Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge

Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge
European cover art
Developer(s)	Spellbound Entertainment AG
Publisher(s)	Atari
Designer(s)	Armin Gessert
Version	1.01
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	2006
Genre(s)	Real-time tactics
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) USK: 12+ PEGI: 12+ OFLC: M
Media/distribution	DVD-ROM

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. Along with his new ally Hawkeye, he gathers his friends once again and together they start looking for any clue that would lead them to Ross' killer. Soon they find out John's brother was killed because he was investigating evil plans between soldiers and the red Indians...

John sends Doc to Eagle's nest to find Sanchez and Sam. Upon his arrival Doc finds Sanchez tied tied to a tower upside down and Sam locked in a cell. A bandit named Rodriguez has taken over the Fort. Using a vantage point on a mountain to snipe as many enemies as possible Doc tries to find a way in. The front gate is locked so he shoots the rope Sanchez is tied and sneaks into the Fort from a hidden entrance not far from it. Sanchez is able to subdue the Fort, while Doc frees Sam from the jail. But there are still more bandits and Sanchez, Doc and Sam are forced to jump onto a rickety building from a high hill. Sanchez is unwilling to leave without getting revenge on Rodriguez so he, Doc and Sam subdue the fortress (again) find Rodriguez and hang him by the legs from the same tower as Sanchez was tied to.

They meet up with Kate and John at Santa Fe where John has agreed to help some settlers on a journey and provide protection. Later at a place known as the Eye of the Needle, they find a blockade of logs. Doc believes that if they disrupt the logs they fall into a trap, rather they should find another route. After several hours of waiting Kate gets frustrated but Doc proves his theory by shooting some of the logs and revealing some Native Americans behind it. After fending some of them off, Sam uses his dynamite to blow up some of the debris lying around and helps clear a path. Later they are attacked by more Native Americans but fend them off. They begin to notice that the Native Americans seem to have Yankee accents rather than that of Red Indians. Later they meet a U.S Marshal named Arthur Clarke who says he has a Native American prisoner, John requests if he could speak with the prisoner hoping he could shed some light on Ross' death but Clarke refuses saying John doesn't have a Marshal's star.

Suspicious of Clarke, John orders Sam and Sanchez to watch over the settlers in case anything goes wrong and then proceeds to sneak into Clarke's camp accompanied by Doc and Kate. While sneaking around, they learn that the Indians attacking the settlers wagons are in fact disguised bandits, whom Clarke and his men supply. The bandits (under guise of Indians) go and attack & pillage settler trains. The only real Indian is the prisoner, whom Clarke is using to blackmail the other real Indians. When the marshal's man leave, Kate follows them to Fort Wingate. John and Doc kill any remaining bandits in the camp and then realise that the disguised bandits are going to attack the settlers whom they swore to protect. Rushing back to camp, John and Doc are able to warn Sanchez and Sam just in time for Sam to place a few sticks of dynamite in strategic positions and for Sanchez to ready a Gatling Gun. The disguised bandits proceed to attack the camp but are held off by Sam's "Kabooms" and Sanchez's gun.

At Fort Wingate, Kate sneaks into the personnel only area to try to find Hawkeye (The Indian prisoner) and see if he knows anything about Angel Face. When she finds him he is no state to talk and has severely been beaten. When the others arrive, Doc sneaks into the prison and patches Hawkeye up. After a few hours, Hawkeye is able to speak and informs the gang of a letter delivered to Clarke. Wondering if can help, John decides to steal the letter. The gang discovers a secret entrance into Clarke's office in the soloon and after successfully knocking everyone out, they go in. The search Clarke's office and finally finds a letter. Using a piece of Charcoal John discers a hidden signature which says: Morgenstien aka Angel Face.

The gang minus Hawkeye, return to Santa Fe, at the railway station John sees a man and inquires if it's Morgenstien, his informant informs him that that man was Lester Loyd Goodman, to whom Morgenstien is a secretary to. The gang corners Morgenstien, who was in the Golden Coin Saloon and he reveals that angel face is in fact Goodman he tells the gang that Mr Goodman has 3 more secretaries that have the illegal info with them. Tying Morgenstien up, the gang goes after the 3 secretaries, unfortunately the job isn't easy as there are bandits all over the town. When they catch them, they try to present the new evidence to the sheriff. Only to discover the current sheriff just replace the old one (who had an accident) who works for Goodman. John, Kate and Sam are locked up while Doc and Sanchez wait for them unsuspectingly in the saloon.

Hawkeye sneaks through town and manages reach Doc and Sanchez, together, the three of them break into the Sheriff's Office and bust John, Kate and Sam out. Seeing that Morgenstien had escaped, the gang tracks him down to the railway station. Knocking him out (again). Finding out that the incriminating documents are now locked in a safe in the bank.

Characters

• John Cooper:

John, the leader of the team, is equipped with a powerful Remington Army 1875, a Knife that can be thrown for long-range attacks and used for cutting and stabbing, and a Musical Pocket Watch that can attract enemies. He can also use his fist to knock out opponents.

• Kate O'Hara:

Kate, John's girlfriend, is an Irish-American professional gambler. She is equipped with a three-shot Derringer, a pocket pistol for short ranges. She can use her Make-Up to stun enemies, and her Garter Trick and the ability to Simulate Blackout to draw their attention. She also can use a powerful kick in close combat.

• Dr. Arthur "Doc" McCoy:

Doc McCoy is a scientist and trained physician of Scottish ancestry. He is equipped with a powerful Buntline Pistol which can be converted into a sniper rifle, Gas Phials with knock-out gas, and the Healing ability. He can also hit people with his bag in close combat.

• Samuel "Sam" Williams:

Sam is an Afro-American explosives-expert. He is equipped with a Winchester Rifle, sticks of Dynamite, cans of Nitroglycerin (as booby-traps), and TNT. He can also punch enemies at close range.

• Pablo Sanchez:

Sanchez is a powerful Mexican bandit-leader of Spanish descent. He is equipped with a Sawed-Off Shotgun, Rocks for throwing, Tequila bottles to lure enemies and get them drunk, or a Bear Trap. He can also smash his hands against an enemy's head and knock him out for the rest of any given mission.

• Hawkeye:

Hawkeye is the Native Indian member of the team and the son of Indian chief White Wolf. He is equipped with a Bow & Arrow, a Tomahawk, an Indian War Cry ability that distracts enemies, and Witchcraft Healing powers. He can also bring his hand down on an enemy's head like a Karate chop; as with Sanchez, the hit enemy won't wake up again.

• Lester Lloyd Goodman, a.k.a. Angel Face:

The owner of railway company Goodman & Sons, and the main antagonist of the game.

Sequel

There is a sequel unofficially known as Desperados 3: Helldorado and officially entitled "John Cooper in Helldorado". Angel Face's widow kidnaps and poisons Doc McCoy, and unless John does some 'menial' tasks for her, she'll leave McCoy to die. Unfortunately, these menial tasks inevitably brand Cooper and his friends as criminals, since they involve robbing a bank and stealing a train full of U.S. Army weapons. While Cooper and his team are forced to perform the tasks, they discover that they - as is Mrs. Goodman - are mere pawns for a more dastardly plot: the Mexican revolutionary El Cortador's plan to assassinate the President of the United States!

This game features a new character system with attacks being on the left side of HUD and characters are selected by clicking them on a circular menue (similar to the backside of a revolver cylinder) in the bottom-left corner, unlike the portrait system on the bar used in the previous games. Another new thing is the Combo System, in which two characters can combine their abilities and weapons for mass attacks or deceiving enemies more effectively. For example: Sam and Hawkeye can use the Missile combo, where Sam attaches a piece of dynamite to one of Hawkeye's arrows to deliver its explosive power at long range (this can also be done with Doc's Gas Flasks and Kate's Make-Up); John and Sam can use the Brawler combo to beat every enemy in a selected area into submission; while Sanchez can team up with either Kate or Hawkeye for a distraction, pretending that his partner is actually his prisoner.

Unlike Desperados 2, it features the return of all six previously used characters (John, Kate, Doc, Sam, Sanchez and Hawkeye).^[1]

Critical reception

The game received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game had an average score of 65% based on 13 reviews.^[2] On Metacritic, the game had an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 13 reviews.^[3] Graphical quality was praised but many did not like the story, and the buggy features of the game.

References

1. ^ "Helldorado (pc: 2009)". Spellbound Games. http://www.helldorado.spellbound.de/. Retrieved 2009-10-31. 
2. ^ "Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge Reviews". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages2/927230.asp. Retrieved 2008-03-04. 
3. ^ "Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge (pc: 2006): Reviews". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/desperados2coopersrevenge. Retrieved 2008-03-04. 

External links

• Official website
• Gamespot's webpage for Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge
• Desperados 2: Cooper's Revenge at MobyGames