Call of Juarez: The Cartel Xbox 360

Call of Juarez: The Cartel Product Details

Released on 22-Jul-2011

• Call of Juarez: The Cartel Preview

  West is Best
  

  While Westerns have never really gone out of fashion at the movies, barring the odd notable exception, games have largely shied away from the genre. Nevertheless, the Call Of Juarez series has carved a niche, with a brace of traditional Western outings receiving a smattering of plaudits.
  

  Cowboys and Indians are nowhere to be seen in this third outing however, which brings the action bang up to date in what is being billed as a modern-day Western. And if that sounds like an anachronism, consider that the familiar themes of vengeance and violence were given a brutally modern spin in the Coen brothers’ No Country For Old Men - a film cited as a big influence on the development of this game.
  

  Call Of Juarez: The Cartel, however, will feature one old man, flanked by a young man and a young woman. The old-timer is grizzled Vietnam veteran Ben McCall, who provides a link with the previous Juarez games in that he’s a descendent of Reverend Ray - and hence also prone to quoting blood and thunder from the good book as he rains down justice on his enemies.
  

  Aiding and abetting are agent Eddie Guerra, a smooth talking, snappily dressed gambler, and the FBI’s Kim Evans, a tough broad with friends in low places.
  

  Co-operation Street
  

  Together they’re pitted against the titular cartel, taking the war on drugs from the mean streets of LA to the sun-scorched desert. While each of the three characters bring something to the party, you will be required to choose one and stick to them. That said, the mechanics are pretty much the same whoever you play as, and the differences are largely cosmetic.
  

  Designed with co-op play in mind, you’ll either be accompanied by computer-controlled colleagues or actual humans who can get involved on a drop-in/drop-out basis over 16 missions of a road trip to hell.
  

  Instead of simply charging ahead, there will be actual co-operation involved such as opening doors and bursting into rooms. And while horses may be old news, there’s plenty of horsepower as you take to the LA freeway in pursuit of your drug-peddling prey, with one character slewing over four lanes of traffic, and another hanging out of the window spraying all and sundry with machine-gun fire.
  

  Uzi Lover
  

  Away from the urban grime of Los Angeles, the game will venture into more iconic geographical Western territory, albeit with six-shooters replaced by sniper rifles and Uzis (and Native Americans by Mexicans).
  

  Taking the series away from its roots is certainly a bold move, but the developers claim that they were limited by the time-honoured Wild West setting - and wanted to offer more variety to the gunplay. And while the previous two games had the odd stealth element such as hiding in the bushes, The Cartel is an unashamed action shooter.
  

  The change in direction may incense hardcore fans who wanted more of the same, but The Cartel shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand, offering 80s movie sensibilities, frantic action sequences, extreme violence – including traditional punch-ups - and language not suitable for younger ears. The adult themes are continued in such areas as a seedy LA strip club, and the game appears to be going all out to warrant its 18 rating.
  

  The Modern World

  Despite the modern day setting, Call Of Juarez: The Cartel is still a Western at heart. A cross between Clint Eastwood and The Shield, it’s a place where real men – and women - put their lives on the line and where action speaks louder than words. Anyway, lassos are so last year…
  

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