Customer Reviews

Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Desperados is one of the best games I've played in a long time! The first thing that intrigued me about the game was the western setting. Unlike so many other gaming genres, the wild west has been left alone for the most part with only occasional titles such as Lucas Arts "Outlaws".

The game itself plays very similar to Commandos (a game I'm only vaguely familiar with). You control as many as six different characters with 5 different attributes/skills each. The key is to determine which character matched with which skill is the right combination for a given task or mission. While some of the actions seemingly overlap or look to be the same function (ie same result different routes to get there), you quickly realize as you progress through the game that the functions vary greatly in their effectiveness based on the enemy character they are used on.

The most interesting thing about Desperados is it forces the gamer to rely on skill, cunning and the ability to think out a plan before executing. Poorly executed or incomplete plans will quickly get you killed in this game. Efficiency is also important, if you fail to properly budget your resources, it will become extremely difficult or impossible to finish a level without restarting.

To play this game you relly need a fairly good dose of patience in the early levels as you adjust to the interface and the way the game plays. As you build your gang through the game every time you add a new chracter, you are given an in-game tutorial level with just that character to practice and demonstrate that character's skills. These 6 levels are included in the 25 listed on the box, so in essence, you really have only 19 full levels.

Overall I've found this game a great break from the usual first person shooter or age of warcaraft style strategy game I usually play. I would recommend this to gamers who are patient and not easily frustrated, generally those in the above 18 category or gamers who need another "Commandos"-style fix. A word of caution, save frequently as you are bound to make a lot of mistakes and the game always makes you re-start the level from scratch when you die.

I have recently bought this game and it is beyond my expectations. I don't know how they managed to put so much fun into one CD. It is similar to the 'Commandos' game but a lot better. AI is far more better which makes this game harder. It consists of 25 levels and each level is played on a different map. Each map has its own goal. Sometimes it is a rescue operation or sometimes it is complete destruction. Most importantly, the story is great. Levels are connected to each other in a sensible fashion.

You start the game with Cooper, who owns a gun, knife and clock. The first level is a tutorial, and you can learn how to use these objects. Also you will notice that, Cooper is the only member of your team who can use his fist to knock out enemies and climb certain rocks. As the game progresses, your team starts to build up.

I will not tell you more as I want you to see the game with your own eyes. Buy it, you won't regret it.

By the way, at the start menu, you can see the time you have spent in the game so far. (It took 2378 minutes for me to finish all the levels :))

Desperados:Wanted dead or alive gives you fun for months maybe years. I bought the game in the last january, and I still play it about once in a week. Because the game is hard enough you need at least 24 hours of play to complete it (I needed 32 hours)
The best thing in the game is that you need to plan your moves carefully before you do them (running midle of enemy army will lead you very quicly to death) I was lucky to find the game, wish you are that lucky too...

I generally play sports games, but was intrigued by the story behind Desperados and decided to pick it up. I was not disappointed. The game's plot unfolded in a way that kept me interested to the very end. I also appreciated the tension created by waiting for just the right moment to make an attack or execute a plan. Very well done.

I was only disappointed by the fact that it was a bit too easy to use the same strategy on nearly every level. I found myself using John and his trusty knife all too often at the expense of the other characters I could have used. Maybe I could have experimented a bit more, but I wish I had been forced to experiment a bit more.

I look forward to a sequel though. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone interested in a Wild West tactical game.

This is truly a game that requires tons of patience and well thought out plans. However like all real time strategy games you are hindered by speed with a keyboard and mouse and the developer's interface to the game.

In this game you take control of a gang of western bounty hunters trying to solve a crime and bring justice to the Southwestern United States. You find out early that nobody likes you and mostly will shoot you on sight. Each level brings you more and more into the story and allows you to develop new skills and induct more people into your party. The levels are time consuming and keep you involved in finding a solution. Some are close to downright impossible, but one can do it over a GREAT deal of time and patience. The graphics are excellent and the videos telling the story are wonderful.

The flaws come in mostly with reality of a situation and hinderance of how fast you are with a mouse. A few examples:

1) In some scenerios if one of your characters becomes hated by a group in a scenerio (ie. the Kate Rescue scenerio), then your entire party automatically becomes hated, even if they were never seen by anyone. Not realistic and it would help if you could bring another party member into town for staging.

2) You can enter buildings. If an enemy enters a building and sees you he shoots you to death. You cannot do anything to defend yourself while in a building, as you basically become a helpless handicap who can only walk. If you have any plans about turning out the lights and hiding behind a table, forget it.

3) Certain physical traits apply to only certain characters. One party member is the only one who can climb cliffs, punch, and carry people. This becomes annoying later on. You would think with four big men, each could at least carry a body or have a slight chance at climbing a small cliff.

All in all it is a fun game, but I wouldn't really recommend it to a Wild West fan who likes gunfights and poker games. This isn't Outlaws. This is more like Baldur's Gate with cowboys without as many options.

Review on Desperados demo.

I downloaded this demo because I was curious. I had to download it twice. The 90 something meg version does not work, does not save properly, does not install properly unless you unzip it in its stored sub folders, and will crash always when you try to F5, quicksave. The only thing that works is the demo movie at the beginning.

The 60 meg english version works like a charm. So I recommend to download that. It has no demo movie, but you can download the movies separately.

This game is great. I loved Commandos, but this game has a slightly different feel to it. Not everyone you see onscreen is your enemy. There are chickens that will make noise when you walk by them. There are civilians that will sometimes not do anything and sometimes tell on you, or make a ruckus and notify the bad guys. You aren't supposed to kill civilians, but you can knock them out or put them to sleep so they won't disrupt your mission. I had to punch out witnesses too, even kids and old ladies. There was a gentleman that would tattle on you, he would run to where the bad guys were having a rodeo, I had to punch him out. As he fell sideways, he also smacked into his lady and they were both out - but she quickly woke up which I no sooner reared back and let her have a knuckle sandwich to dream about.

The number of stars circling above their heads is how long they will be knocked out. I believe 5 stars and they are knocked out for a long while, 2 stars and they'll wake up soon. When I hit them and there's only 2 stars, I like to pick them up and punch them a couple more times to make sure there's 5 stars. Just make sure you don't beat them to a pulp, if the innocent civilians die - you lose the game and you have to reload.

BTW, don't think I like punching civilians in real life, this is just a game and it's amusing to do stuff you're not supposed to. Also you have to quiet them somehow.

I was only able to use the lady, main character, and doc. The main character tries to be like Clint, but sometimes sounds like Jack Nicholson. He has a knife he can throw silently, stab, shoot his gun. He can pick up bodies to be hidden away from the other baddies. The lady can blind with her mirror, she can distract with a playing card, or show her legs. Sometimes she gets shot while showing her legs - I hated seeing that. Doc has a sniper rifle, also gas bombs to put baddies to sleep - he can put a whole crowd to sleep provided they are all standing close enough together. He also has balloons to tie to the gas bombs, and when it flies over the baddies, you shoot the balloon and the bomb will drop on them. You have to pay attention to the wind, look at the wind mill, so you know which way you balloon will drift.

Bad guys and civilians say all sorts of realistic and funny comments.

Graphics are well done, richly detailed, and vibrant. Look at the screen shots for an idea of what I'm talking about.

It is almost like Commandos, I've played them all except Commandos 2. But this game is a refreshing change. The athmosphere is amusing, the scenery is full of life - people talk, animals are alive, the background music enhances the ambience, bad guys also talk, architecture looks authentic. Everything on the screen in Commandos is war or enemy, but it also has nice graphics as this.

PRO - very nice graphics, lively scenery, great sound, lightning fast reload and quick save, variety of things you can try

CONS - This game takes a lot of time, sometimes frustrating but you will obsess on how to get Dillon out of the saloon for example. You will do a lot of sneaking around, crawling around, hiding, figuring out which baddie to take out first then the next and so on til you get them all. Not necessarily a bad thing, but some people just like shooting all the time. Also I had to hide the characters I wasn't using because if they get discovered while you're out doing something else - they will just stand there and get killed, but that's also tolerable.

I recommend this game highly, it is very fun. If I were to give it a grade, it would be A.

If you are in the top 2% of gamers then you will like this game if you also have the patiance of a mountain. I loved it because it was such a challange for me even though I spend thousands of hours gaming and am bored with most games. Beginners, don't even think about playing this game, you will get nowhere.

I am a fan of the commandos series, and when I saw this game in the shop, I had to buy it, it combined one of my faourite game platforms, with the west, it is truely a beautiful mix. The gameplay is tediously addictive. As you pass the first few levels, slowly building up your band of rogues, a storyline develops, and you count the minutes until you gain your next character. This game, not only requires gaming skill, but also common sense, quick thinking, and the ability to plan ahead. This is one of the best games I have ever played, and the only thing I seriously regret is that I became so addicted to it, I completed it too soon, because I literally couldn't stop playing, it is a masterpiece, and I feel it is better value than my beloved commandos.

This game is currently only on demo. I have never played a game where it is similar to the Warcraft interface but it is a strategy game aswell! There are so many ways you can get to the enemy and if you slip up... well say bye bye.

Enemies are quick to move and notice every time you slip up. The demo places you in a town that has been taken over by the enemy. Your job is to free the sheriff from the town and then capture the leader of the pack!

By the end of the demo it took me nearly 2 hours as it gets harder and harder.

A really good game if you have moderate tolerance!

In the computer game DESPERADOES: WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE you control a team of people in the Old West who have each skills you can use in order to complete a level. You trail the bandit El Diablo through 25 levels of varying locales and difficulty levels to a final showdown. The game has a dark tone like that of a Clint Eastwood western from the 1960s.

The gameplay is remiscent of the game COMMANDOES, where you possess a team who each possess different skills and equipment you use to achieve the level requirements. One has a scoped sniper weapon, most possess normal firearms of varying ranges and magazine capacities, one can scale some walls and cliffs, some can entice enemies, etc. Unfortunately the controls are a little awkward, and you will probably be fumbling around when the situation gets unexpectedly tense. The game also has a few places where the difficulty is too high, which detracts from the fun. For example trying to rescue people surrounded by bad guys may have you trying again and again until you rescue the person by pure dumb luck.

The music is remiscent(appropriately) of a 1960s spaghetti western. The quality is decent but unmemorable.

Where the game really shines is in its backgrounds. They are simply beautiful, with a lot of attention to detail.

Unfortunately the game also has some bad dialogue, in particular the first few levels. It has some really strange things in it such as:

-Mexican soldiers occupying El Paso, Texas(the game is set in 1881).

-in the "Walls of Fortezza" level the American soldiers sound like Mexicans.

-in the "Piggies in the Middle" level American soldiers and bandits are fighting a pitched battle with one another while you try to sneak by. When you are detected by an American soldier he stops his firing and calls over a bandit to check you out!