Despite the unusual name and setting, El Matador is far from different when compared to other titles in the genre. In our recent playtime with the title, we played through several of the game’s levels, which features various gameplay elements taken from popular games such as Max Payne. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s difficult to take El Matador seriously with features that are spread across the genre quite frequently.
One such feature is El Matador's bullet-time system, that allows you to slow down time. You’ll have a meter that slowly decreases the longer you remain in bullet-time; however, you have the decision to also choose from a short burst, which allows you to quickly jump behind cover and avoid bullets during tight situations. The feature works quite effective in El Matador, as the game is a constant ferocious gunfight that relies on your ability to effectively use cover.
The bullet-time system lets you dive like a real movie star.
Gamers can expect to see a lot of variety between locations and weaponry throughout the game. There'll be a total of 16 levels that will place you in the tough urban streets of Colombia, abandoned shipyards and large jungle environments. As for weapons, you can expect to be equipped to the bone to suit your gang-bashing needs. With pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles and machine guns, gamers can expect to be fighting their way through a number of different situations that best utilise their arsenal and location.
El Matador has a lot of notable visual features that highlight the game’s incredible detail. The rendering of characters is exceptional, animation flows quite well and the game features high dynamic range lighting. Most of these features bring out the best of El Matador, but are however overshadowed by some poorly executed AI and a questionable physics system. The rag-doll effects are done quite well, but we found that a lot of objects were loosely flying around as if they were weightless - making things appear quite unrealistic.
You can expect to come across a number of beautiful locations.
Another issue with El Matador in the preview build was that the controls feel a little off. With a game that relies on your ability to utilise cover and your use of the bullet-time system, it severely lacks a lean option. After having been pinned down behind a car with several enemies shooting at us and the only way to fight back was for us to openly expose ourselves, it soon became an issue in staying alive without such a feature. Jumping is done very awkwardly, and there’s also no ability to roll forward, despite there being controls to roll sideways.
El Matador is far from original, and it’s far from perfect, but there’s a lot to like about its upcoming release. The game is visually appealing and the gameplay promises to have you on your toes constantly. However, from what we’ve played, there are plenty of rough edges that could ultimately hurt the entire experience. Let's hope they're smoothed out in time for release.
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