We wanna go back in time.
The Call of Juarez franchise always interested me in the past because of its western themes. The previous titles told interesting enough stories, and had engaging enough characters, that they were appealing despite their lack of polish. Call of Juarez: The Cartel, however, doesn't even succeed in this regard. The characters are unlikeable and under developed, and the story is completely forgettable. Beyond that, The Cartel feels rushed, unpolished, and repetitive to the point of frustration.
Call of Juarez: The Cartel tells the story of three law enforcement officers put together on a special task force to take on the infamous Mexican drug cartels. Of course, they all come from different backgrounds, making each of the three playable characters a little different. Ben is a typical gunslinger, sticking out like a sore thumb with his predisposition to using old cowboy revolvers. Eddie and Kim, on the other hand, are sassy modern cops who've grown up in the streets, and come with all the clich�d dialogue and one liners you'd expect. Together they form a motley crew, one that has to fight against enemies on the outside and within.
The problem is that the story fails to be engaging. The characters are caricatures of American law enforcement officials, with laughable dialogue that makes them hard to take seriously. Moreover, all the intrigue and emotion that developer Techland attempts to seed in the story is pointless because they never create any good bonds or trust between the characters. You don't like them, you know they don't like each other, and you don't really care what happens to them.