Call of Juarez The Cartel First Look Preview

The medley of swear words, exclamation marks and angry acronyms says it all: the fans aren’t happy. “Modern day!?” their comments scream, in the space beneath news stories announcing Call of Juarez: The Cartel . “WTF!?”

A comment on our own story strips away the hostility and gives a succinct reason for the backlash: “Westerns are cool because of one simple thing. No automatic weapons!” A good point, I feel. This is Call of Juarez, after all, not Call of Duty. The small but vocal Juarez fan base are worried that Ubisoft is trying to capitalise on the success of Modern Warfare by bringing Techland’s series to the present day, and that all the character will be lost in the process. The developers were well aware of the negativity surrounding the announcement when I met them a few weeks ago, and were quick to assure me that the Wild West vibe would remain firmly intact.

The team posed themselves a simple question: what are the characteristics that define the Wild West? They came to the conclusion that it was more than just a time period. The essence of the West is primarily captured in its location, they argued; the dusty arid lands surrounding LA and the Mexican border. It’s about “real men” and a “mature, deep tone,” they added. Finally, they ventured that the spirit of a good western is derived from its ability to convey a sense of freedom; the portrayal of a land without law. While Call of Juarez: The Cartel is set in modern day LA, Techland has been sure to use each of these philosophies as a corner stone of the game’s design.

I was happy with this logic at first, but something soon struck me as odd. The “lawless world” bit was a contradiction of the whole plot line. The Cartel follows three law enforcement agents as they attempt to bring down the drug-running Cartel. The LAPD’s Ben McCall, FBI’s Kim Evans and the DEA’s Eddie Guerra share the narrative this time around. If a defining characteristic of the Wild West is a ‘lawless world’, however, why would the game cast you in a role that has you upholding the law so ardently? Techland was quick to stress that you’re part of an elite task force that is above the law (i.e. you can break it in the name of justice), but I still found the developer’s justification of a modern western to be laced with hypocrisy.

The Cartel retains ties to its predecessors via Ben McCall, who is a descendant of Ray McCall from the first two games. While Ben isn’t a man of God in the same way that his relative was, he still utters biblical nonsense as he dishes out the justice. Three main characters this time around offers more than just a shift in perspective – it grants the game a clear advancement over its predecessors: three player co-op. This is a big selling point for The Cartel, and Techland was keen to show it off. A lack of a third projector screen meant they could only demo the game with two players, however.

The main bulk of the demonstration takes place in a seedy LA club. The sun might be high in a cloudless sky, but the venue is brimming with dressed-up party-goers, mindlessly grinding away to lasers, UV lights and bass-laden beats. Staring at this scene, I became aware that this couldn’t have been further removed from the Wild West of my imagination. I put this to the back of my mind as the three agents slip through the pulsating mass of bodies to a back room, where their target – Jesus the drug lord – lies in wait. Words are exchanged, nervous glances are shot, and then shit goes down. The next few minutes are a frenzied blur of bullets, giving a glimpse of the comparatively fast pace we can expect from this sequel.

Despite an abundance of automatic weapons, the gunfight plays out rather well. Even with a screen full of bandana-wearing, baggy-jeaned gangsters, the frame rate remained respectful throughout. The game was clearly running on a high-end PC, but I was quietly impressed with the visuals nonetheless. During the mayhem, Jesus is able to slip out unscathed.

Leaving the club full of dead gangsters behind them, the task force trio jump in a car and give chase. A far cry from the bumpy wagon rides of Red Dead Redemption, the pursuit takes place on a busy LA highway. Bullets fly amongst the oncoming traffic, as one player drives and the other shoots. Presumably the third player would also be leaning out the window with a pistol at this point, too, but the Techland duo have no trouble catching up to Jesus on their own. The chase ends with a spectacular crash, and the task force don’t waste a second in dragging their man out of the wreck.

The last section of the demo presents a more traditional Wild West, swapping the urban sprawl of LA for the vast nothingness of the desert. Here, our protagonists have arranged a meeting to swap the recently-captured Jesus for a witness currently held hostage by the Cartel. The scope of a sniper rifle grants a view of the meeting point, where Ben is ready to make the swap. Unsurprisingly, things don’t go to plan, as dozens of gangsters appear from nowhere, waving guns about like madmen. Another short gun-brawl follows, after which the demonstration comes to an end.

Visually, the latter desert section was particularly impressive, where the dusty orange landscape rolled for miles into the distance. Hopefully more of the game takes place here, as the Western vibe is far more prominent, only spoiled by guns and the odd car. I’ve been somewhat down on the game in this preview, but fans of the series should know that the The Cartel appeared to look and play rather well; it’s the tone and general direction of the narrative that worry me. Aside from three player co-op and a vague sense for the Wild West, there isn’t a whole lot here to make the game stand out from the crowd. I could well be wrong, and Techland might usher a new era of modern Wild West, but what I saw of the game appeared to miss the point completely.

Call of Juarez: The Cartel is due for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in summer 2011.