It seems that the oft forgotten western series, Call of Juarez, is taking a note from Call of Duty and moving itself into the modern era with its new game, Call of Juarez: The Cartel. Despite this shift in time period Ubisoft is promising the same strong story and pacing that exemplifies the western genre but brought into a more relevant and grittier setting, Personally I find the wild west pretty gritty already so I’m very curious to see exactly what they plan do with this new setting.
Not too many details beyond the title and setting have been released but here’s we do know. The game will start off in Los Angeles, California but end up taking the characters to where this the series always takes it’s protagonists, Juarez, New Mexico. Like the past games it’s a first person shooter and will be making an appearance on Xbox 360, PS3, and PC. The most surprising thing is that it will be out relatively soon despite just being announced with a current release date of “Summer 2011”.
I’m not really sure how I feel about this to be honest, the western genre is one that has always been near and dear to my and heart and seeing one of the few western video game series abandon that setting somewhat disturbs me. That said a fresh setting with the same great beats that make westerns so great could finally provide the kick in the butt that this series needs to succeed. I will miss firing old guns in first person though, it’s an experience wholly different from firing the fully automatic death machines that populate modern shooters; just have to hope they’ll throw an unlockable Winchester in there for weirdos like me.
For an in depth look at Call of Juarez: The Cartel you should keep your eyes on Electronic Gaming Monthly who have scored exclusive first look at the title in their new March issue which should be on news stands as of today. You could also look at the website for Call of Juarez: The Cartel for some info and pre-order details.