|
|
|
CALL OF JUAREZ: THE CARTEL (X360)
|
Publisher: Ubisoft.
Developer: Techland. Released: July 2011. Genre: FPS. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 29th October 2022. By Shane Battams © 2022 |
|
Techland’s Call of Juarez series enjoyed moderate success, garnering solid reviews and decent sales across four instalments. The first game was a mix of solid shooting and flawed stealth, while Bound in Blood took the series in a better direction. In 2011, Techland would bring the series into the modern day with The Cartel, and it can only be seen as a giant step backwards. Outdated visuals, unfulfilling shooting and a cringe-inducing tone left gamers wondering how Ubisoft could publish such a shoddy game, and how Techland managed to botch the game so badly.
On the surface, The Cartel seems functional as a shooter. Aiming is fine and a typical assortment of modern guns is the order of the day here. Though it seems out of place in this time, Concentration also returns, with the slowing of the action useful for nailing headshots. There are a couple of conceptually interesting systems that sadly aren’t fleshed-out. The story follows three cops, each of whom is playable, and even allows for 3-player co-op. The campaigns are near-identical, as a result, but collectibles present an interesting twist. Players can opt to secretly steal these for additional XP, whilst Agendas also allow you to complete objectives for bigger rewards, but all of these can be scuppered by other players, adding an interesting twist, and tension, to the co-op dynamic. It’s just a shame it doesn’t have much of an impact on most of the gameplay.
Techland’s Call of Juarez series enjoyed moderate success, garnering solid reviews and decent sales across four instalments. The first game was a mix of solid shooting and flawed stealth, while Bound in Blood took the series in a better direction. In 2011, Techland would bring the series into the modern day with The Cartel, and it can only be seen as a giant step backwards. Outdated visuals, unfulfilling shooting and a cringe-inducing tone left gamers wondering how Ubisoft could publish such a shoddy game, and how Techland managed to botch the game so badly.
On the surface, The Cartel seems functional as a shooter. Aiming is fine and a typical assortment of modern guns is the order of the day here. Though it seems out of place in this time, Concentration also returns, with the slowing of the action useful for nailing headshots. There are a couple of conceptually interesting systems that sadly aren’t fleshed-out. The story follows three cops, each of whom is playable, and even allows for 3-player co-op. The campaigns are near-identical, as a result, but collectibles present an interesting twist. Players can opt to secretly steal these for additional XP, whilst Agendas also allow you to complete objectives for bigger rewards, but all of these can be scuppered by other players, adding an interesting twist, and tension, to the co-op dynamic. It’s just a shame it doesn’t have much of an impact on most of the gameplay.
Having two teammates changes the dynamic slightly, but were it not for their constant jabbering, you'd forget they were there
Unfortunately, this cannot stop The Cartel from coming off as a bit dull at points. The game is very easy, mostly due to the fact that the enemy A.I. is moronic, suffering a complete lack of intuition or aggression. They fail to flank, or even blind fire, a fairly standard feature by 2011. A few segment set up the player to flank a group of enemies while others provide covering fire, but they’re easy to bypass. A handful of driving segments also pop up, but they feel drawn-out and boring. Similarly, Breach segments show potential, but fail to evolve beyond their basic concept. You quickly see a pattern as the game alternates between sterile shootouts and tedious driving sequences. Still, while failing to retain an exciting pace, the shooting isn’t the absolute worst the console would see. It’s just everything else which falls apart.
The story is awful. Trying to mix a gritty crime drama like Harsh Times with a cheesy 80s action film, just doesn’t work. As three cops work in a secret force to stop a drug cartel, following a US Government building bombing, the trio are completely unlikeable. The McCall offspring here is borderline poisonous in his attitudes, Kim plays the stereotypical headstrong FBI agent and Guerra just happens to deal drugs on the side. All three drop F-Bombs on a near-hilarious basis and often perform reprehensible actions. Ultimately, the story lacks tension or realism, coming off as a parody, which is unfortunate considering it tackles human trafficking and police corruption. When you see just how poorly these issues are handled, it’s no wonder the game was subject to controversy.
The story is awful. Trying to mix a gritty crime drama like Harsh Times with a cheesy 80s action film, just doesn’t work. As three cops work in a secret force to stop a drug cartel, following a US Government building bombing, the trio are completely unlikeable. The McCall offspring here is borderline poisonous in his attitudes, Kim plays the stereotypical headstrong FBI agent and Guerra just happens to deal drugs on the side. All three drop F-Bombs on a near-hilarious basis and often perform reprehensible actions. Ultimately, the story lacks tension or realism, coming off as a parody, which is unfortunate considering it tackles human trafficking and police corruption. When you see just how poorly these issues are handled, it’s no wonder the game was subject to controversy.
|
|
What drags the game down still further is the complete lack of effort that’s gone into its presentation. The visuals look atrocious, with rough-looking textures, poor lighting and awful animations. Cut-scenes look cheap and poorly directed, failing to aid the story, and despite coming out in 2011, subtitles feature typos aplenty. The audio is perhaps even worse. The voicing is almost offensively poor, levying cheap stereotypes with dismal results. The curse-laden script, awkward battle dialogue that compliments you for performing a headshot on a civilian and glitches that cause sound to cut out or loop, are laughably poor. The music, clumsily skirting between Western grit and modern rock, is repetitive and dull. The presentation is painful, whichever way you look at it.
|
|
Finding captions where the protagonists aren't persistently swearing is trickier than you'd imagine
Call of Juarez: The Cartel is a laughable sequel that pales in comparison to its predecessors (let alone other, superior shooters) in every department. With so little polish and a litany of risible failings, its chief appeal lies in the unintentional comedy that ensues. However, an offensive and poorly-articulated story, zero production value and dull gameplay will soon wipe the smile from your face. Fans of this series will be woefully disappointed, first-person shooter aficionados will be mortified, and everyone else would do well to steer clear of this dreadful shooter.
|
|
VERDICT
"Call of Juarez: The Cartel is a laughable sequel dragged down by an offensive and poorly-articulated story, non-existent production values and dull gameplay." OVERALL: 3/10 |
PIXEL SECONDS: CALL OF JUAREZ: THE CARTEL (X360)
The Cartel would see Call of Juarez jump from Bound in Blood’s wild west setting to modern-day North America in a move that would, ironically, result in a game that felt acutely behind the times. Taking the previous game’s unlikeable preacher Ray and reimagining him as the equally unappealing bent cop Ben McCall, marks a bad start. He fits in nicely alongside two other lamentable protagonists: Guerra, whose every other line is an allusion to groping the game’s stripper populace, and Evans, a depressing approximation of a Compton FBI agent. The three feature in a truly asinine story, with cringe-worthy dialogue that feels as though it’s been written for (and by) teenage boys. It looks lacklustre for a 2011 game, dogged by underwhelming locations and prevalent fogging. Objectively, 15 levels provide plenty of content, but the repetitive and drawn-out nature of missions means players will find themselves bored a long way short of the end credits. There’s some limited novelty in replaying levels from different perspectives and it does provide online co-op. It’s a made-for-TV action film dressed in video game clothing but released during the era of Modern Warfare, it’s the gutless shooting that plagues every sequence of this one-pace shooter. The AI is bad and the action sequences are a chore. The fistfights are crap. The car chases are sedate and boring. Fighting helicopters is boring. All the explosions, shouting and f-bombs in the world can’t seem to buy The Cartel any excitement. A huge step backwards, this FPS isn’t worth your time or your money. [3] – Tom Clare © 2022
The Cartel would see Call of Juarez jump from Bound in Blood’s wild west setting to modern-day North America in a move that would, ironically, result in a game that felt acutely behind the times. Taking the previous game’s unlikeable preacher Ray and reimagining him as the equally unappealing bent cop Ben McCall, marks a bad start. He fits in nicely alongside two other lamentable protagonists: Guerra, whose every other line is an allusion to groping the game’s stripper populace, and Evans, a depressing approximation of a Compton FBI agent. The three feature in a truly asinine story, with cringe-worthy dialogue that feels as though it’s been written for (and by) teenage boys. It looks lacklustre for a 2011 game, dogged by underwhelming locations and prevalent fogging. Objectively, 15 levels provide plenty of content, but the repetitive and drawn-out nature of missions means players will find themselves bored a long way short of the end credits. There’s some limited novelty in replaying levels from different perspectives and it does provide online co-op. It’s a made-for-TV action film dressed in video game clothing but released during the era of Modern Warfare, it’s the gutless shooting that plagues every sequence of this one-pace shooter. The AI is bad and the action sequences are a chore. The fistfights are crap. The car chases are sedate and boring. Fighting helicopters is boring. All the explosions, shouting and f-bombs in the world can’t seem to buy The Cartel any excitement. A huge step backwards, this FPS isn’t worth your time or your money. [3] – Tom Clare © 2022