An armed bandit glared at his teeth on a coin tossed at the log cabin. He looked discreetly to the right and left, then walked to a small shiny metal. In a moment he had fallen to the ground with a knife in his back. Cooper walked briskly toward the motionless body, carrying it into the thicket. However, another armed man approached. Kate loosened her hair, smiled seductively, and walked over to him. The man lowered his rifle and sharpened his elegant woman's neglected yellow teeth. Cooper successfully erased the tracks, quietly walked around the flirting villain and pulled out his knife again ...
Does it remind you of anything? You may have survived similar scenes in previous Desperados games, and you can once again see the latest sequel, which this time has been taken up by developers from Mimimi Productions. Already in strategy from historic Japan, Shadow Tactics: Blades of The Shogun, they proved that the game style, which is especially famous for the Commandos series, is close to them and they can successfully serve it to current players.
So John Cooper is back, and again this time he is helped by a group of determined companions. Some you already know, others you will meet for the first time. However, it is still true that each of them has different abilities and can only manage truly challenging missions if they work together. So John uses his coin to lure the patrols and then throws a knife, which he throws, but when necessary, he draws his revolvers and destroys two opponents at once. Doc McCoy prefers a lethal injection, a narcotic decoction and a briefcase, and he's also a great sniper and can open locks. Rough Hector Mendoza whistles at the enemies and lures them into a bear trap, which Bianca lovingly calls. He has so much power that he carries two bodies at once and is the only one who can face elite enemies in long cloaks. He likes to shade them with an ax.
Kate O'Hara uses her feminine charm. When he gets to the right clothes, he walks calmly among the bandits and flirts with them, so they don't follow the surroundings and can even be distracted from their post. Or he uses an intoxicating perfume and, if necessary, kicks someone in the crotch. Indigenous voodoo shaman Isabelle Moreau can control the minds of ordinary enemies and force them to act according to her will. In addition, the arrows connect two characters, and when one of them gets hit, the other ends up with her - even if he is in a completely different place. Isabelle also has a cat, with which even a tough guard likes to be anointed, and for a while she forgets her duties. Some of your characters can climb plants, others can swim, but each has its strengths and weaknesses.
It is optimal to proceed inconspicuously, because the alarmed enemies call their companions from the area and the reserves from the surrounding houses. But sometimes it inadvertently culminates in a noisy shootout or explosion. It is important to meet the goals set - to free the prisoners, save the besieged species, steal an important document, push the mining truck to the gate, or get dynamite and blow up the bridge - and then gather your party at the designated place. Mission successful, we are moving on to the next one.
The story consists of sixteen missions, which take place on large maps and in various environments. Despite the choice of difficulty, they will always let you down and you will certainly be grateful for the opportunity to save and upload your progress at any time. Even the smallest mistake is severely punished and can be fatal for you. Visit western towns, mines, mountains, farms, desert, swamps. The story is complemented by partition scenes, funny moments and returns to the past. Right at the beginning, in the form of a tutorial, you will return for a while to Cooper's childhood, where he is taught by an experienced father. But the story also marginally notes the fates of other characters from the party.
The Baron's challenges are an excellent complementary regime. They unlock continuously and take you to already traversed locations, unless they have a different content and course. The specific conditions sometimes make them literally puzzles, where you have to use your wits. In the first challenge, you aim to destroy several targets, but completely without weapons, only with additional abilities. These should be used to stage accidents and you can also help with objects in the area. For example, a coin can upset a bull, which then picks up a man who is too close to the horns. Or "unexpectedly" a huge boulder or wooden wall of a house under construction falls on someone, oil spills and ignites, etc. In other calls, you have to destroy all the bandits in one, but the conditions are always different. You will only return to the train with Isabelle, who she has to deal with everyone alone, or you have a game, but only with offensive abilities without cheating and additional aids.
You can also use accidents and environmental elements in story missions, where they perfectly complement the range of your possibilities. All you have to do is look around and you will come up with many ways to solve problems and get through the swarms of enemies. Although they are very thoughtful and sophisticated, so they usually see each other. And it's not easy to take someone away without their companions reacting. But it's possible, especially when you coordinate your team and perform multiple actions in a logical sequence, or even at the same time. Showdown mode will serve this very well. Except for the highest difficulty, it is fully available whenever you turn it on and give instructions to multiple characters during a break. Execute the plan immediately or when it suits you best. For example, you can fix three or more guards at once, or at the same time distract your opponents and sabotage.
It is very important to observe enemies with their sight on. Then you know exactly where the bandit is looking and you can slip when he is staring somewhere else. You can help by crouching in the striped viewing zone, ie at a greater distance or when hiding behind objects. Ammunition is not the name, even if you get a few extra rounds in selected places. In addition, there are various tricks and pitfalls that can be used, but sometimes they will also betray you. For example, when you turn off a lantern, someone comes to light it again, traces in muddy soil and sand arouse suspicion, and enemies turn around when they hear noise. And panic is caused by discovered dead and bound bodies, so they need to be shoved into bushes or wells.
In addition, you need to notice who you have in front of you. Ordinary bandits are easily distracted and manipulated by your abilities, but you will not be overwhelmed by those who wear ponchoes. They will not run after a tossed coin or a briefcase with a trap. Your Kate's feminine charm does not apply to cowgirls, and dogs sniff her out even in disguise. However, the hardest nuts are long coats. As already mentioned, only Hector can deal with them face to face, the rest of the party will only get rid of them if they use a combination of shooting with subsequent arrival from the back. Men in coats are not only resilient but also attentive, they reveal many of your tricks, they don't fly and they arouse others.
All this and more will cause you complications, but it will also provide interesting opportunities that you must consider and try to succeed overall. Sometimes this means frequent recordings, bug fixes, and alternative paths, so that one mission can last more than an hour or two. But once you master it, you will consider it a great triumph. And then you just enjoy the statistics, which of your characters used what and how many times. You can also view and save quick records with a schematic map, where you can see every step you have taken. And maybe you decide to repeat the mission to complete it better, try other sidewalks and get bonus medals for specific tasks. For the optional rescue of all civilians, for not killing anyone or for a great time, you returned the money to the bank or caused a certain number of accidents.
The creators of the game handled the graphics, design and sound very well. You will be greeted by a stylish menu with a group of gunslingers in a canyon with an evening (or morning?) Sky. Extensive maps are full of details and precisely processed objects and characters. The procedure is never straightforward and you have to start from a well-thought-out structure of the environment. You can zoom in and rotate everything, you can also see the colored silhouettes of your covered characters, so you have a good overview. And there is also successful dubbing and great western music. And let's not forget, there are also references to cult westerns. In the cemetery with the graves in a circle, the experts will remember the film Good, Bad and Ugly, sometimes the scene of the story will resemble a modified passage from the classic Then in the West. In short, it all goes well and the atmosphere is embroidered.
Desperados III is a great sequel to tactical strategy that requires thoughtful action and a lot of patience - just like Commandos and the other classic games it is based on. You can try headlessly through the crowds of gunmen on the big maps, but it's not the perfect solution. The stealth process with occasional shootings and arranged accidents is much more satisfactory, albeit slower. You can sometimes go through a normal mission for more than two hours, which with a reasonable dosage is one or two maps per evening. And combined with the baron's challenges, this will guarantee you a massive dose of entertainment that will be further expanded by the DLC in the future. John Cooper and his companions showed real guts. If you go on a painful journey with them for revenge, friendship or for a handful of dollars in the West then, you will definitely not make a mistake and enjoy it. But it's nothing for tracers.