How the west was fun
There has been a massive influx of western-themed games as of late. From indie titles to supernatural spins, the cowboy genre has seen a renaissance for sure. Desperados III may be an established franchise, but it has been over a decade since the last entry saw the light of day. With the newest version developer Mimimi Productions has added their own flavor to the series, making it feel like their most recent effort Shadow Tactics. Of course, instead of Samurai we now get Cowboys, but the results are just as impressive.
Yes, it has been a long time since a Desperados game was released, so it helps that this outing dives into an origin story. Players will learn the beginnings of John Cooper in his journey to get revenge. The game spans a massive set of environments ranging from Colorado all the way to New Mexico. Throughout the campaign the game introduces a cast of colorful characters that do a great job of fleshing out John’s story. Each one has their own unique personality as well as play style, which keeps the 30+ hour campaign going strong throughout.
MSRP: $59.99
Platforms: XB1 (reviewed), PS4, PC
Price I’d Pay: $49.99
For those unfamiliar with Mimimi’s previous work, Desperados is an isometric tactical action game with some sprinkles of stealth. The idea is to try new ways to solve what the game throws at the player. This is why there is a dedicated quicksave button. It encourages players to take chances and explore alternate ways to progress through each level. Players will fail time and time again, making it more of a game of trial and error. This would normally annoy me. Thankfully, the structure and ease of hopping right back in only seconds after dying keeps it from becoming frustrating.
While each member of the posse has their own skills, they are pretty boilerplate. John can toss coins to distract enemies while Kate can distract men with her looks. Yes, it is all standard fare, but mixing it up between each member opens several possibilities and had me experimenting constantly. I could snipe enemies with Doc McCoy’s rifle, or take down an entire group with a shotgun blast from Hector. I loved trying out new ideas and if they didn’t work it was mere seconds before I was conjuring up another plan.
The most exciting character of the team though is Isabelle. She is a voodoo priestess with an array of moves and attacks unlike any other character in the game. Combining her supernatural powers into the stealth genre is unique and interesting. I would use her as much as possible when I played because her diverse array of moves was much more interesting than everyone else. She could use blow darts to turn enemies into voodoo dolls and so much more. Her mechanics really make the game stand out above its western-themed surface.
Desperados III borrows a lot from the team’s previous efforts but adds some new twists. For example, the entire game happens in real-time, yet the action can be paused at any moment to queue up a series of actions. This allows players to plan out exactly what they want to do. Again, combine this with quicksave and experimenting takes on a whole new level of enjoyment. Plan a massive set of dominos then resume the action to see how they land. Reminds me of playing Mouse Trap as a kid, only with a lot more variables to contend with.
Visually the game is a looker. Each new level brought attention to detail and animation that simply jumped out. I love the little touches in the world and characters. The perspective feels a little far out and the camera can be a nuisance at times, but it works. The music and voice acting are superb, and it just permeates that western theme throughout. I really loved watching the game as much as playing it.
There is a lot to love about Desperados III, but it is worth noting that the game is not forgiving. It will take time and patience to push through its massive campaign. The game definitely encourages experimentation on several levels and those easily frustrated by repeating parts of games will find the difficulty overbearing at times. As someone who has issues with games like that though, I found myself drawn to this one more so than others. The quicksave led me to take more chances and the variety of characters and abilities kept it interesting.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.
