Call of Juarez: The Cartel is set in present day and brings the best elements of the Wild West to a new and modern setting. As a first person shooter with an immersive and mature story, players can expect to embark on a journey like none other – one that will take them from the heart of modern day Los Angeles, California to Juarez, Mexico.
GenreOther Shooters
Platforms xbox360
DEVELOPER Techland | PUBLISHER Codemasters | RELEASE DATE
Call of Juarez: The Cartel Reviews xbox360
gamingbolt.com review
Having lost touch with the series’ roots, The Cartel offers a hollow and unsatisfying run and gun experience that it is mildly redeemed by strangely addictive and fast paced gunplay and some interesting ideas.
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cheatcc.com review
The innovation doesn’t end there. Instead of telling a single story, the game places you on a team of three law-enforcement officers tasked with invading Mexico and bringing down one of the cartels. Depending on which character you pick, you’ll have different weapon proficiencies, different cutscenes, different motives, and even different secret missions you have to perform without the other characters noticing. This is a great new storytelling method, an obvious opportunity for co-op multiplayer, and replayability, all rolled into one.
eurogamer.net review
Key to this unexpectedly compelling yarn is the interplay between the three leads. The stated aim of the game is to bring down the Mendoza Cartel and find out who bombed a federal building on Independence Day. The real narrative lies with McCall, Guerra and Evans as their interagency rivalry threatens to derail their investigation (which, admittedly, just involves shooting lots of people).
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videogameszone.de review
Grafik ist bekanntlich nicht alles. Doch auch der Rest ist in The Cartel ein Fiasko: Als einer von drei Polizeibeamten ballert ihr euch im modernen Los Angeles durch Horden dämlicher KI-Drogendealer. Zusammengehalten werden die Schusswechsel von einer obskuren Hintergrundgeschichte, die so manche konstruiert wirkende Wendung aufweist. Die einzige Verbindung zum Western-Szenario der Vorgänger ist dabei der Umstand, dass einer der Protagonisten einen Cowboyhut trägt.
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gamingexcellence.com review
The gunplay itself is just as basic, giving you a rifle and two pistols to wield (pistols that can be dual-wielded, sacrificing iron sights). The guns at least feel like they have some strength to them, taking down enemies quickly, but hearing your partners throw out comments with every guy you take down gets old really quickly.
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gamesaktuell.de review
No Synopsis Available
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gameplanet.co.nz review
Peel away the backslapping and overt violence however, and there’s little meat in this three-deck sandwich. A solid attempt to consciously anchor each character is played out in cinematic snippets: Evans was born in Compton and lost two brothers to gang violence. Guerra is a special forces agent, and a crack shot. For the sake of continuity, McCall is the direct descendent of the McCall heroes featured in both previous Juarez titles, yet despite best efforts and the ability to play each character through the campaign mode, it’s difficult to feel any sort of attachment.
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gamepro.com review
There’s competitive multiplayer, too, but it’s just as unimaginative as the main campaign is. Shooting things is fun, but if Inception has taught us anything, it’s that we need to go deeper. And The Cartel, well, doesn’t. It’s shallower than the shallow end of a kiddie pool during a drought, and dammit, it’s such a disappointment, because the series has delivered compelling storylines and settings, if nothing else, up to this point. Here’s hoping Techland rights the ship and takes the series back to its roots (or at least away from this mess) in the next installment.
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videogamer.com review
Special attributes are less significant. McCall can reload pistols quickly, Evans can steady her aim when using scoped rifles and Guerra can dual wield. These character perks are neat, but I still found mid-range assault rifles such as the FN FAL to be the best choice in most situations, other than in sequences where sniping is essential.
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gameinformer.com review
During these calls you receive dirt on your co-op partners, as well as hidden objectives that you’re tasked with performing without being spotted. Snatching that cell phone or wallet you spotted can help you level up if you are stealthy about it, but your partner gets the XP bonus if he or she catches you red-handed. Looking around the room to make sure you’re alone before attempting the grab is fun, and it’s even better if you’re the one catching your partner in the act.
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metro.co.uk review
Although storytelling is not a strong point the setting is still fairly interesting. There are still very few modern day shooters that aren’t set in a war zone and this cribs liberally from Hollywood sources as varied as Heat and No Country For Old Men. It convinces us that a more talented developer could create something very interesting using the same set-up, but the characters are so unlikeable and the dialogue so embarrassingly poor that this never gets to take advantage of its own novelty.
joystiq.com review
Maybe a fourth game will fix The Cartel’s problems, rebound like Bound in Blood. But if that day comes, Techland and Ubisoft will have to find some other sap to convince people to care about their efforts. Much like the McCall family themselves, I’m done evangelizing.
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