Shooting out the windows of vehicles causes them to explode and setting marijuana stocks ablaze fails to so much as singe the canvas tents they’re stashed in.Īctivation of the unoriginal but potentially fun ‘Concentration Mode’ - that slows down time to facilitate multiple takedowns - is accompanied by a nonsensical quote from each character, presumably to show highlight their renegade, take-no-shit personas. Vehicle handling is twitchy and lacks traction, AI partners stand in plain sight of the swarms of bad guys - seemingly safe in the knowledge that all of the enemies milling about are gunning for you, not them. In trying so hard to make the game gritty and, in particular, to show that the modern day McCall shares the hardbolied traits of his Wild West ancestors, the writers resort to some cringe-worthy one-liners and copious amounts of swearing.ĭespite the primarily multiplayer focus of the hands-on session, I also get a chance to play through some of the single-player and here too, moments of promise are overwhelmed by the game’s seemingly suicidal desire to sabotage itself. It makes it all the more grating when, not 30 seconds later, McCall growls a petulant, over-acted line when describing a former soldier who has turned criminal: “Worse than that, he’s an asshole”. Moments of promise are overwhelmed by the game’s seemingly suicidal desire to sabotage itself This leads to a moment of silent acknowledgement and a flicker of grudging respect it’s a smartly scripted moment and well played out. This is tantamount to a child protesting their innocence before they’ve been caught doing anything and somewhat undermines the subtlety of the moment (worse still is the coining of the word ‘coopetition’ to describe this co-op play with competitive elements).Īnd this, really, is the story of my hands-on time with Call of Juarez: The Cartel: each good idea or subtle touch is undermined by poor execution, shoddy mechanics or the laughable script.ĭuring a briefing by a high-ranking government official - who looks and sounds a lot like Robert Duvall - the “inter-agency bullshit” arising from Guerra and FBI agent Kim Evans bickering about the best way to infiltrate the Cartel is neatly cut short by a presentation highlighting them and their achievements.
Unfortunately, my contemplation of the potential of this system is broken when McCall barks at Guerra, demanding to know whether he saw anything as he entered the room. I start to wonder what the secret missions of my comrades might be, whether they’ve already achieved them or if I might be able to catch them in the act and so the seed of wariness and distrust is planted in our already shaky alliance.
Seconds later, one my co-op partners - playing slick DEA agent Eddie Guerra - enters the room behind me and I feel like I’ve achieved a minor victory. I achieve my specific objective of retrieving a mobile phone from a building which is off the level’s critical path, without my two allies spotting me nab it. Each of the three protagonists has their own agenda to pursue, be it a personal one or that of their particular law enforcement agency, and if Hollywood has taught us one thing it’s that Government agencies begrudge sharing the glory with one another. It provides a frisson of excitement and sits well with the narrative which sees members of the LAPD, DEA and FBI ostensibly working together in a joint investigation of a bombing perpetrated on US soil by a Mexican cartel.
Here in ‘the future’, ubiquitous online modes mean you no longer have to share a TV screen with your multiplayer chums and so the secret objectives can be displayed, big and bold, for your eyes only. This seemingly random association is triggered by one specific element, a feature that I first recall seeing in the local co-op mode of Nintendo’s cutsey action-RPG: the issuing of secret individual objectives to players who are otherwise acting cooperatively.īack in 2004 the objectives were issued via each player’s Game Boy Advance, which you could tether to the Game Cube and use as a controller. I’ll wait here while you reread that sentence it surprised me too. Playing as gruff, sweary LAPD cop, Ben McCall, in the online co-op mode of Call of Juarez: The Cartel, I’m reminded of 2004 GameCube title Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.
Launching on PS3 and 360 in the week commencing 18 July and on PC in September
Third game in the Call of Juarez franchise Play as one of three protagonists representing either the LAPD, FBI or DEAĭeveloped by Techland, published by Ubisoft Stace Harman goes toe-to-toe with Call of Juarez's modern day reboot to find out if it’s a sharpshooter or fool’s gold.įeatures a modern day setting for the traditionally Wild West franchise