Haze

Haze should have had it all. It was developed by the team behind TimeSplitters, backed by a large publisher in Ubisoft and one of the key exclusives for the PlayStation 3. Lo and behold, this epic single-player shooter was simply a mess of glitches, bland visuals, terrible writing, boring gameplay, dumb AI, and so on. It’s a shame too because the premise was genuinely interesting.

It seems Ubisoft isn’t pleased with the reception Call of Juarez: The Cartel got and are planning to develop another game in the series, or maybe already have begun development. Thegamingliberty reports that, Ubisoft sent a questionnaire to a bunch of people who bought the game and registered it on Uplay.

The Cartel didn’t score so well here on GamingBolt, but you can check out the review here. I really don’t think Ubisoft should make another game in this series, as I sort of feel that the appeal is lost, but hey! This series actually has a big fanbase, so it could work in Ubisoft’s favour.

They are also asking gamers as to what type of set pieces they would like in the new game. They gave a bunch of options as well, as you can see below.

• Hunting an outlaw in the rocky mountains
• Defending a ranch attacked by Mexican pistolleros
• Preventing a bank robbery
• Rescuing an innocent man about to be hanged up
• Taking part in a shooting contest
• A gun duel in the empty main street of a town against your worst enemy
• Guarding a fort against a group of outlaws
• Helping a man to escape from the sheriff’s office
• Defending a train attacked by Native Americans on horses
• A gunfight in a saloon after a poker game
• Preventing outlaws from pillaging a gold mine
• A fusillade between lawmen and outlaws

Those familiar with the previous CoJ titles will be expecting another affectionate Wild West shooter romp. Sadly, The Cartel attempts to break from this trend by setting itself in the modern day. I can understand an attempt to freshen up the series’ dynamics but, as the spaghetti western setting was one of the major draws to the Call of Juarez series, removing it has effectively shot the game in the foot from the get go. The packaging tries to fool you with promises of “the new wild west” but, aside from a character being descended from the McCalls and a brief venture through the now desolate town of Juarez, this game has little to do with its predecessors.

Though horrible stereotypes on their own, the team create fairly good drama between them

The story follows DEA investigator Eddie Guera, FBI agent Kim Evans and police investigator Ben McCall as they are thrown together as an inter-agency task force to investigate the recent bombings on a DEA building by the infamous Mendoza drug cartel. Other plot threads get introduced regarding on old feud during the Vietnam war and McCall’s search for personal vengeance. The plot is fairly average all the way through, with the few exciting moments throughout being let down by other sections of sheer narrative confusion. One thing that remained consistently awful throughout though was the game’s representation of Mexican culture. Being Caucasian and not a member of a gang I can’t corroborate the facts, but I’m almost certain that Mexican gang members know more words than “gringo,” “motherfucker” and “bitch.” You can tell a bunch of suits thought it would make the game hip if they included a billion expletives a second, so expect some pointlessly coarse language throughout.

One thing that really worked in the narrative was the interaction between the three protagonists. Though each one individually is a horrible stereotype, the drama created between them was enjoyable enough, especially when each one has their own agenda amongst the team’s supposedly unified activities. This also extends to a rather intriguing gameplay mechanic. Being in control of one member out of a three man team, your other two members can be controlled by your buddies in online co-op. What makes things interesting is the side missions introduced for each character. The protagonists all maintain contact with their respective superiors who then give them specific orders that must be carried out in secret. It may be collecting smuggled guns, contacting an informant or planting bugs, but all of these missions won’t reward players unless they are done without your teammates’ knowledge. Successfully doing these nets you points that unlock new weapons, but your allies will be actively trying to prevent you from completing these side missions.

Some of the co-op elements are cool, but the single player experience can be a bit flat by comparison

It’s a great little idea, and one that is also used to fuel plot threads regarding each character’s personal agendas and motivations. It is rather limited though in the long run, with objectives being located in the same place each time a level is replayed. When it comes to online co-op with people who have played the game before, this means you’ll have very little chance of completing your side missions. If you aren’t playing online then you’ll find the remaining squad members replaced by AI. This does dumb down the experience though as, not only are your AI companions rather slow and unhelpful but, they also are very unaware of what the player is doing, making side missions all too easy to accomplish. I’d go as far as saying that easy is a word that is all too descriptive of The Cartel in general. Whilst previous Call of Juarez games offered a stern challenge, The Cartel is embarrassingly easy on all but the hardest mode. The enemies start to ramp up in number near the end of the game, but the flat enemy AI fails to introduce any kind of legitimate challenge.

As far as general gunplay is concerned, things are fairly old school in The Cartel. Speed is the name of the game, with fast movement, unlimited sprint and dual wield pistols being a favoured form of entry. Things feel quite smooth, and the swift pace keeps things fairly addictive. Whilst this no-frills structure can be refreshing though, it also leads to repetition. Some cool set pieces, fist fights, slow motion door entries and driving sections clean the palette here and there, but you still can’t shake the feeling of deja vu when you’ve mowed through yet another group of gang members with a rifle for the hundredth time.

The story mode offers enough explosions and large scale battles to feel cinematic, but it is really let down by sloppy production values. It really is the little things that spoil it, with subtitles not quite matching up, dodgy lip-synching and generally poor visuals taking the wind out of The Cartel’s proverbial sails. The graphics and sound are mediocre at best, but PS3 users get the worst of the brunt. The Xbox 360 version we got our hands on was relatively stable throughout, but the PS3 copy I received was plagued with inconsistencies. The sound regularly cutting out and a few texture glitches were about the worst of what I fared, but it certainly isn’t a good sign when my experience on Xbox 360 was relatively glitch free. If you’re lucky enough to have a choice of platform, I found the Xbox 360 version was the superior one during my time with The Cartel.

The Cartel isn’t a looker, even at the best of times

If you’re able to get over The Cartel’s flaws and enjoy the experience, you’ll find a fair bit going on under the hood. The main story mode is long enough, pushing in at around the ten hour mark if you don’t rush it. Though each character is meant to have a particular area of expertise, they all play in a practically identical manner. That said, each protagonists’ game offers different side missions and the odd bit of separate dialogue to warrant extra play-throughs. You also have a competitive multiplayer mode that serves as a nice distraction, though it generally feels quite derivative. You find a few new features worth noting, such as team based perks that only activate when you’re near your specified “buddy” on your team and the need to drive getaway vehicles in objective based multiplayer. There isn’t anything original enough to pull you away from the big hitters, but it could be a nice little multiplayer title provided it can maintain a stable community.

Call of Juarez: The Cartel, like many contemporary titles, has trouble distinguishing itself amongst an ever cluttered market. Having lost the wild west setting that once defined the series, The Cartel introduces some entertaining new gameplay concepts that aren’t executed well enough to act as proper compensation for the now generic thematic content of the game. We can only hope that Techland will take the series back to its roots for any future instalments, but in the meantime I’d think long and hard before investing your moolah into a copy of The Cartel. Though the game isn’t all bad, in a market full of high quality titles, Call of Juarez: The Cartel is difficult to wholeheartedly recommend to all but the most avid and belligerent of FPS players.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox 360.

Complete Call of Juarez The Cartel’s single player campaign with the help of this video guide.

***Please note this walkthrough was not uploaded by GamingBolt.com

Special thanks to Youtube user SSoHPKC.

Without further ado, let’s begin!

PC owners hope to get some Call of Juarez action when The Cartel releases this friday are out of luck.

Though the game will launch this week on Xbox 360 and PS3 as plannned, the PC version has been delayed until September 16th (for the UK release at least).

Thanks to CVG for the info.

Ubisoft have released a brand new trailer for Call of Juarez The Cartel, this time displaying the multiplayer aspect of the game.

The game releases July 19th on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and in September for the PC.

If listings by various US retailers are to be believed, Call of Juarez: The Cartel will be releasing on June 28 in North America.

Ubisoft’s yet to make an official announcement of a release date for the game, but the fact that four major retailers have marked Techland’s upcoming sequel for the same date strongly suggests that it might turn out to be true.

Check out the pre-order pages on Amazon, Target, GameStop and Walmart for more info.

A new trailer for Call of Juarez: The Cartel shows off some of the trouble that’s cooking down on the Mexican boarder. Complete with guns, an FBI chick and lots more guns, this trailer might be worth checking out.

So we decided to site down with the game’s developers and have a chat on how the game is progressing and what fans can expect from it.

GB: Call of Juarez has always been known for its signature wild-west setting. Don’t you feel uncomfortable or nervous taking the series into an all new direction?

What exactly do you mean by “modern day?” Will we still be seeing hints of cowboys and western wastelands? Or will it be an adventure in the cities this time around?

Ubisoft: (let’s combine those two questions)

During the development of Bound in Blood people kept asking us whether the traditional Western was still relevant in modern times. We kept saying ‘of course’ and we still believe it. It’s because Westerns are universal: the Wild West is more than just time and place. Bringing the Call of Juarez franchise into modern times allows us to prove that we mean it. When you consider the iconic ingredients of a Western, you can easily find them today: the unique locations and landscapes didn’t really change much since the Old West. Sure, there’s a city here and a gas station there, the horse trail was replaced by an interstate but it’s the same place. We’re going to visit those new locations but in a way which will also show how far back they go. As far as the lawlessness of the world goes, I don’t think that you need any proof. There are still people who feel above the law and the only people who can stop them are the real men, the gunslingers who aren’t afraid to step into the grey area between right and wrong. The feeling of freedom, of going where the trail leads, is easy when you have a car – the modern day horse. We still have interesting characters and a police story told in a Western way: centered on characters and their efforts to prevail over their own limitations. An interesting hero is never simply ‘good’. Conflict is much more interesting and in the world of The Cartel there is plenty of it.

Of course we’re a little nervous bringing the story into a new reality but we’re also confident that the Modern Wild West we’re introducing will feel familiar to fans.

GB: What mistakes from Bound in Blood and the first installment are you looking to fix first? Was there any major flaw with the games that you simply have to get out of the way this time?

Ubisoft: Absolutely! One request immediately soared to the top of the wish list for the fans of the series: co-op. We’re addressing that by building The Cartel around a great storyline AND a 3-player co-op! You’re getting 3 badass main characters who can embark on the road trip from LA to Juarez together. It’s very important that all three characters are major players in the story, you’re never playing a sidekick to your buddy’s hero.

There is a number of exciting features which work great in co-op including the fan favorite Concentration Mode slow-motion shooting which triggers for the whole team.

It’s also important to note that while we’re very happy to bring the cooperative play for the first time to the Call of Juarez series, the game still works great solo.

GB: Do we have a multiplayer mode in the mix in this installment? Can you give us any details?

Ubisoft: There will definitely be competitive multiplayer as well. We’ll have more details for you later on but you can expect some solid Modern Wild West shooting with a twist :).

GB: Bound In Blood was a prequel to the first Call of Juarez. How will this be connected to the series? Of course it can’t be a prequel, since it’s set in the present day. Or will there be some sort of flashback sequences?

Ubisoft: The Cartel is a standalone story. It’s still a Wild West game and we will always respect the series’ legacy but aside from some nods towards our fans, like Ben McCall’s ancestry, you can expect an entirely new story.

GB: Bound in Blood was criticized somewhat due to its short length. Will that be a problem in The Cartel? How do you plan on increasing the repeat value this time around?

Ubisoft: First of all there is the drop-in drop out co-op which encourages players to team up for more fun. That’s just the basic, replayable mechanic which all co-op games benefit from. Where The Cartel stands out is the story department: while there is one storyline in the game, each character has a different point of view on the event. That changes the experience and gives certain story twists a completely new meaning. Stay tuned for more on this. For now let me just say that it will be worth it to play the story with each protagonist to get the whole picture.

GB: Will there ever be a return to the wild west setting?

Ubisoft: It’s always possible. We love the Old West and we still have our heads full of ideas for great adventures in that historical setting. Right now we have another Wild West to tame: the modern one.

GB: One of the things that we really loved in Call of Juarez was the feel of the weapons? How is the development team planning to better that experience? Will we see any unique tools/weapons?

Ubisoft: A modern arsenal is one of the key benefits of moving into the modern setting. We’re no longer limited to sixshooters and winchesters and we intend to make good use of the full power of contemporary firearms to bring the outlaws to justice. Our game has a great story and a unique feel but it’s also an action-packed rollercoaster which needs proper hardware. Modern weapons and vehicles provide a much needed punch.

GB: Do you have any plans for releasing a Call of Juarez game on the PSP2/NGP or the 3DS?

Ubisoft: For the moment, we do not have any plans for releasing a Call of Juarez game on the NGP/3DS.

Well we already know a bit about Call of Juarez: The Cartel, but Ubisoft have released more details on the wild west based game.

Call of Juarez The Cartel has a deep and gritty storyline that begins with a fictional drug cartel bombing a U.S. law enforcement agency, devastating the building and killing hundreds of people. The attack is a surprise, leading the U.S. to believe that cartel members had somehow infiltrated federal agencies. In a last-ditch effort, the U.S. puts together a special task force to hunt down and stop the drug cartel. The task force consists of Kim Evans, a gang-affiliated street kid-turned-FBI agent, Eddie Guerra, a DEA agent with a chronic gambling habit and brutal LAPD detective and descendant of Ray McCall from the original Call of Juarez, Ben McCall

As the task force trio searches for the head of the cartel, they’re confronted with a variety of challenges that take them on a road trip from Los Angeles, California, through Arizona and New Mexico to Juarez, Mexico. To complicate things further, Kim, Eddie and Ben each have their own personal challenges and demons to face, which makes for a complex and high-adrenaline gaming experience.

Key features include:
• Rich, dark and in-depth storyline
• Three player online co-op with Kim Evans, Eddie Guerra and Ben McCall
 Gamers can play the entire campaign as each of the three characters; each character has his/her own unique story and ending
• 15 missions and maps
• More than 30 guns and weapons to choose from
• Wide variety of gameplay including punitive raids, witness protection, tough interrogations, undercover missions, car chases and more

Additional information, including details about multi-player and a twist on the three-player co-op storyline, will be revealed soon.

Also stay tuned for our upcoming interview for the game with the developers.