History YMMV / CallOfJuarezTheCartel

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: ''Extra Credits'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ci6rYOleM did a lengthy discussion]] about how the game makes a lot of reactionary assumptions about Mexico, the Drug War, and other concepts. WebVideo/NoahCaldwellGervais, on the other hand, [[Quotes/BroadcastStatic theorizes]] that the game has, all along, been based not on actual real world and history, but on the outside perception -- Techland is a Polish developer, mind you -- of the warped reactionary rhetoric within the United States itself.

* CriticalResearchFailure:
** Characters routinely [[SharePhrase use the phrase]] "oro o la chiganda" - gold or damn it. However, the original phrase, coined by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Escobar Pablo Escobar]] himself, is "plata o plomo" - ''silver'' or ''lead'', and is one of the most well-known phrases used by the cartels to indicate "[[AnOfferYouCantRefuse accept the bribe, or you'll be sorry]]".
** WebAnimation/ExtraCredits stated the game made an incredibly stupid mistake saying that women were kidnapped from America to be sex trafficked in Mexico when the reverse is actually the problem, pointing out that the cartels would be ''insane'' to kidnap American women, as not only is the reverse [[PragmaticVillainy far more profitable for them]], but it would be BullyingADragon.

* FairForItsDay: As incredibly politically incorrect as the game is, especially to modern audiences, it should be noted that ''The Cartel'' also depicts the U.S. government and American law enforcement as ''incredibly'' corrupt and amoral, to the point that the heads of competing law enforcement agencies are willing to order their agents to outright ''murder'' the agents of other law enforcement agencies solely to protect their own corrupt interests. The writers clearly were not making any sort of statement about U.S.-Mexico relationships or the war on drugs, but rather simply depicting an overall CrapsackWorld in general.

* UnfortunateImplications: ''Extra Credits'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ci6rYOleM criticized the game]] for having several blatant distortions and problematic creative choices that resulted in a racist depiction of the Mexican drug wars.
** In one level, the player gets an achievement for killing all of the enemies, which all happen to be Black {{Gangbangers}} that the player incited into violence through a FalseFlagOperation.
** Likewise, the background info for FBI Agent Kim Evans, the sole Black and female player character, shows that she only joined the FBI through an [[AffirmativeActionGirl affirmative action program]], rather than on her own merits. And it is later revealed that her and Eddie Guerra, the Hispanic DEA agent, are both [[DirtyCop corrupt]] to some degree.

* {{Sequelitis}}: Easily seen as the low point of the franchise by many, from both fans and critics, due to a combination of the change to modern day western, being very buggy, and the aforementioned SpecialEffectFailure, just to name a few. It's also [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes the only game in the series no longer available on Steam]].

* HarsherInHindsight: One of the levels is set in a shootout in a nightclub, and there are zero consequences for killing civilians other than losing out on an achievement. As WebVideo/NoahCaldwellGervais noted, this can be harder to take in the aftermath of the 2016 Pluse nightclub shootings.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: All three of the protagonists have their persona agendas, [[spoiler:with Eddie being a drug dealing DirtyCop, Kim trying to [[HeKnowsTooMuch cover up a FBI mole]], and Ben [[StealingFromThieves pocketing money from criminals]] to pay for a child's medical expenses]]. This could have led to some potential character development and conflict, but sadly due to the TooBleakStoppedCaring nature of the story, this amounts to very little in the end besides some collectables in the levels for the specific character, which can be used to EarnYourBadEnding.
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Another reason why the game bombed is because it's just hard to get invested in the game's plot. Not only are the characters [[FlatCharacter bland and uninteresting]], but they're also incredibly [[DesignatedHero unlikable and unsympathetic]].

** Likewise, the background info for Agent Kim Evans, the sole Black and female player character, shows that she only joined the FBI through an [[AffirmativeActionGirl affirmative action program]], rather than on her own merits.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: All three of the protagonists have their persona agendas, [[spoiler:with Eddie being a drug dealing DirtyCop, Kim trying to [[HeKnowsTooMuch cover up a FBI mole]], and Ben [[StealingFromThieves pocketing money from criminals]] to pay for a child's medical expenses. This could have led to some potential character development and conflict, but sadly due to the TooBleakStoppedCaring nature of the story, this amounts to very little in the end besides some collectables in the levels for the specific character, which can be used to EarnYourBadEnding.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: ''Extra Credits'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ci6rYOleM did a lengthy discussion]] about how the game makes a lot of reactionary assumptions about Mexico, the Drug War, and other concepts. Creator/NoahGervais, on the other hand, [[Quotes/BroadcastStatic theorizes]] that the game has, all along, been based not on actual real world and history, but on the outside perception -- Techland is a Polish developer, mind you -- of the warped reactionary rhetoric within the United States itself.

** In one level, the player gets an achievement for killing all of the enemies, which all happen to be Black {{Gangbangers}}.

* UnfortunateImplications:
** Extra Credits pointed out that there is a level where you get an achievement for killing all of the enemies, which all happen to be Black {{Gangbangers}}.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0ci6rYOleM Extra Credits did a lengthy discussion]] about how the game makes a lot of reactionary assumptions about Mexico, the Drug War, and other concepts. Creator/NoahGervais, on the other hand, [[Quotes/BroadcastStatic theorizes]] that the game has, all along, been based not on actual real world and history, but on the outside perception -- Techland is a Polish developer, mind you -- of the warped reactionary rhetoric within the United States itself.

* TooBleakStoppedCaring: Another reason why the game bombed is because it's just hard to get invested in the game's plot. Not only are the character [[FlatCharacter bland and uninteresting]], but they're also incredibly [[DesignatedHero unlikable and unsympathetic]].

** Likewise, Agent Kim Evans' background showed that she only joined the FBI through an [[AffirmativeActionGirl affirmative action program]], rather than on her own merits.

* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy: Another reason why the game bombed is because it's just hard to get invested in the game's plot. Not only are the character [[FlatCharacter bland and uninteresting]], but they're also incredibly [[DesignatedHero unlikable and unsympathetic]].