Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive
Encyclopedia
Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive is a stealth-based real-time tactics
computer game, developed by Spellbound and released in 2001. In the game, the player controls up to six characters in a wild west setting. The protagonist is a wordly knife
fighter and gunslinger, John Cooper. He takes on a bounty to capture a notorious train robber named "El Diablo". As Cooper sets off on his quest, he is aided by five other friends and they work together in a real-time, stealth
based structure very similar to that introduced in Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, although an all-out gunfight is still highly possible in the game. A sequel called Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge
was released in late March 2006. A second sequel, Helldorado, (announced as expansion pack Desperados 2: Conspiracy but made into a full game) was released in mid 2007 in Germany. The English version was released in some regions in November 2007.
, 1881. Many trains have been robbed the last few months by a mysterious and vicious bandit named El Diablo. The railroad company Twinnings & Co has offered $15,000 to the one who can stop El Diablo. Bounty hunter John Cooper accepts the task, despite the objections of bad-tempered and contemptous US Marshal Jackson, but soon learns the mission is not as simple as he first assumed. John intends to create a team of his old partners to aid him on his hunt for the train robbers, consisting of Sam, Doc and Kate. When he discovers that Sanchez is not in fact the leader of the raids, he releases him and enlists his help too. The team of 5 end up increasing by one more when Mia's father is killed at his outpost, and she vows to avenge his death.
In a surprising twist, El Diablo is revealed to be Marshal Jackson himself, who captures the characters and jails them in his secret cave headquarters. With the help of Mia, they successfully escape out of their cell. Cooper then chases El Diablo up to his office and kills him in the ensuing gunfight.
. The player can use flashlights on NPCs to see their fields of vision. Depending on the color of the cone, the player can see the mental state of the NPC. If the cone is green, it means the person is calm. Similarly, a yellow cone signifies suspicion, and a red means the NPC has spotted one of the characters. Some colors signify special status such as a pink cone, meaning the NPC has become attracted to Kate, or a black cone, meaning they have been hit by Mia's blowpipe.
Another special feature is the Quick Action, in which certain actions - from running to a certain place up to using a weapon against a pre-targeted enemy - can be 'pre-programmed' and called upon immediately when needed. For instance, by programming his revolver with Quick Action, Cooper can either concentrate all three shots he can fire on a single opponent or divide them between up to three targets without having to move the mouse icon around.
An easter egg
is to be found in the tutorial level for Doc McCoy: When he builds his scarecrow on the pier, a sequence occurs which spoofs a scene from The Empire Strikes Back.
, 80% of critics gave the game positive reviews, based on 28 reviews. On Metacritic
, the game had an average score of 78 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
computer game, developed by Spellbound and released in 2001. In the game, the player controls up to six characters in a wild west setting. The protagonist is a wordly knife
Knife
A knife is a cutting tool with an exposed cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with or without a handle. Knives were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools...
fighter and gunslinger, John Cooper. He takes on a bounty to capture a notorious train robber named "El Diablo". As Cooper sets off on his quest, he is aided by five other friends and they work together in a real-time, stealth
Stealth-based game
Stealth game, or simply Stealth, is a video game genre that rewards the player for using stealth to overcome antagonists. Games in the genre typically allow the player to remain undetected by hiding, using disguises, and/or avoiding noise...
based structure very similar to that introduced in Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, although an all-out gunfight is still highly possible in the game. A sequel called Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge
Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge
Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge is a 2006 computer game. It is the sequel to the 2001 game Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive.- Story :John Cooper's brother, Marshal Ross Cooper, has been killed by a criminal called "Angel Face" and John wants to avenge him...
was released in late March 2006. A second sequel, Helldorado, (announced as expansion pack Desperados 2: Conspiracy but made into a full game) was released in mid 2007 in Germany. The English version was released in some regions in November 2007.
Story
The game takes place in New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, 1881. Many trains have been robbed the last few months by a mysterious and vicious bandit named El Diablo. The railroad company Twinnings & Co has offered $15,000 to the one who can stop El Diablo. Bounty hunter John Cooper accepts the task, despite the objections of bad-tempered and contemptous US Marshal Jackson, but soon learns the mission is not as simple as he first assumed. John intends to create a team of his old partners to aid him on his hunt for the train robbers, consisting of Sam, Doc and Kate. When he discovers that Sanchez is not in fact the leader of the raids, he releases him and enlists his help too. The team of 5 end up increasing by one more when Mia's father is killed at his outpost, and she vows to avenge his death.
In a surprising twist, El Diablo is revealed to be Marshal Jackson himself, who captures the characters and jails them in his secret cave headquarters. With the help of Mia, they successfully escape out of their cell. Cooper then chases El Diablo up to his office and kills him in the ensuing gunfight.
Characters
- John Cooper
- The leader of the gang; the player begins the game with this character. His tutorial is the first level, taking place in Opelousas, LA. He is the most important character in the gang, and is playable in every mission except in the tutorials for the other characters.
- Cooper carries a Remington Army 1875 revolver, and can shoot three men within a secondFanning (firearms)Fanning is a revolver shooting technique in which one hand holds the trigger and the other hits the hammer repeatedly. This turns the cylinder and hits the firing pin, in that order, allowing for 'semi-automatic fire' of a revolver...
. He also carries a throwing knifeThrowing knifeThrowing knives are knives that are specially designed and weighted so that they can be thrown effectively. They are a distinct category from ordinary knives....
which he can use as a weapon and cutting tool. Cooper is one of two characters who can carry unconscious or dead bodies, but he is the only character who can climb walls and mountains and saddle horses. The pocket watchPocket watchA pocket watch is a watch that is made to be carried in a pocket, as opposed to a wristwatch, which is strapped to the wrist. They were the most common type of watch from their development in the 16th century until wristwatches became popular after World War I during which a transitional design,...
which he acquires in his tutorial plays a tune after a preset time, which proves very useful for luring enemy guards into striking range.
- Samuel Williams
- An African-American, he is picked up by Cooper at a cotton plantation in LouisianaLouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. He's obsessed with explosives, heavy weapons and pretty women, and his jovial and wise-cracking nature often clashes with Doc McCoy's seriousness. His tutorial takes place at an Indian territoryIndian TerritoryThe Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
in Louisiana.
- Sam's tools include dynamiteDynamiteDynamite is an explosive material based on nitroglycerin, initially using diatomaceous earth , or another absorbent substance such as powdered shells, clay, sawdust, or wood pulp. Dynamites using organic materials such as sawdust are less stable and such use has been generally discontinued...
, a sack with a rattlesnakeRattlesnakeRattlesnakes are a group of venomous snakes of the genera Crotalus and Sistrurus of the subfamily Crotalinae . There are 32 known species of rattlesnake, with between 65-70 subspecies, all native to the Americas, ranging from southern Alberta and southern British Columbia in Canada to Central...
in it, rope for tying unconscious people, and he can also use barrels of TNT in certain missions. His Winchester rifleWinchester rifleIn common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
has the longest range and contains the most amount of bullets. Sam is also one of two characters that can use gatling guns, but only at fixed stations.
- Doc McCoy
- A physicianPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
of ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
ancestry, he is saved from being lynched for fraudFraudIn criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
in Jennings, LA. He is a somewhat tense person and usually speaks in a low growl. His tutorial takes place at his cabin, which is located in a swampSwampA swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
in Louisiana.
- Doc McCoy wields a powerful Colt Buntline Special, for which he has crafted special high-precision bullets that transform the revolver into a sniper rifleSniper rifleIn military and law enforcement terminology, a sniper rifle is a precision-rifle used to ensure more accurate placement of bullets at longer ranges than other small arms. A typical sniper rifle is built for optimal levels of accuracy, fitted with a telescopic sight and chambered for a military...
. Being a man of scienceScienceScience is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, McCoy also has knock-out gas vials which can be thrown or delivered by balloons filled with heliumHeliumHelium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table...
. He can also revive unconscious characters and heal wounded allies. His massive trenchcoat can be used as a scarecrow for decoy actions, and he is an accomplished lockpick and safecracker.
- Kate O'Hara
- An IrishIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
American and a professional gambler, Kate is saved by Cooper, Sam and McCoy in Baton Rouge after being accused of cheating. She is beautiful and seductively charming but quite overconfident, a trait which gets her into trouble more than once. Just like Cooper, her tutorial takes place in Opelousas.
- Kate has poker cards for luring guards, a mirror - which is used for either blinding enemies or lighting Sam's TNT barrels from a distance - and a powerful and (relatively) silent, but short-ranged, DerringerDerringerThe term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...
. Kate can attract men by playing with her garter belt and then can kick them; her kick is faster and stronger than Cooper's punch. A little-used ability in this game is her disguise skill. Kate is also the only character who can automatically move silently when walking on noisy surfaces.
- Pablo Sanchez
- A MexicanMexican peopleMexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
bandit leader of SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
descent, Sanchez is captured by the first four characters in New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, thinking he is guilty of the train robberies; but when John realises Sanchez is innocent, he decides to free him from Fortezza. Sanchez is loud and brash, and more a man of brawns rather than brains, but his strength and his knowledge about El Diablo's organization prove highly useful to the team. His tutorial takes place at his fortress in New Mexico.
- Sanchez has tequilaTequilaTequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
, which attracts enemy guards and also makes them inebriated. Sanchez can also fake a siestaSiestaA siesta is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those where the weather is warm....
, which causes enemies to approach him curiously and thus gives him an opportunity to knock them out with a roundhouse swing. He has a sawn-off shotgun that can harm or kill multiple men with only one shot and carries two shells at a time. Like Sam, Sanchez can use gatling guns, although he can also carry them. When Sanchez enters a buildings with three or less enemies, he will throw them out a door, leaving them unconscious. Sanchez can use his strength to carry two bodies at a time, throw stones to knock out enemies, or push heavy objects aside.
- Mia Yung
- A ChineseChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
girl, she joins the gang right after her father is killed by Marshal Jackson. At 18 years, Mia is the youngest character in the gang. In her quest for revenge, she is quite courageous, though not as fool-hardy as Kate tends to be; she makes up for her lack of combat strength with wit and sneakiness, perhaps more than the others. Her tutorial takes place at a mine in New Mexico.
- Mia can use her small size to hide inside barrels. She has a whistle, flash grenades, peanuts and her monkey, Mr. Leone for distracting enemies. Her blowpipeBlowgun"Blowpipe" and "blow tube" redirect here. For other uses of the terms, see GlassblowingA blowgun is a simple weapon consisting of a small tube for firing light projectiles, or darts....
has very short range, contains only one dart at a time, and does minimal physical damage. The darts will, however, drive the victim into a psychotic shooting spree, attacking friends, foes, and civilians. If the victim is not shot dead by his own friends, he will eventually fall unconscious.
- Mr. Leone the monkey is a reference to Spaghetti WesternSpaghetti WesternSpaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...
director, Sergio LeoneSergio LeoneSergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
.
Gameplay
The game is well-known for having a very advanced AIAi
AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla...
. The player can use flashlights on NPCs to see their fields of vision. Depending on the color of the cone, the player can see the mental state of the NPC. If the cone is green, it means the person is calm. Similarly, a yellow cone signifies suspicion, and a red means the NPC has spotted one of the characters. Some colors signify special status such as a pink cone, meaning the NPC has become attracted to Kate, or a black cone, meaning they have been hit by Mia's blowpipe.
Another special feature is the Quick Action, in which certain actions - from running to a certain place up to using a weapon against a pre-targeted enemy - can be 'pre-programmed' and called upon immediately when needed. For instance, by programming his revolver with Quick Action, Cooper can either concentrate all three shots he can fire on a single opponent or divide them between up to three targets without having to move the mouse icon around.
An easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
is to be found in the tutorial level for Doc McCoy: When he builds his scarecrow on the pier, a sequence occurs which spoofs a scene from The Empire Strikes Back.
Critical reception
The game received generally favorable reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Game RankingsGame Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
, 80% of critics gave the game positive reviews, based on 28 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, the game had an average score of 78 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.
Reality Mistakes
- The Gatling gunGatling gunThe Gatling gun is one of the best known early rapid-fire weapons and a forerunner of the modern machine gun. It is well known for its use by the Union forces during the American Civil War in the 1860s, which was the first time it was employed in combat...
s used in the game feature not an arrangement of multiple barrels around a central axis, but one singular barrel in a tubular jacket typical for water-cooled machine gunMachine gunA machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s (in fact, they look much like M1917 Browning machine guns), and a side-mounted ammunition box for belt-feeding (in mechanical Gatlings gravity-feeding systems like hopper were used). Also, because mechanical Gatlings as they were used in the American WestAmerican Old WestThe American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
required manual operation by a crank, it would be realistically impossible for Sanchez to fire it and keep it relatively stable at the same time while it is removed from its bracings.
- The gun powder barrels Sam can use are labeled TNT, notwithstanding that despite their usage as explosives, both are basically unrelated substances.