Fusing stealth into the game isn’t a bad idea at all but forcing people to use stealth when they could very well use brute force is not. There are times when you can easily wipe out a bunch of bandits but for some weird reason the game forces you to pass by undetected. And then there was the time when I had to sneak into a man’s house to steal his horse but I couldn’t kill him (for that would be immoral) so I had to sneak around his estate doing that stupid mission for like half an hour when I could have easily finished it in less than a minute by popping an arrow in his ass. If that wasn’t bad enough you even have annoying platforming elements thrown in to makes things a lot more unpleasant. The reason these platforming elements get a bit annoying is because Billy’s whip with which he has to climb and swing all over the place a la Indian Jones is highly irresponsive and unless and until you’re standing at the right spot (move even a millimeter away and you’re screwed), nothing happens. And finally, you have magical bushes spread throughout the game against which if you take cover even in broad daylight, you become completely invisible to the enemy standing merely a foot away from you; huzzah for brilliant enemy A.I.
Ray’s segments are a lot more entertaining since you can pretty much blast everything that crosses your path. Ray’s constant preaching from the Bible mixed with his Holier than thou attitude does work for most of the game but there are times when I wished he would just Shut the f**k up. Reverend Ray deals out death and mayhem in abundance with a plethora of weapons that range from shotguns to snipers to dynamite sticks to dual pistols that will blow up in your face eventually after heavy usage (annoying during heavy firefights). If for some reason you find yourself in a crowded room full of unfriendly hombres, you can always rely on your Concentration Mode (which is basically the game’s slow mo mechanic) to clear that room out quickly and effectively. Every one of Ray’s levels culminates in a boss fight... AKA a western showdown where you and your opponent have to duel it to the death using your wits, pistols and quick drawing skills. While this was pretty simple to accomplish on the PC, it’s a bit tricky using the Xbox 360’s analogue sticks but even then, it isn’t rocket science and will probably get over before you can say Hombre (couldn’t think of any other word there).
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