A few years ago, No Country For Old Men proved that even in modern times, the tropes of the Old West (greed, vengeance, witty one-liners) still exist. Ubisoft and developer Techland are playing with a similar idea, if their trailer for Call of Juarez: The Cartel is any indication. First announced last month, the sequel to the wild west series jumps ahead by over a century to modern times, where the new “gold rush” involves drugs, money and guns.
A fictional drug cartel has bombed a local U.S. law enforcement agency, so a special task force is called in to bring them to justice, and they’ll take the fight to Los Angeles, across California, Arizona, New Mexico and finally, Juarez, Mexico.
So how does the game tie in to the others in the series (aside from being set in the west and involving shooting lots of people)? Why, the main character in your task force is none other than Ben McCall, a detective whose lineage dates back to the stars of the first two games. Neat, huh?
Your team also includes Kim Evans, a hoodlum-turned-FBI Agent, and Eddie Guerra, a member of the DEA. You can play as any of the three characters in the main game, each with their own distinct storyline and ending, or as all three characters online cooperatively.
The same gritty motifs and story elements from the original games will return, but set in modern times. An interesting change of pace, but like the Coen Brothers have proven, it’s entirely possible to make the Old West new again.
The game’s set to launch this summer for Xbox, PS3 and PC. Head to the gallery here for some new screenshots.
