Desperados III

The game is impeccably well made. The soundtrack is great, everything plays smoothly, the graphics are good for what the game needs, the characters and the world are decent enough, but I just sort of...stopped playing. The problem for me is that the way the game plays out becomes far too mechanical. After a certain amount of time, I stopped seeing bandits and just saw vision cones. I stopped seeing western towns and just saw puzzles. My characters weren't people, they were ability sticks. The game world really ceased to feel alive and instead became a series of patterns to discern. Once that started to happen, I got pretty tired of playing it. There was just a bit too much "that guy is watching that guy who is watching that guy" setups that feel suuuuuper contrived and gamey. It was like "yes, I know what I'll have to do to get past all these vision cones... but do I really want to?" And so I just kind of stopped. But some of the missions are pretty fun. I really liked the wedding day mission and the slave boat mission.

Just like Desperados 2 only, instead of being an awful unplayable ugly buggy mess, it's a smooth, fun, beautiful, gem. If you loved Shadow Tactics, the 1st two Commandos games (not the #2 remaster) and the 1st Desperados, it's a must have. If you loved the 2nd Desperados game, turn off the computer and go the the nearest mental health facility, because you're not well.

This takes me back to playing Robin Hood and the first Desperados, just an enjoyable GAME. Everything is top notch, graphics, music, voice acting, simple cinematics that are skippable, saving and loading is fast, I can't think of anything wrong.

I picked this up hoping for a decent Commandos-like experience and it much, much better than I expected. The writing and characters kept me engaged, gameplay and UI were very smooth and visually the game is a pleasure to look at. Desperados 3 is not just a great tactics game, but does its part in moving the genre forward.

#Summary (88%): If you liked Shadow Tactics, then you will love Desperados III. After all, it is the same isometric tactical stealth game with a Western theme. Oh, and many much-needed small improvements. #Review: I find it difficult to rate Desperados III on its own. Partly because it is a prequel to Desperados, a successful Commandos clone from 2001. Partly because it is barely more than Shadow Tactics in a cowboy skin. The two games share most skills, character types, enemies, and even some of the level design. If I force some objectivity to the matter, then yes, Desperados III is excellent. It is one of the best isometric tactical stealth games I ever played. In many aspects, it almost holds up to my golden standard, Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty. The game’s biggest strength is its tactical variety. I never encountered a situation that did not have at least half a dozen solutions. I never asked: “How do I progress?” It was always: “Which approach seems the most appropriate?” or “How do I solve this if I want to earn the optional badges?” The same variety is also found in the missions. Every stage tries new character setups, limitations, goals, and sometimes gimmicks. A lot of these are inherited from Shadow Tactics, but Desperados III handles them better. Although there are some levels I dislike playing, there are also a few I replayed just for the fun of it. Desperados III also has many quality-of-life improvements over Shadow Tactics. (Granted, most of these come from Desperados 1.) For example, the minimap is more informative, we have a fast-forward button, we can tie up enemies for pacifist runs… and so on. The bottom line is that it feels comfortable to play this game, despite its complexity. As for the story… it is a simple, boring, predictable tale of revenge. It is better than the other Desperados sequels but lacks the twists and awe factor of the original. It serves its purpose and never strives to be anything more than background noise.