Posted on: December 14, 2017
DebbieL
Verified ownerGames: Reviews: 8
Weakest in the series, but still good
Having played Desperados 2 years ago, only to see it end on a cliffhanger, I jumped at the chance to finally get my hands on Helldorado - and I'm glad I did. Our cast of lovable Western B-movie stereotypes is back, complete with cheesy catchphrases and tongue-in-cheek humour (though sadly some of the original voice cast seem to have been replaced). So how does it hold up? The 'real-time tactics' gameplay has changed very little from the previous two games, which is both a good and a bad thing. Sneaking around and quietly disposing of enemies is as fun as ever, but there's not much in the way of innovation. One interesting addition is 'combo actions' that can be performed using two characters - sadly there's little opportunity to make use of these, especially as many missions limit you to only two or three characters at a time. On the plus side, some individual abilities have been improved since the previous game (Kate's powder in particular is almost overpowered now) and the devs have added a helpful visual indicator that shows which enemies are affected by which action, as well as a sound meter. The game suffers from budget constraints, which are especially obvious in the limited number of maps and missions. Several missions take place consecutively on the same map, which can be very frustrating when the game basically re-populates a map you've just cleared of enemies and forces you to play it again. The controls can be a bit unresponsive - a problem in a game that requires split-second timing - and manoeuvring around in small, enclosed spaces can be troublesome, especially when combined with some awkward camera angles. Despite the flaws mentioned above, if you're a fan of the first two games, you'll likely enjoy this one as well. If you're not familiar with them, I'd suggest trying the far superior Desperados first (or Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood, another game by the same developer, which is slightly less punishingly hard than D1).
Is this helpful to you?
