Is this the video game equivalent of a dime novel?

The previous Call of Juarez games completely failed to ignite my interests -- well, I was interested in The Cartel before it came out. To me, the series has been characterized by rote mechanics, uninteresting narrative elements, and shoddy controls. So imagine my surprise when, upon trying the Gunslinger demo, I found that - in addition to having a really clever and satisfying storytelling framework - it's a relatively well-polished and fun shooting experience.

Gunslinger uses an arcade-style approach rarely seen in first-person shooters (though Bulletstorm comes to mind as a similar example). You'll get point bonuses for headshots, for shooting a moving target, for making distant shots, and for rapid-fire kill combos -- and these points are actually experience points, which you'll use to learn new skills and upgrade your weapons. It's a fun system, and it's balanced well; survival is still your primary interest, and the experience skills still aren't as important as your playing ability, so the game doesn't devolve into some mechanical point-optimization exercise unless you really want it to.

There are some parts of the gameplay formula that don't work well, though, most notably the quick-draw duels. As boss-style encounters, duels can be counted on at the end of most levels, and it's complicated enough to feel awkward without also feeling rewarding. What really stinks about the duels is that, after an excruciating preparatory phase of trying to maximize numbers and gauges, the outcome is decided in near-imperceptible fractions of a second. And failure means that you have to prepare all over again. Lame. At any rate, duels are a fortunately-minor part of Gunslinger.

And what helps drive the game along, even through these less-than-enjoyable moments, is its thrillingly creative approach to storytelling. Gunslinger opens with the bounty hunter Silas Greaves strolling into a saloon, and the other patrons begging him to tell his story; the game itself is that story, of Greaves's exploits and a mysterious vendetta. I can see the ending from miles away, which is a bit unfortunate -- but things are kept interesting in the interim, with unpredictable twists and turns in how the narrative affects the gameplay.

For example, at the end of the first level, one of the saloon-goers interrupts Greaves's story, excitedly describing the version of it he read in a dime novel: Greaves faces down and defeats a crooked lawman. After the duel, Greaves explains that, no, that's not how it happened; so the game rewinds, and you play it the way he describes instead. The omniscient narration is reminiscent of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, but with a really enchanting western panache. Despite the ending being telegraphed, I'm very much looking forward to hearing more from Silas.

Incidentally, although I know of a few games that will detect if you're doing poorly, and ask if you want to lower your difficulty setting -- Gunslinger is the first game I know of that will actually do the opposite, and ask if you want to increase the challenge when you're doing well. Good on you, Gunslinger. Good on you.

Progress: Finished the Gunfight at the Sawmill.