Customer Reviews

El Matador

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

El Matador is a hard-core 3rd person shooter with bullet time, high-octant action, and non-stop gunplay. In it you play a DEA agent set on taking down a cartel as you hunt from rain soaked streets in Tijuana and its night clubs, to shipping docks, haciendas and lush jungles, all the while meandering through a decent storyline with a few twists and double-crosses. It's certainly not Max Payne, but its actually not too bad. The graphics are really pretty sharp - nothing outlandish, but the attention to detail and level design is impressive (like how there are more than just a desk and a chair in the office - its full with computers, phones, papers - looks believable - not empty). I think the folks are mad, and I would be to, cause they shelled out a Grant ($50) for the game. However, now that the price is $20, it's much more reasonable.

Yes there are some moments where the guys shoot through walls, and they NEVER miss you. But I played the game on easy and while I died a couple times, the game was not too easy or too difficult. It forces you to be tactical. I was able to get shot about 5 or 6 times before dying, which wasn't bad. My only complain was that there was some delay with the keyboard interaction and my player. Maybe a half second from a stop and go point. But I had no issues in the game play ( P4 2.6 Ghz, 1 Gig RAM, GeForce 6200 256 RAM) other than that. I recommend you down the demo and try it for yourself. Again, totally not worth $50, but for $20, a mindless shooter that isn't boring as the scenery and graphics are not repetitive, even though the gameplay is. If you are expecting F.E.A.R. like graphics and storyline, then stay away from this one.

I just wanted a game to tide me over until Christmas, something that wouldn't be too hard but that would be great for relaxing while killing tons of people who deserve it. For that purpose, El Matador delivers.

The graphics are excellent, sound is good, voice acting is beyond horrible, as is the writing. Really, I mean just terrible. And if it's a good story you're after, or interesting level design, well, forget it.

But still, for primitive excitement in third person firefights, it's an enjoyable time-waster. I find myself playing it a lot, actually - a very good stress reducer.

Basically, it's a poor man's - no, a HOMELESS man's - version of Max Payne. You have the bullet time thing, little health vials lying around, lots of dilapidated buidings and warehouses to shoot through, ability to fire two guns at once, lots of bad language, etc.

So, if you're looking for an immersive, intelligent, story-driven experience, pass on this. If you're just looking for some exciting firefights with drug-dealing scum, pick it up. As long as you can get it for $20 or less.

If you liked Max Payne then you will like El Matador. This game was overlooked and underrated. It plays well on older systems and looks beautiful! Graphics are certainly next gen along with the awesome rag doll physics and slo-mo bullet time. It's a budget price for a top notch game, you will get 8-10 hours out of it. It's about the same length Max Payne 1 and 2 were. I highly reccomend this game if you are a fan of 3rd Person PC shooters. You really can't go wrong for the price.

I popped this game in just to see what happens. The story line is decent nothing out of the ordinary. The graphics for then it was created are pretty good and the scenery is pretty fun. However, it just wasn't what i was hoping for. As long as you moved slowly (and even sometimes just run right at the AI) you wouldn't die. I played on normal and for the sake of "personal pride" just wanted to finish the game so i didn't feel like I wasted the money buying it. I would say if you have a friend that has it borrow it. Its a decent mindless game that is fun for a bit but you won't play it more than once. However, i will agree that if you liked Max Payne you will enjoy this game as well.

This is an action filled game typical of the run & gun genre. It has a very large choice of realistic weapons with none of the sci-fi stuff. No sci-fi creatures either. I need to go back and try out some of the other guns. The cut scenes add depth to the game/story line and without given up any spoilers you will get ambushed a lot. I hate getting shot in the back. ;-)Lots of maps.

Listen to me. Don't buy this game. If someone wants to give it you, refuse it. Seriously, I paid $49 for this pathetic excuse for a third person shooter. I was bored after the first 30 minutes. No real storyline, just the repetitive action of shooting bad guys who somehow can shoot YOU while you are standing behind walls. Also, grenades can damage you even if you're nowhere near the explosion. The graphics weren't bad, expecially the jungle scenes. That's why I rated this game with 2 stars instead of one. I like third person shooters, and was hoping this would be one of those games like Rogue Trooper, which was very good.
Save your money, but if you feel the need to blow 50 bucks, then take the money and flush it down the toilet. You'll get just as much satisfaction.

Bored with too much time on my hands and not seeing many good games out there lately, I thought I'd try another AMAZON downloadable, game where the fun is ALWAYS non-refundable and all sales are final. I mean, you don't EVEN have the satisfaction of being able to break a DVD in half or throw it in the fireplace. Anyway...

The pattern here in downloadable games that are cheap is that they must have failed in the open market. I mean, check out the IRONCLADs game that I reviewed. I am the ONLY one who bought it. I reviewed it and shot it down. Now, it's listed on this site still but not for sale? Crikey.

The Positive: Rather timely story line if I DO say so myself. Drug Kingpins running the ops out basically in the open with little/no fear of the law? Sounds like the NEWS to me. NICE selection of firearms and lots of cheats that work that keep you ALIVE and fully loaded while you shoot away.

The Negative: The 'missions' in this game are TIMED. INSANELY timed at that. You can't even get past the TUTORIAL because the live fire course they have is time. No matter WHAT firearm[s] I used, certain targets would require multiple hits and I was always told that I was "TOO SLOW,' and the tutorial would recue for another try.

So, I restarted the game and SKIPPED the tutorial and tried the first mission but it's the same thing. The mission is TIMED and there's no real direction of which pathway to go. I mean, it's like a combination of MYST & Jeopardy more than a shoot'em-up. I mean, it has the potential. It'd be tolerable if ONLY it weren't timed. I don't know @ you, but I don't enjoy running through a mission 30x until I have where all the bad guys are memorized JUST to complete it...ON TIME.

Maybe the game is just TOO challenging for me? Maybe I'M CHALLENGED. Well, they got my money and I have no fun to show for it.

Just for fun, I downloaded Necrovision: Lost Company. Maybe THAT game will have some redeeming qualities? Don't hold your breath, kids.

Look, I haven't actually played the game, just seen the previews for it. I obviously can't give the game 5 stars if I haven't played it. I just think that maybe the game isn't QUITE as bad as many people think because the graphics are really good and controlling the main character is supposedly not a problem.

I can't really say anything else about the game, but I think it would be fair to at least give it a chance. You may find that the game is really quite decent.