Call of Juarez: The Cartel
Developer: Techland
Publisher: Ubisoft
Rated “M”
Xbox 360, PS3, $59.99 (Windows PC version ships Sept 13, 2011)
Score: 8 out of 10

Step into a modern day Wild West where the end justifies the means and lawlessness runs rampant. Oh, you mean 2011 LA.

When a Mexican drug cartel bombs a US law enforcement agency, the government puts together a special task force to bring them down. Enter LAPD cop Ben McCall, DEA agent Eddie Guerra, and FBI agent Kim Evans, each of whom bring their own special skill and story to the game. Players can choose between characters based on how they play. Ben was good with pistols, Eddie with machine guns, and Kim with the sniper rifle.

Also, I posted my video review on YouTube

There was one serious glitch that I saw over and over again. The enemies are scripted to enter the battlefield when the player character enters a certain area. It is all highly synchronized to help the story develop. So it seems that if you’re like me and you want to run through the ghost town, because who on earth would walk slowly down the middle of the street, then you’re going to screw up the game. I apparently ran out ahead of the enemy triggers – because there were no enemies. I couldn’t advance the story. I didn’t know where to go or what to do. I had to restart the checkpoint and walk through the town slower this time.

All that said, Call of Juarez is a helluva lot of fun. I played through it twice (once as Kim and once as Ben) and I think the little story twists are highly engaging and entertaining. Kim knew things that Ben didn’t, which is very cool when you play Ben and see the same situation from a different angle.

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