Dust off your boots cowboy; it’s time for Desperados 2: Coopers Revenge. Having played the original Desperados game, I was looking forward to the sequel. From the point of installation, with the background music alone, you’re geared up for an adventure into the Wild West.

From the onset, the first thing you notice is the vast improvement in the graphic quality of the game. You now have the choice to view in an isometric or third person view at your own will. No longer are you viewing your characters from the far away top view. You now have an up close and personal view, which may or may not provide you with an advantage depending on how you play the game. For myself, I found it a bit tricky at first, as it was harder to get a larger “scope” of all the enemies in your vicinity. But it did improve the actual feel of the game, bringing you back to the times of the old west. The other thing that jumps right out at you is the difference in language from the original game. Characters such as Doc McCoy have been revamped with a mouth that would make their mothers shudder in despair. It does add to the game, but I wouldn’t recommend it for the younger crowd of gamers out there.

The game itself, takes after the first, where you’re presented with varied missions and have to plot your course across the vast lands to achieve your goal. In all the missions, you’re presented with X, Y, or Z character to complete the mission with, or a group of your characters, each having their own unique abilities. You’ll also have all of the goodies you had in the first game with some added bonuses. You’re now able to plan five steps ahead for your characters to help them carry out their dastardly deeds. The soundtrack, voice talent, graphics, combined with destructible environments for fights, brings the game to life as if you were watching or participating in a slobber knocker of an old western movie. All told, with eighteen plus missions, and fifty sub-missions, Desperados 2, really packs in the action.

Overall, the game is a refreshing change from the original, and has its own unique flavor in the genre. There just aren’t that many “great” games out there set in the old west. The few that are, don’t compare to the strategic quality of Desperados 2: Coopers Revenge. So if you’re looking for quite a few hours of fun, and like a strategic challenge in a Wild West style of RTS, Desperados 2 should suit you fine partner..

Reviewed By: Boogie