Desperados III - Demo Available Now and Release in June

[Grim.Reaper]

Desperados III coming out in mid-June, but noticed they released a 90-120 minute playable demo at GOG.  After playing it a bit, likely a purchase for me....much like shadow tactics but in cowboy setting.  Not sure how many people like this stuff, but anything cowboys related, catches my attention:)

https://www.gog.com/game/desperados_iii_demo

[ArizonaTank]

Is this game on rails?  I would happily shell out for an open world western game. Desperados I and II are on sale, so maybe I'll pick them up for the price of two cups of coffee.

[Grim.Reaper]

it seems mission based and solving puzzles along the way, like shadow tactics.  don't believe it will be open world.

[ComradeP]

ArizonaTank: part 1 and 2 are not open world and 3 won't be either.

As Grim.Reaper wrote, they're mission based (and real-time).

Levels might be expanded during the mission, but in most cases you can see the entire (outdoors) part of the map when you start the mission. I'm not sure if there will be indoors environments.

Desperados: Cooper's Revenge was a bit of a dud due to some strange 3D elements. The original Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive was a worthy Commandos-inspired game.

Based on the trailer, it seems they've taken more than a few hints from Shadow Tactics to allow the player to use timing-related skills and more natural hazards against the foes.

The premise is pretty simple: you have a team composed of a variable number of members, each with different abilities and strengths/weaknesses. These abilities are not changeable by the player usually, though they might be changed by the story (characters might not start with their full set of abilities when they first appear). You need to accomplish certain tasks, which will usually require using the abilities of all team-members, though you will end up using some characters more than others based on how you like to play.

You don't have control over which team-members can go on a mission in previous games of this kind, but you are otherwise free to use the team-members as you please.

The selection of team-members tends to be along the line of a brawler/close combat expert, a spy/infiltrator of some sort, an explosives expert, someone that can use heavy weapons, a sniper and a fast stealthy character.

You tend to be heavily outnumbered and some stealthy gameplay is usually necessary. In some games, you can abuse AI weaknesses to go in guns blazing, but the idea is that you should mostly do things stealthily. The enemy might be alarmed when a knocked out/dead foe is discovered by another enemy, which tends to mean additional enemies enter the map.

Though the grandfather of the genre, Commandos: Behind enemy lines, didn't really allow for peaceful solutions (you could knock enemies out, but you couldn't tie them up so you would have to kill them at some point), the ability to tie unconscious enemies up or otherwise permanently keep them out of the fight without killing them was added in Commandos: Beyond the call of duty and is also available in the Desperados series.

I'm cautiously interested, as it's been a while since Cooper's Revenge was released and I didn't like that one. If they've modernized the series along the lines of the changes/improvements to the genre in Shadow Tactics, count me in.

[Grim.Reaper]

Before anyone decides to buy, certainly worth downloading the demo and giving it a try, it'll give you a great idea on what it is like and whether something for you.  After playing the demo awhile, my only concern is how much "puzzle" (maybe some would call strategy) versus good'ole cowboy fighting.  For example, in a number of the first stuff, you have to find ways to sneak around a bunch of baddies, usually by throwing around rocks in one direction, then quickly running in the other.  Sometimes my mind gets stuck and frustrated on this type of stuff and I stop playing.  Still a lot more to play in the demo yet so maybe things change....but probably either way, likely will still take the plunge.

[ArizonaTank]

ArizonaTank: part 1 and 2 are not open world and 3 won't be either.

As Grim.Reaper wrote, they're mission based (and real-time).

Levels might be expanded during the mission, but in most cases you can see the entire (outdoors) part of the map when you start the mission. I'm not sure if there will be indoors environments.

Desperados: Cooper's Revenge was a bit of a dud due to some strange 3D elements. The original Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive was a worthy Commandos-inspired game.

Based on the trailer, it seems they've taken more than a few hints from Shadow Tactics to allow the player to use timing-related skills and more natural hazards against the foes.

The premise is pretty simple: you have a team composed of a variable number of members, each with different abilities and strengths/weaknesses. These abilities are not changeable by the player usually, though they might be changed by the story (characters might not start with their full set of abilities when they first appear). You need to accomplish certain tasks, which will usually require using the abilities of all team-members, though you will end up using some characters more than others based on how you like to play.

You don't have control over which team-members can go on a mission in previous games of this kind, but you are otherwise free to use the team-members as you please.

The selection of team-members tends to be along the line of a brawler/close combat expert, a spy/infiltrator of some sort, an explosives expert, someone that can use heavy weapons, a sniper and a fast stealthy character.

You tend to be heavily outnumbered and some stealthy gameplay is usually necessary. In some games, you can abuse AI weaknesses to go in guns blazing, but the idea is that you should mostly do things stealthily. The enemy might be alarmed when a knocked out/dead foe is discovered by another enemy, which tends to mean additional enemies enter the map.

Though the grandfather of the genre, Commandos: Behind enemy lines, didn't really allow for peaceful solutions (you could knock enemies out, but you couldn't tie them up so you would have to kill them at some point), the ability to tie unconscious enemies up or otherwise permanently keep them out of the fight without killing them was added in Commandos: Beyond the call of duty and is also available in the Desperados series.

I'm cautiously interested, as it's been a while since Cooper's Revenge was released and I didn't like that one. If they've modernized the series along the lines of the changes/improvements to the genre in Shadow Tactics, count me in.

Thanks for the write up.  In this case, it probably is not my kind of game. I hate the puzzle stuff, preferring games where you can advance using multiple solutions. Also, mission based just does not

Having said that however, I do sometimes like such games when they have a bit of spunk or attitude. For example, I like Mutant Year Zero. So I will get Desperados I since it is on sale for the price of a can of Coke. 

[Grim.Reaper]

releases today...seen a couple reviews give it good marks including this one....we'll see, i did order but will need to find time again....

https://www.dualshockers.com/desperados-3-review/