It has been almost two months since Call of Juarez: The Cartel was
released on consoles. In the time since, you may have hoped that
developer Techland would have been busy fixing the problems that plagued
those versions for the game's PC release. Instead, this first-person
shooter is even more problematic than before. The bugs, the poor audio
editing, the interruptions during combat scenarios: they're as
inescapable as The Cartel's racial stereotypes and adoration of the
F-word. Furthermore, a scant online community means that you may never
see the best that The Cartel has to offer, though that doesn't mean you
can't have fun with it. As one of three sleazy government agents, you
thieve secret items hidden away in each level's nooks and crannies--and
must do so without being caught by your curious comrades. It's an
inspired notion in keeping with the innate distrust among these three
slippery sorts. But what The Cartel needed wasn't inspiration--it was
repair.
The Cartel also needed more likable leads and better dialogue, which isn't to say there isn't room for good antiheroes in game stories. (The original game's Reverend Ray is a shining example of an antihero done right.) But the three leads here--the LAPD's Ben, Kim with the FBI, and DEA agent Eddie--gush obscenities and sneer so often, you fear their faces may stay in that position permanently. There are a few attempts to deepen their personalities, such as a quiet scene in which Ben contemplates a taped message from an old friend. But most scenes involve a lot of yelling and racial stereotyping, with slimy gangsters calling each other "homes" and "ese" a lot, and the leads performing deeds so despicable that there's little to separate them from the goons they're fighting. Other cinematics are so dry as to lull you to sleep, such as an expository cutscene largely devoid of sound effects and music, in which government reps sit around a table and set up the game's premise. Audio difficulties also intrude. Characters speak over each other, and some scenes are so heavy with reverb they sound as if the actors were recorded in a public restroom. And it's hard to take a story seriously when the subtitles frequently don't match the recorded dialogue.
Both the boring and the obnoxious aspects come together in a scene in which the three partners bloody up a target in the median of a busy highway. When playing cooperatively, you and your buddies take turns delivering a violent punch or kick with a single key press--one after another after another. The scene goes on for so long you begin to feel sorry for the guy on the ground. Yet your character (and thus, the camera) stares at the ground instead of following the violent acts of your comrades. You remember the sight of the poor grass textures more than the violence your team visits upon this crook. It's an uncomfortable mix of aggression and monotony.
