Personal Intro

I’m a Strategy fan in every sense of the genre, I love them all, I’ve played them all –at least gave them a try, won’t lie to you saying I’ve finished them-, a few ones made it to my Wall Of Fame quickly and forever, some are simply long forgotten. But let’s be honest here…I strongly doubt any game will ever gain the position Starcraft holds in that wall, there’s no possible way that a game will actually be that good, perhaps a Starcraft 2 (yeah yeah I just keep hoping).

Desperados is not exactly the best ST game out there but to be quite honest I find myself hooked at it as I write this –I’m actually fighting some inner demons that just keep screaming PLAY IT, STOP WRITING-, with its strong tactical strategy system this game could be easily called a “Commandos” clone but in my strange and perverted world is far from that.

Yes, Spellboud did copied the same core that Pyro used on “Commandos” and you will find several similarities between both games (like viewing range of enemies –remember the green triangle that swept the floor?- or perhaps the in*missions interface –icons- or the strong tactical –hide here, wait and then strike- mechanic previously played) but they also tried –and succeeded- in the creative department, adding a huge story line –plot- into it (presented as a narrative type of box that will appear every time you talk to someone, annoying at times but extremely important in the development of the missions) and setting the game into a completely different type of scenario that will make you adventure in the wild wild west. 2 important additions that will break the “clone” definition the game offers at first sight.

Said narrative component is what really makes the game refreshing and unlike Commandos interesting –don’t get me wrong, the game is excellent but lacks in the story department on my eyes- putting you as the head of the “Desperados Gang” represented by John Cooper, a reward hunter who is hired by a company to achieve one thing…capturing the bandits that have stolen some trains, sounds simple I know but after you get in the story –which I wrapped up very quickly in order to leave some fun- you will be drawn into an extraordinary task that will keep the game hard but entertaining at all times.

Rich in the features side –variety as well- this is another point that makes the game “enjoyable” –you won’t be upset at it *cloning issue* too long-, having a linear storyline you have to reunite the old gang so you won’t take the said task/goal by yourself, offering you a max of 6 different characters each with unique and mission-defining objects that you will have to use every now and then (for example, your main character carries a watch and a knife, the knife being to simply kill some folks around, and the watch used to get attention of enemies thanks to the sound). All characters posses a gimmick like this, 2 items that will force you to plan before attacking in you want to succeed.

I think one of the worst aspects of the game is that your characters are 100% controlled by you, there’s no AI for them as they don’t respond without you clicking a certain action; they won’t even duck nor run when being shot, something that gets quite annoying when you’re in Mars staring at the monitor thinking and trying to come up with a plan but find yourself surprised by a sudden attack. I think they should at least run or reload the weapons, but no, you have to click at least twice to perform this action, and believe me when I tell you that controlling and trying to fight with 6 characters, clicking everywhere just gets hard. This was just way too irritating but not enough to stop me from playing it some more.

In the other hand, the enemy AI is outstanding, making them react to different circumstances with the right approach and with a noticeable sense of reality, adding with this attitude importance to civilians –you will see what I’m talking about if you get to play this title-, for example: they can run and get some help after seeing something strange (like a dead buddy or stuff like that) amongst other things.

Another low point in the game, is the lack of gameplay options. Just the campaign -which it's the 25 said missions-, you get no Multiplayer, you get no "Campaign Editor", so the game really stand shorts on the variety gameplay-wise. Bummer.

Controls are an easy cake, being extremely customizable, it lets you define shortcut’s to make gameplay faster and easier. After defining keys you will just have to click when trying to move your character and then just hit any of your hotkeys to perform the action you want to do.

25 missions in total will make the game extensive and difficult enough to keep you busy for a few days/weeks –not promising years-, the first 7 are some sort of Tutorial that will show you around the features, interface, menu, as well introducing you to characters and how to use the different objects available for each of them.

Graphics

Certainly not the best quality of the game –but not that important thanks to the storyline- the graphical engine remains quite simple throughout it, delivering decent visuals that will make the game appealing but not overwhelming.

Scenarios really stand out thanks to its extremely well detailed nature, from Haciendas to frontier towns you will be delighted with different well designed buildings that will surround you through missions –most of them being habitable, pretty often used to hide-. Besides buildings you will encounter many intractable objects that will add something to the game in one way or another, like the scarecrows that will scatter as you crawl through a cornfield, etc.

Another thing that stands out are cinematics, very well done to say the least, and they just keep narrating you the happenings between missions, making them an important part of the said narrative nature.

The only low point in this department I’ve found so far it’s when using the Zoom View which is awfully “pixelated” and extremely useless, since it doesn’t add any true value to the graphical aspect of the game.

Sound

Part of the sound engine is poorly designed taking a good portion of fun right out of the game -but it’s like presenting you the disease and the cure-, you have a extreme low point, but a decent part of it that will somehow make it “ok”.

Voice acting its one of the worst I’ve heard in any game, with cheesy and inaccurate accents that makes this sound feature completely distracting and just hard to understand at some points. I think a simple and clean western-accent would’ve done the trick, but I think it was too much to ask.

In the other hand; special effects (like guns’, walking, crawling, knifes and horses) are well done and easy to the ears achieving a needed balance in the sound qualities of the game. Simple but amazingly realistic, the music in missions will really drawn you to the story and will change given the circumstance your dealing with, like quick beats that will define a tense and dangerous atmosphere you will encounter at some points.

Final Words

I loved the first take of Commandos and I want to put my hands on the long awaited sequel for it –which has risen a lot of attention and hype already-, but while I wait…I consider Desperados to be the next best thing coming a few weeks earlier and cheaper making it the perfect “appetizer”. Fun and refreshing this game offers an incredible opportunity to get some fun out of its “stealth tactic strategy” nature, and though perhaps it’s far from perfect –due to every major flaw I mentioned before- it still manages to stay in the creative and entertaining department. Definitely for those awaiting Commandos 2, and for those who really enjoy the genre.

Final Score: 7.9/10.0


Recommended: Yes