THQ
Desperados III Transports an Old Wild West IP Into The Modern Era with serious flair
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My final appointment of Gamescom was with THQ to see Desperados III, a game that was revealed during the show. Its a hardcore tactics title evocative of games like Shadow Tactics and, if you remember it, the Commandos series on PC. Real-time strategy for a new age of players, Desperados is the third instalment in a series of games that started in 2001 with Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive.
Whilst the build of the game I was shown was very early, the gameplay on display had all of the core fundamentals implemented. In the mission I was shown, you play as Cooper and Hector. There are more characters than this, but the two I was shown had special powers that included laying bear traps for unassuming enemies and throwing knives at… unassuming enemies.
The way the gameplay works is that you dip in and out of stealth to creep up on foes. In my case, the characters were caught out and needed to find an escape route. This involved tinkering with the cone of vision of the enemy, finding a useful blind spot and exposing a weakness.
It was a clever tactical twist, and there is a lot of nuance baked into the systems here, especially when considering an enemys eyeline when youre crouching or standing. You also have to think about which character would suit the job best. Hector is a bulkier guy with a devastating melee attack, whereas Cooper is more dangerous from range.
The tutorial elements eventually gave way to a wider mission set in a small Western town. First off, I must talk about the fact that this mission was huge! There were a number of locations from an old mine to a brothel to a saloon, and each had a mission available for the player.
You can pick and choose what you want to do and how you want to go about it, but the town will keep on living regardless.
This ambient environment is bustling, meaning theres always something there to trip you up when youre trying to knuckle down into an assassination. Quick saving and loading is a given, naturally, and the developer spent time altering his play style to fit the situation, even going off script at times when the game was messing with his mojo.
It was awesome to see this, especially when things got sketchy as we approached a honcho within the brothel and we had to poison a beverage in quicktime. Of course, these kinds of actions create a hubbub and enemies came running, but wed already slipped away and ran to safety.
It felt a lot like Hitman, this big, breathing world that you can operate within, attuned for fans of hardcore tactics games. Its definitely accessible too, if thats what's pushing you away from this genre. We wrapped up with a vision into a deeper level set in a swamp where your footsteps reveal your position. Like I said, it's very deep and has a lot of ingrained visual details that can catch you out and make you slam the quick-load button.
The plan for said mission is to reach a huge beached boat and blow it up using your espionage skills and teaming up with your wild west comrades. It looked exciting, and definitely, something that when polished could become a compelling and immersive experience that would please fans of Dishonored, Hitman and the hardcore strategy games that make up its DNA. Get ready to spin some pistols and hit the saloons when Desperados III drops in 2019. Gamescom Preview by Jordan Oloman
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THQ Nordic + Mimimi reveal Desperados III at Gamescom 2018
Here's the official press release:
The Wild West. A place where the law is made by those with a gun in their hands, and is enforced by the henchmen at their command. A place where death is no stranger and the undertakers are working overtime… especially when people start playing Desperados III.
This real-time tactics game, developed by German game studio Mimimi (who earned their spurs with the critically acclaimed title Shadow Tactics: Blades Of The Shogun), lets players command a band of Desperados led by fan-favourite gunslinger John Cooper, whos hunting down his nemesis.
Heavily inspired by the first game of the franchise, Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive, Desperados III will allow the player to approach each mission with a wide variety of different solutions and routes. As the players gang will always be outnumbered, only smart use of both the environment and each Desperados unique character skills will guarantee a victorious outcome.
Keep reading for everything you need to know about Desperados III…
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Desperados III – At a glance
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Developer: Mimimi Productions
Platforms: PS4, Xbox One and PC. Also enhanced on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.
Genre: Real-time tactics game
Desperados III – What is it?
Here's what THQ Nordic have said about the game during the Gamescom Announcement:
"Desperados III is a modern take on the real-time tactics genre set in a harsh Wild West scenario.
"You take control of a ragtag band who become a highly functional group of unlikely heroes and heroines, overcoming their personality clashes to join forces and combine their distinctive character specialities to challenge a seemingly superior foe.
"Hunted by ruthless bandits and corrupt lawmen, the Desperados need to turn the tables against superior numbers and borderline-overwhelming odds in every single mission."
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Desperados III – Release Date
For the time being all we know is that Desperados III will launch on PC, PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X in 2019.
You'll have to stay tuned for further details on precisely when THQ Nordic are planning to release the game.
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Desperados III – Key Features
- Command up to five Desperados and use their lethal skills to stealthily thin out the enemy ranks
- Approach each open-ended mission with a wide variety of different solutions and routes
- Resolve seemingly impossible challenges and defeat entire armies of foes with careful planning and perfectly timed executions
- Explore classic Wild West scenarios such as frontier towns, desert canyons, Mississippi swamps, sprawling modern cities and many more
- Deadly or non-lethal takedown options? Run in all-guns-blazing or stick to stealth throughout? The choice is entirely up to you, and with a range of difficulty settings and special challenges designed for experimentation and replayability you can tackle Desperados III however you see fit
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Desperados III – Who's Making it?
Desperados III is being made by Mimimi Productions. Here's everything you need to know about the studio from the official press release:
Mimimi Productions is a game development studio based in Munich, Germany. In the last years we gathered ample experience developing award-winning games like Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun, employing highly optimized workflows and making a name for ourselves in the games industry. Founded in January 2011, we evolved from casual to core game development with currently 26 team members. Mimimi Productions is a registered developer for all relevant platforms and is working with the Unity 3D-engine since 2010.
Stay tuned for more Desperados III info in the coming months.
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