and a [[TakeCover cover mechanic]], and also does away with the stealth segments from the first game. It also revamps the old concept of playing through the same level twice: you can choose to play most levels either as [[GlassCannon Thomas]] or [[MightyGlacier Ray]], as they fight together at the same time (the other is controlled by AI). Sadly and perplexingly, there's no cooperative mode. Additionally, ''[=BiB=]'' introduces more realistic [[ShowdownAtHighNoon quick-draw duels]].

!!''Call of Juarez: The Cartel'' (2011)

->''"Welcome to the new wild west."''

Less a sequel and more of a SpiritualSuccessor with the same name, ''The Cartel'' moves the setting into [[NewOldWest the modern day]] and criminal underdealings in Mexico and East LA. The new protagonists are Ben [=McCall=], a CowboyCop from LA and Billy's great-grandson; Kim Evans, a [[TheLadette tough]] ActionGirl from the FBI; and Eddie Guerra, a CardSharp working for the DEA. They investigate a terrorist attack orchestrated by the eponymous drug cartel and kick a lot of ass. Features the CoOpMultiplayer mode that the previous title strangely lacked, allowing teams to control up to all three characters at once.

Got a lot of flak for its gameplay and the unrealistic portrayal of the Mexican drug wars.

!!''Call of Juarez: Gunslinger'' (2013)
The fourth game has been announced in September 2012 and released on the 22nd of May the next year. The setting is the Old West again, but the gameplay is going to be less plot-driven and veer away from free exploration towards [[ShootEmUp arcade-like shooting sequences]]. The story stars bounty hunter Silas Greaves as he recounts some of his old adventures to bar patrons.

!!Tropes in the games:

** Averted in ''Cartel'', as all the guns are given real names and are modeled closely after their real-life counterparts.
* AmericanCivilWar: The oldest [=McCall=] brothers participated in it quite a lot... on the Confederate side.
* AnachronismStew: The prequel uses all the guns from the first game, including SAA revolvers, which weren't due to be invented for at least another decade after the Civil War.
* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: The original game.
* ArtShift: ''Gunslinger'' uses this trope, stylizing the game with cartoony outlines and [[OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank exaggerated blood effects]], to name but a few.

* AsTheGoodBookSays: William is fond of citing Literature/TheBible in ''Bound in Blood''. In the original game, Ray picks up the habit to do that... [[BadassPreacher in all the wrong situations]]. In "The Cartel", Ben uses pseudo-biblical one-liners whenever he activates BulletTime.
* TheAtoner: The reason Ray became Reverend Ray.
* AxCrazy: Ray [=McCall=] has this in spades in ''Bound in Blood''. At one point Thomas even remarks that Ray enjoys his work ''way'' too much. Even after renouncing the gun and becoming a preacher, Ray still gives off this vibe in the first game after he starts going on the warpath to avenge Thomas and Marisa.

* BigBadDuumvirate: ''Bound in Blood'' has both Juarez[=/=]Juan Mendoza and Colonel Barnesby acting as the main antagonists. ''The Cartel'' has Cartel leader Juan Mendoza and CorruptCorporateExecutive Michael Duke, as well as [[spoiler: Assistant Deputy Director Shane Dickson acting as Mendoza's partner inside the Justice Department]], and PsychoForHire Antonio Alvarez playing all sides against each other for his own advantage.
* BigSisterInstinct: Kim in ''Cartel'' is very protective of her last surviving younger brother, Deon. Her intro cutscene shows Kim using her authority as an FBI agent to prevent Deon from imprisonment due to a DEA drug sting, and [[spoiler: she asked Ben to jail Deon for public intoxication to prevent him from getting caught in the crossfire of a gang war setup]].

** The main endings in both games count as this. In the first, [[spoiler: Juarez is killed, Billy and Molly get married, and Billy has finally found the treasure, but Ray dies.]] In the second, [[spoiler: Ray becomes a reverend and marries Thomas and Marisa, but William is dead, Juarez is alive (possibly unknown if you haven't played the original), and then there's the fact this is a [[DoomedByCanon prequel...]] ]]
** The "good" ending to ''Cartel'' is also this: [[spoiler:Alvarez testifies to Dickson's involvement with the Cartel, resulting in her being arrested. However, the team wasn't able to prevent Jessica from being killed, Alvarez gets immunity from his crimes due to his testimony, and Kim and Eddie both turn out to be dirty and are arrested at the end as well]].
* BlackAndGreyMorality:
** In ''Cartel'' all three main characters have their own personal agendas: Eddie owes a lot of people money and runs a network of street dealers selling drugs for him to pay it back, Kim tries to cover up [[spoiler: Alvarez being a mole for the FBI and kills a retired FBI agent who may or may not have been working for the cartel]], Ben [=McCall=] is the most "moral" of the group, and he's engaged in petty theft against criminals to help pay for a child's medical expenses, as well as willing to kill Alvarez regardless of how many lives are lost in the process.
** It's also ambiguously implied that Eddie and Kim [[spoiler: may have been complicit in Jessica Stone's murder, Eddie due to his heavy debt and Kim in order to protect Alvarez]].
** Playing through the campaign as all 3 characters will reveal that [[spoiler: Eddie Guerra was very nearly a VillainProtagonist; he was TheMole and helped the Cartel kidnap Jessica Stone, because they had purchased his gambling debts. He also set up his drug dealer[=/=]informant Flaco to be killed by the Cartel to silence him. In the finale, he doesn't give a damn about justice and just wants to steal all of the Cartel's money and start a new life for himself. Kim, in contrast, was actually an idealistic Good Cop and really an UnwittingPawn who was JustFollowingOrders... she murdered the FBI agent because the corrupt FBI director had (most likely falsely) told her he was a Cartel assassin, and while she was actively protecting Alvarez she didn't know just how murderous he was, including his intention to kill Jess.]]
* BreakableWeapons: All guns eventually explode after a few dozen shots. How quickly this happens depends on the condition of the weapon, with "rusty" weapons exploding in your hands a lot more quickly than those in good condition.
** Removed in ''Bound in Blood'', in favor of more weapon quality levels and stats.

** All the main characters in ''Cartel'' can do this with any weapon.
* CainAndAbel: Ray and Thomas almost go this way in ''Bound in Blood'' but [[spoiler:William's HeroicSacrifice makes him the Abel and ''both'' of them, the Cains, in a way]].

* ChekhovsGun: Quite literally. At the beginning of the game, Ray and Thomas kill an entire Company of Union troops atacking their family estate. Later, Colonel Barnsby and his men come by and collect all the rifles off the dead troops. These rifles become a major MacGuffin later in the game's main plot.
* ChurchMilitant: Ray in the original game explicitly considers himself the Wrath of God.
* ColdSniper: Kim in ''Cartel''. She has a stat proficiency in sniper rifles, cutscenes usually show her wielding a Dragunov, and she frequently [[DeadpanSnarker snarks]] back to her teammates.
* ColonelBadass: Barnsby is a villainous example.
* CombatStilettos: Kim spends ''The Cartel'' engaging in gunfights while wearing a pair of high heel boots.
* ContinuityNod: Juarez wields a pair of Volcano Guns in ''Bound in Blood'', which he also described as his signature weapons in the first game.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Michael Duke in ''Cartel'', the CEO of PrivateMilitaryContractor Peacekeepers International. He started supplying the Mendoza cartel with high-end firearms after PI went backrupt. [[spoiler: Shane Dickson turns out to be one as well.]]
* CowboyCop: Ben [=McCall=], figuratively ''and'' literally.
* CrucifiedHeroShot: This is how Ray imagines William in ''Bound in Blood'' [[SoWhatDoWeDoNow epilogue]] (while directly comparing him to {{Jesus}}, no less), though it was somewhat different in reality.

* DirtyCop:
** Kim Evans and Eddie Guerrera in ''Cartel''. Both have their own agendas to pursue; Eddie steals drugs to sell on the streets and Kim steals rare guns to give the F.B.I. for her own investigation [[spoiler: and is also actively working to undermine the investigation into Alvarez in order to protect him, due to him being an FBI mole. She also kills one witness to Alvarez's crimes and it's implied she might have been complicit in Jessica Stone's killing]]. In comparison, Ben [=McCall=] steals wallets from gangsters to help pay for medical care for the child of one of the hookers in his jurisdiction that he's protecting. You can also get an achievement with this title by getting 15 secret items as any of three characters.
** ''The Cartel'' has a pretty dim view of federal bureaucrats performing law enforcement duties in general. Besides [[spoiler:Task Force Director Shane Dickson]] being revealed as TheMole, in the endgame the FBI director and DEA director both order the assassination of the competing agency's agent.

* DeathFromAbove: [[spoiler:After the task force catches Juan Mendoza, the Cartel leader, Shane Dickson sends a Predator drone to silence Mendoza from testifying against her in court, as well as attempt to kill the task force since [[HeKnowsTooMuch they know too much]].]]

* DuelingPlayerCharacters: There is a brief level in the original game where Ray finally catches up with Billy and guns him down (though Billy survives).
* {{Expy}}: Ray is essentially ClintEastwood's character in ''PaleRider''
** Based on promotional images, Silas Greaves is based on [[TheDollarsTrilogy The Man With No Name]].
* FakeDifficulty: The single-player campaign of ''The Cartel'' can be like this at times, as it is balanced for 3-player co-op. If you're playing single-player, your A.I.-controlled teammates are limited to the weak starting pistol, and are unable to perform objective-based actions. This is especially a problem in scenes where you're supposed to fulfill co-op based objectives, such as two players moving bags of money against a time limit, or one player carrying the money while the other two cover them. Since your A.I. teammates are incapable of doing any of this stuff, you end up having to do it all yourself, which the game isn't balanced for.

* ForegoneConclusion: If you've played through ''Call of Juarez'' up to Ray's confession, you already know how ''Bound In Blood'' is going to end. Although [[spoiler:there ''is'' a final duel against Colonel BigBad ConflictKiller GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere whose appearance at the end is something of an unexpected surprise.]]

* FramingDevice: Gunslinger's story takes the form of Silas Greaves recounting some old stories during his bounty hunter days to some bar patrons.

* GatlingGood: Ray can pick up a gatling gun and carry it around.
* GenerationXerox: It's something of a surprise, but in ''Bound in Blood'' Thomas [=McCall=] plays quite similar to how his stepson Billy Candle did in the original game, including the inability to dual-wield and instead using a lasso and a bow as signature equipment. The reason for this is open to any amount of WildMassGuessing.
* GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: Subverted, as [[spoiler:Col. Barnsby]]'s appearance as the FinalBoss of ''Bound in Blood'' turns out to be a plot point that underlines the absolution motif in the game, [[spoiler:since Running River finds the inner strength to forgive him for killing his village and his son]].
* GodIsGood: William believes that firmly and Ray comes to believe in it in the end.
** Eventually proven true [[spoiler:at the end of the first game, where Ray prays to God for a chance to save Billy and is given it, shooting the BigBad before he can kill Billy.]] Or it may have been a case of HeroicResolve and DyingMomentOfAwesome.

* GunsAkimbo:
** Ray's most powerful weapon are his trusty dual [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolvers]], even in the final stages, though everyone else can use them in general. You can even do it with {{Sawn Off Shotgun}}s.
** All the characters in ''Cartel'' can do this with pistols, though Eddie can also dual-wield [=SMGs=].
* TheGunslinger: Ray is a mix of Trick Shot and The Woo. And there are others, too. His brother Thomas is similar, though more of a Trick Shot. In The Cartel, Ben is The Woo (specializes in dual-wielding and shotguns), Kim is The Trickshot (specializes in Sniping) while Eddie is The Vaporizer (specializes in [=SMG=]s). Silas can specialize in either dual-wielding, rifles or shotguns depending on the player's choice.

* HeelFaithTurn: Ray.
* HeyItsThatVoice:
** Reverend Ray is voiced by [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Gul Dukat]].
** And Seeing Farther from ''Bound in Blood'' is [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Prince Zuko]].
* HowWeGotHere:
** ''Bound in Blood'' begins with the opening scene from the final mission, and the rest of the game is William's narration of how his caring and more-or-less responsible older brothers became brazen murderers ready to kill each other.
** ''Cartel'' opens with a frantic chase on a freeway, and the first half of the game leads up to that point.
** The original game starts with Ray entering Juarez's compound with a [[GatlingGood gatling gun]] before cutting back to Billy arriving home.
* IdenticalGrandson:
** Ben [=McCall=] in ''Cartel'' is pretty much his ancestor Ray with a bulletproof vest instead of a metal cuirass, right down to his kicking ass while reciting scripture and fear of heights.
** The leader of the Cartel is Juan "Juarez" Mendoza, who's pretty much identical to his 19th century counterpart [[spoiler:(although he ultimately dies in a very AnticlimaxBoss manner)]].
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: William tries to prevent Ray from killing an unarmed Devlin with this and the story of Jesus forgiving one of the murderers crucified alongside him. Ray's reaction? "The Lord forgave him... a cold-blooded murderer? Well, that's good to know." Then he shoots him dead.

!!''Call of Juarez: Gunslinger'' (TBA)

* TheGunslinger: Ray is a mix of Trick Shot and The Woo. And there are others, too. His brother Thomas is similar, though more of a Trick Shot.

The fourth game has been announced in September 2012. The setting is the Old West again, but the gameplay is going to be less plot-driven and veer away from free exploration towards [[ShootEmUp arcade-like shooting sequences]]. The story stars bounty hunter Silas Greaves as he recounts some of his old adventures to bar patrons.

The fourth game has been announced in September 2012. The setting is the Old West again, but the gameplay is going to be less plot-driven and veer away from free exploration towards [[ShootEmUp arcade-like shooting sequences]].

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: The trio of "The Cartel" are generally quite hostile towards each other due to InterserviceRivalry and each character tend to be crooked to some extent.

* AsTheGoodBookSays: William is fond of citing Literature/TheBible in ''Bound in Blood''. In the original game, Ray picks up the habit to do that... [[BadassPreacher in all the wrong situations]].

* NewOldWest: The setting for ''Cartel''.

* HeroicSociopath:
** Ray and Thomas in the prequel. Both out to amass fortune to rebuild their family home, but gleefully engaging in as much chaos as possible as they do it. ''Especially'' Ray.
--->'''William''': Do not violate the word of God! The Fifth Commandment: 'ThouShaltNotKill'.
--->'''Ray''': ''[gesturing to the numerous corpses]'' It's a ''little late'' for that, little brother!
** Ben, Kim and Eddie in ''Cartel'' also qualify.

* AKA47: Rather surprisingly, given that all the guns involved are almost 200 years old, and are presumably no longer covered by trademark. Although it may simply be for simplicity's sake, as "lever rifle" is a lot shorter to write than "Winchester 1865".

* {{Expy}}: Ray is essentially ClintEastwood's character in ''PaleRider''.

** The "good" ending to ''Cartel'' is also this: [[spoiler:Alvarez testifies to Dickson's involvement with the Cartel, resulting in her being arrested. However, the team wasn't able to prevent Jessica from being killed, and Kim and Eddie both turn out to be dirty and are arrested at the end as well]].

* ShoutOut: One of the achievements in ''Cartel'' is called [[{{Machete}} "The Border Crossed Us"]].

** And the Apache Chief's son in ''Bound in Blood'' is [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Prince Zuko]].

Got a lot of flak for its irreverent, inaccurate portrayal of the ([[DudeNotFunny very real]] [[TooSoon and still ongoing]]) Mexican drug war, as well as for its gameplay.

Got a lot of flak for its irreverent, inaccurate portrayal of the ([[DudeNotFunny very real and still ongoing]]) Mexican drug war, as well as for its gameplay.

Less a sequel and more of a SpiritualSuccessor with the same name, ''The Cartel'' moves the setting into [[NewOldWest the modern day]] and criminal underdealings in Mexico and East LA. The new protagonists are Ben [=McCall=], a CowboyCop from LA and Ray's distant descendant; Kim Evans, a [[TheLadette tough]] ActionGirl from the FBI; and Eddie Guerra, a CardSharp working for the DEA. They investigate a terrorist attack orchestrated by the eponymous drug cartel and kick a lot of ass. Features the CoOpMultiplayer mode that the previous title strangely lacked, allowing teams to control up to all three characters at once.

!!Tropes in the game:

''CallOfJuarez'' is a series of {{First Person Shooter}}s set in TheWildWest and (as of the most recent installment) the NewOldWest, and revolving around the cursed gold of the eponymous Juarez and TheGunslinger family of the [=McCalls=] whose fates seem to be tied to it.

''Bound in Blood'' keeps the fast pace of the original, but shifts the narrative focus towards the intense FamilyDrama of the [=McCalls=]. Gameplay-wise, the game adds RegeneratingHealth and a [[TakingCover cover mechanic]], and also does away with the stealth segments from the first game. It also revamps the old concept of playing through the same level twice: you can choose to play most levels either as [[GlassCannon Thomas]] or [[MightyGlacier Ray]], as they fight together at the same time (the other is controlled by AI). Sadly and perplexingly, there's no cooperative mode. Additionally, ''[=BiB=]'' introduces more realistic [[ShowdownAtHighNoon quick-draw duels]].

** Reverend Ray is voiced by [[DeepSpaceNine Gul Dukat]].