Games like GUN, Red Dead Revolver, and Call of Juarez were the only window gamers had into the old west, leaving fans of the genre stranded in a desert with no water in sight. Before Rockstar and Red Dead Redemption went and made the western game all mainstream, the best we had might have been Sunset Riders.
Since RDR 'revolutionized' the old west, it seems like not many titles set in the same period will ever measure up to the commercial and critical success John Marston brought to the folks at Rockstar. Kudos then to Call of Juarez for trying something new, and moving in a different direction. Though it may be on a bit of a touchy subject, you don't win big by playing the same safe hand over and over again.
Call of Juarez: The Cartel continues to bill itself as a western in the vein of the two preceding entries in the series, but the wild west has changed. The cartels are the new outlaws, and cash, drugs, and guns are the new gold. In The Cartel, you can take control of one of three 'bad' cops to take down drug lords from Mexico to Los Angeles.
The Cartel is said to have three-player online co-op, three unique campaign stories and all that, but really that's not important. What is important, is the bitching and moaning that 'people' (ie. near-sighted journalists and left-wing politicians) are doing in regards to the latest Call of Juarez, seeing as how Mexico is in a bad way right now, thanks in part to the real cartels.
To any of the detractors, I say find something better to do with your power of state or power of media. Lay off, let games be games, and go fight the problems you have with the latest Call of Juarez game at its source: real life. To developers Techland, and publishers Ubisoft, keep doing what you're doing. Call of Juarez: The Cartel looks like it might have some promise, please don't fuck it up on account of over-sensitive blowhards who attack the games industry to make themselves feel tough.
Also, please don't turn Call of Juarez: The Cartel into something Kane and Lynch-like. Thanks!