MikeMcD

<span class="articleText">The Call of Juarez series has comfortably been akin to that distant older relative (grandfather, uncle, cousin) "from the old country." That is, well-meaning and full of interesting stories and mannerisms, but also prone to moments of slight stereotyping or racism. Yet, you could chalk that latter point to coming more from cultural ignorance rather than outright malevolence. Unfortunately, this newest installment, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, then feels like that blatantly annoying contemporary relative -- a sort of unironic Ali G.
I've called the previous COJs, "Polish Call of Duty with hats" before, in that they are linear first-person shooters that funnel players through combat and scripted moments like a rollercoaster, but with the aesthetics of the Western rather than the War Movie. Like Call of Duty 4, The Cartel attempts the bold move of shifting time periods from the olden days into the present. Though, while the previous games were homages to iconic Westerns, The Cartel feels more like a clumsy fusion of The Shield and Bad Boys II.


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