Cert: 18+
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3
Genre: First Person Shooter
Watch the Trailer
The previous Call of Juarez titles were set in the Wild West and when they were released they felt fresh and exciting. This, the latest title, is set in modern day Mexico and it depicts the FBI et al’s attempts to take a down a Mexican drug cartel. Taking down drug cartels could make for an exciting game. Unfortunately, everything that was enjoyable about the previous Call of Juarez offerings - i.e. the setting, the game mechanics - has been left behind.
The Cartel is drab looking and unoriginal shooter which tasks the player with little more than shooting or driving from one set piece to the next. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the game is that you can choose from one of three protagonists but your choice doesn’t have a huge impact on how the game plays out and - beyond some side quests - this feature is really a device to support three player co-op. Curiously, even though the game uses the state of the art Chrome Engine 5, from the rather excellent Crysis 2, the graphics are drab and bland and there’s nothing in the gameplay dynamics to suggest this is state of the art.
The New Wild West has never been so disappointing.
Rent or Buy: Rent
Graphics: 2/5
Gameplay: 2/5
Replay Value: 1/5
Overall: 1/5
Reviewed By: Bryan Collins