THQ Nordic puts in the hands of Mimimi Games a title now in its third iteration, that is Desperados III: for those who do not know it, the brand has taken root on the PC way back in 2001, with the subtitle "wanted dead or alive”Receiving the acclamations of international critics, then evolving Desperados II: Cooper's Revenge and finally in Helldorado (pun between Hell as Inferno and Dorado as Golden in Spanish), where the good John Cooper protagonist (so to speak, since he is a notorious criminal) must rob banks and raid the old west. Things get complicated when a Mexican revolutionary named El Cortador decides to give him a task that at first appeared to be a robbery, but which turns out to be a plot against the President of the United States. Eleven years have passed since the events described here, will a title with such an “ancient” gameplay still be able to enjoy us? Let's find out together.
From past to present
In the tutorial of the game, we will take on the role of young John, who together with his father must steal objects through different outposts. Here the player begins to become familiar with the game controls that we will analyze shortly. For the purposes of the plot, the tutorial is a mere pretext, which once passed will open the doors to the real plot of the game. Being a prequel to the first chapter "Wanted Dead or Alive", John will meet the legendary members along the way of what, as we know, will become his band. We therefore refer to the runaway bride Kate, the shadowy killer Don McCoy, Isabelle, a mysterious woman from New Orleans, e Hector, the biggest trap square in the Far West. The gang will have to face different dangers and various scenarios, including mountains, woods, grasslands, desert areas and even swamps. Their wandering will lead them to the epilogue, the legendary Wild West Legend, or the event that consecrated our protagonist, already famous in the first chapter, to legend: well after eleven years you will finally be able to discover how and why Cooper became a legend of the Old West. The title is typically driven, in fact we will pass from mission to mission almost seamlessly, continuing in the succession of events that involve Cooper and his gang in a linear way ... but do not think for a moment that it will be a pleasure walk.
Wild West
Desperados III is a complex tactical stealth game set in a challenging scenario: that of the Old West is in fact a territory where every element we encounter can represent both an advantage and a disadvantage. While many of you may want to opt for a John Rambo approach, we advise against it. Rather, just as the title itself explains, at the beginning you must know that "losing is part of the game". This is meant to force the player to think about the action he is about to take, evaluate the consequences and then take action and here, as the great bard would say, "There is a hitch!": once our action has been completed (in real time with the game itself), we do not know for sure what the reaction of the enemy or, for example, of the animals surrounding him will be. If we decide that it is appropriate to shoot an enemy, we should think about the possibility that his comrades - perhaps inside the house - can hear the shot and come after us; then we could opt for a knife throw or maybe let the horses go wild and unleash a pandemonium to exploit the confusion and go unnoticed (perhaps snatching some object in the meantime).
You will have to try and try again to figure out what might be the best approach for each situation. To help you in this enterprise, in addition to the coordinated use of the five characters (each with unique abilities), there will be there Showdown Mode, Or a tactical break which will enable you to pre-determine the action and then execute it: for example you could tell Cooper to point the gun at two enemies, then once fired run towards a third enemy, throw the knife and hide in a bush while waiting for other enemies who will be attracted by the noise. Once you have decided on the tactic, you just need to exit the Showdown and the protagonist will perfectly perform all the planned actions, maybe you will find that your tactic doesn't work because immediately after the first two gunshots, an enemy you know nothing about will pop up and kill you. As we said, losing is part of the game in Desperados III. Reload and rethink your next move, never be it that you have missed some rocks to move or some height difference to use to your advantage! Then remember that if you play in Desperados mode, Showdown mode will not pause enemies, therefore the reasoning space must be greater.
Showdown
Old but also new: Desperados III is cool, aesthetically pleasing and well built. He wisely mixes an “ancient” videogame system as a story sector that actually guides the player from one situation to another, but allows him to find multiple solutions to move in the space between one mission and another. There are a few flaws here and there, but nothing transcendental, that is the not too practicality of the camera on the console, which requires the pressing of two buttons to be moved, in addition to the too ease with which the lock on on Cooper is lost (so much so that sometimes you will find it beyond your field of vision). In addition to this we can say that the console version does not always offer top control, thanks to the joypad that does not offer who knows how many buttons as opposed to keyboard and mouse on PC. Aesthetically satisfying and difficult at the right point, we recommend a first try in normal mode and then progress slowly up to Desperados, which will present much more aggressive and prepared enemies. In his field it is an optimal game, which borders on perfection.
