We recently covered Dead Island, the FPS zombie game, as well as its sequel, Dead Island: Riptide.
We also discussed Project Hell, which is shaping up to be one hell of a medieval horror game. All the games were developed by Techland, a studio that went on record as saying they are trying to raise the bar for digital gaming.
Techland is also the developer behind of Call of Juarez, the western first person shooter game that debuted on Windows way back in 2005. As part of their plan to raise the bar for the next Call of Juarez game, Techland won’t have a physical version of the game available at retail stores and will be going totally digital instead.
As we’ve previously discussed, the digital distribution of games is being used by a number of studios in an effort to battle rampant piracy. Apparently Techland is following the lead of Ubisoft, with the company telling MCVUK it wants to “push the quality of digital titles.”
Blazej Krakowiak, who is the international brand manager of Techland, explained that Ubisoft, their long-time partner in Call of Juarez: The Gunslinger, has shown “how you can use the digital platform to show off a great game.”
Krakowiak continued, “We are happy to be part of the digital revolution that everyone is talking about, and we have high ambitions in terms of quality. We want to look outstanding… We have a great story to tell and this is the format where we’re going to do it.”
As writer James Batchelor also reports, going purely digital also could have been influenced by the game The Cartel, which didn’t do well in the marketplace. It was an experiment that didn’t work, using a more updated setting instead of the Wild West. The fans wanted the game to go back to the wild west, and Techland listened. Like the saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
As WeGotThisDiscovered also reports, The Gunslinger has a Concentration Mode that slows down time, and you can make slower shots and dodge them as well. Interestingly, the latest iteration of Juarez boasts a skill progression system that allows you to customize your gunfighting style in the game.
Call of Juarez: The Gunslinger goes live in early 2013 for XBLA, PSN and PC, among other platforms.
