Games PC DESPERADOS-WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE User Manual

HEALTH WARNING

For your health, rest about 15 minutes for each hour of play.
Avoid playing when tired or suffering from lack of sleep.
Always play in a brightly lighted room, and stay as far from
the television screen as possible. Some people experience
epileptic seizures when viewing flashing lights or patterns in
our daily environment. These persons may experience
seizures while watching TV pictures or playing video games.
Even players who have never had any seizures may
nonetheless have an undetected epileptic condition. Consult
your doctor before playing video games if you have an
epileptic condition or immediately should you experience
any of the following symptoms during play: dizziness,
altered vision, muscle twitching, other involuntary
movements, loss of awareness of your surroundings, mental
confusion, and / or convulsions.

Contents

The Story

4

Installation and
Uninstallation

5

Starting the Game

6

Principles of the Game

9

Game Controls

21

Opponents

32

Civilians

35

Heroes

36

Credits

46

Infogrames Customer
Service Numbers

47

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The Story

El Paso, a typical Wild West town in the south-western United States near the Mexican border. It
is the year 1881. For the last few months, the trains belonging to the famous railroad company,
Twinnings & Co have been the target of a whole series of hold-ups and ambushes. The manage­ment of the company has decided enough it enough and they have to put an end to the raids. It
has offered a reward of $15,000 for anyone who captures the leader of the gang responsible.

But no one in and around El Paso has the courage to take on the might of the bandidos, so the
outlaws just keep on robbing train after train. Even the local Marshal is keeping well out of it…

It is only when a stranger rides into town that things start to change. Bounty hunter John Cooper
pays a visit to the local Twinnings & Co manager offering to end the railroad company’s problems
once and for all. He gathers together a gang of his old partners and declares war on the bandidos.

But during his pursuit, which will take him through half of the

south-western United States, Cooper soon discovers that on this mis-

sion nothing is quite what it seems...

Installation and
Uninstallation

Installing DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

Insert the DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive. If your
drive is set to "AutoPlay", the Setup program will start automatically. Otherwise, you will
need to start the installation program by hand. To do this, double-click the "Workplace"
symbol on the Desktop and then on the icon for your CD-ROM drive. Double-click either on the file
"autorun.exe" or the file "desperados.exe".

The Start menu opens. Click on the button labelled "Install Desperados" and follow the instructions on the
screen to install DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE.

You will be able to uninstall DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE at any time later should you want to.
To do so, simply click the uninstall icon under "Programs" in the Start menu of MS Windows or use the
"Add/Remove Programs" option in the "Control Panel" item in the MS Windows Start menu. You can also
select the installation options in the Start menu, which appears at the beginning of the game.

System requirements

•

MS Windows®95, 98, Millenium or 2000 (in administrator mode only)

•

Pentium II®233 MHz MMX

•

4x CD-ROM drive

•

Video Card 4 MB (NO special 3D accelerator card needed, Not compatible with Permedia 2)

•

64 MB RAM

•

Mouse and keyboard compatible Direct X

•

DirectX compatible sound card

•

DirectX 7.1 or higher (DirectX 8 included on CD)

•

600 MB free on the Hard Drive

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6 7

Starting the Game

The Start menu

As soon as you start the game program, the Start menu appears. From here, you can either start the
game itself, change the installation options or search automatically on the internet for program
updates or additional levels.

The Main menu

When you have started the game from the Start menu, the Main menu appears. You can navigate the
Main menu and all other menus by moving the mouse pointer onto any menu item and clicking on it.
The Main menu is sub-divided into five options as follows:

•

Start Game – Start a new game or continue a saved game.

•

Select Player – change the active player profile.

•

Show Movies – watch a movie sequence you have already played.

•

Credits – here you can see who created the game.

•

Quit Game – ends the game.

Along with these options, the Main menu also displays the current player profile settings, showing
the name of the player, the level reached and the total time (in minutes) you have taken so far to
carry out your tasks.

Changing the player profile

You can create up to ten player profiles in DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE. Click on the
"Select Player" option in the Main menu, and a sub-menu opens where you can select a different
player profile, set up a new profile or delete an existing profile (Warning: this also automatically

deletes all the game saves belonging to this particular player profile).

Playing movie sequences

In many cases once you have successfully completed a level, an FMV intermediate sequence appears
(FMV = Full Motion Video), continuing the story of John Cooper and his gang.

When you reach one of these cut scenes, you can play it again any time you wish. In the Main menu,
select the item "Show Movies" and click on the required sequence from the list.

The Game menu

When you click on "Start Game" in the Main menu, this takes you to the Game menu, which contains
six options:

•

Play !– The currently selected level (see player profile) will start.

•

Load – Load a saved game.

•

Save – Save a game.

•

Options – Change the graphic and sound settings and keyboard short cuts.

•

Restart – Starts the selected level from the beginning.

•

Quit Game – Takes you back to the Main menu.

You can also return to the Game menu by pressing the [ESC] button during the game. The only thing
that changes here is the first option "Play!", which then becomes "Continue".

If, however, you are in Mission Briefing Mode, where the characters exchange dialogue regarding the
aims of their mission, the function "Save" replaces the function "Skip", which you can use to
terminate the Mission Briefing.

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9

Save or load a game

In DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE you can save a game in two ways: the normal Save
function and the Quicksave. If you press a particular button during play (see keyboard assignments),
a Quicksave takes place. Each new Quicksave overwrites the previous one - there is only one
Quicksave file, which you can load at any time using the Quickload function.

The second method is to save a game using the Game menu by clicking on the menu item "Save". The
advantage of this is that you can give your saved game a name. Furthermore, a small snapshot of the
current game screen is taken, so that when you load the saved game via the Game menu, you can find
it more easily by viewing the list of images.

Options

Selecting the menu item "Options" in the Game menu allows you to adapt the program to your hardware.
There are three controls here:

•

Graphic Options – set the graphic options.

•

Sound Options – adjust the sound options.

•

Shortcuts – assign keys.

In the "Graphic Options" menu, you can switch between three screen resolution values (640x480,
800x600, 1024x768). You can also reduce the detail level of the graphics if you have a slower
computer, placing a greater emphasis on smoothness of play than on image detail. The detail level
setting mainly affects the appearance of the viewing range of your opponents.

The "Sound Options" menu allows you to adjust the sound; this can also affect the game speed.
You can also custom set the music and SFX volumes.

The menu item "Shortcuts" can be used to custom set the key assignments. There are two "Default"
settings and a menu item labelled "User", with which you can manually change any assignment.
The "Default 1" keyboard settings are explained later on in this manual.

Principles
of the Game

Principles of playing DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

In DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE, you control a gang of up to six bounty hunters who
experience some hair-raising adventures in the hunt for a mysterious bandit leader. Their journey
will take them over wide tracts of the south-western United States, from sleepy homesteads on the
Mexican border, across dusty canyons, rocky silver mines, rickety settlements and eerie ghost
towns, to an impregnable army fortress in the middle of the desert.

Only tight teamwork and a combination of the individual skills of all the heroes will the six
desperados will lead them to discover the secret hideout of the chief villain and take him on in a
final battle the outcome of which is far from certain...

Playing DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE is not so much a matter of being faster on the draw
with your Colt 45… In this game you can only survive with a skilfulcombination of intelligence,
tactics and strategic planning. This does not mean, however, that you won't have to shoot it out
with trigger-happy bandidos. After all, this is the Wild West!
On the other hand, you can be sure that if you just march into a town and
blast away at anything that moves, you will very soon have more lead in
your body than the entire Clanton gang after their shoot-out with Wyatt
Earp at the O.K. Corral.

The general underlying principle is to always behave in DESPERADOS –
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE as you would behave in reality. Admittedly
nowadays you are not as likely to have a duel with a sheriff in the
middle of a street or start a fistfight in a saloon during a poker game, but
that shouldn’t stop you approaching each situation using tactical thought.

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The characters - differences between PCs and NPCs

There are two categories of characters in the game: PCs and NPCs.
The PCs (Playable Characters) these are the six heroes who you can control during the course of the

game. At the start, only John Cooper is available to you. The other team members join as the game
progresses and may possibly leave the gang, or become temporarily "lost". Thus, what scenarios you
confront and with which team members depends on how the story progresses, which is great; as
you’ll have lots of surprises in store.

The second group are the NPCs (Non-Playable Characters), who also populate the world of
DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE. They can be either armed opponents or innocent civilians,
with whom you can interact in various ways.

Detailed descriptions of the civilians and opponents follow later in this manual.

The golden rule: keep your head down

Despite the undoubted service they rendered to society, bounty hunters were not highly
regarded in the United States at the time of the Wild West, nor are they today, so DESPERADOS –
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE, provides you ample opportunity for making yourself unpopular. Not
every NPC will necessarily be hostile, but you will discover pretty quickly into the game that
the life of a bounty hunter does not count for much, and if in doubt, people will shoot first and
ask questions afterwards...

For this reason, there are a number of fundamental rules you should observe. Firstly, every NPC
carrying a weapon is a threat, but depending on the particular mission, this does not necessarily
mean you simply open fire on an armed NPC. If the boot were on the other foot, however, the NPC
would certainly have fewer scruples.

This leads on to the second, and perhaps most important rule in DESPERADOS – WANTED
DEAD OR ALIVE: whatever happens, avoid drawing attention to yourself through thoughtless
actions. You have a range of options available to you for distracting opponents, luring them
away, disposing of them silently or causing them some brief irritation. In extreme situations,
reaching for your Colt may be the only way out. Often, though, this will only redouble your
problems, rather than solve them.

It is also advisable to always cover your tracks carefully. After all, what use is creeping up on an
opponent unnoticed, striking him down from behind, only to leave him lying in the open road where
the first patrol to come along will discover him? Better to tie him up and hide him in a deserted
barn. The same applies for NPCs who lose their lives in a duel against you.

Never shoot the pianist!

Whereas an armed NPC always poses a threat and you may defend yourself against him using
weapons if necessary, there is another unwritten rule that you absolutely must obey. This is the
foremost rule of the Wild West: never shoot someone who is unarmed. Shooting at civilians is
taboo and they must not be killed, even if one of them runs to the sheriff to raise the alarm after
discovering you. The only way to put a civilian, out of action, albeit temporarily, is to deal him a
knock-out punch or a draught sleeping gas and to tie him up.

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The function of the tutorial levels

As mentioned earlier, you will meet new characters as the story unfolds. Each time a new PC is
introduced, the scenario is followed by a tutorial level embedded within the story, so you need not
worry about having to leave the thrilling plot every time one appears.

In the tutorial levels, you will usually only be able to control the new character enough to become
familiar with his or her most important actions. Since explanation is needed here, these sequences
have a lot of dialogue (see also the next paragraph) giving you the opportunity to get to know the
new PC. The tutorial levels are structured to tell you everything you need to know about the
particular hero, and to make it possible to complete the game without a manual. However, some
special tricks and additional functions are only described here, so if you stop reading now, you may
miss something useful.

Since you start the game with John Cooper, the first level is also Cooper's tutorial.

The mission briefing - what should I do now?

At the beginning of every mission there is some dialogue between the various characters.
This dialogue reveals the mission objective for each scenario.

DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE has a wide variety of mission objectives, ranging from the
freeing of a captured team member, or shooting your way out of an ambush, to the meticulous
execution of a bank robbery. Every mission is different and each one poses new challenges.

Once the opening dialogue is finished, often accompanied by camera movements and other action,
you can start the action. If you have not gleaned all the necessary information from the dialogue or
if anything is still unclear, you can return to the Game menu at any time by pressing the [ESC]
button. Here you will find a short briefing on the mission objectives (also very useful if you return
to a saved game after several days and have forgotten exactly what it was about).

During a mission, tasks and goals may change or new tasks may be
added (especially in the tutorial levels). In this case, you will be kept
up to date through an exchange of dialogue where the characters
discuss the new situation and change tack where necessary. If your
aims change or new tasks are added, the short briefings will be
up-dated accordingly.

Seeing and being seen - hearing and being heard

You as the player (and therefore your heroes) have a great advantage over the
computer-controlled NPC characters: you see and hear everything. Right at the
beginning of a scenario, you can examine the whole map and see where your
opponents are and what routes they are patrolling, etc. They, however, start
without the faintest idea where your PCs are, let alone what they intend to do.

This situation can change rapidly in the course of a scenario if you are not careful enough. Your
opponents can both see and hear. Thanks to their viewing range indicators, what they can see is
relatively easy to establish (a detailed description of this follows later). What they hear, though,
can only be guessed at. Some actions the PCs perform (e.g. Cooper's watch) indicate an effective
radius or range (e.g. when throwing dynamite), but generally you will have to rely on your
understanding of people. The fact that a cowboy walking along in clumpy boots makes more noise
than a lithe Chinese girl creeping up on an opponent is clear enough and throwing a knife is harder
to hear than the staccato rap of a lead-spitting Gatling gun. The role of the environment should not
be underestimated either. An echo bouncing off a wall of rock may be heard for miles.

You should also be aware of the terrain your PCs are moving over. Creeping your way over a creaking
wooden bridge may not be the best way of surprising an opponent. The same goes for puddles or
dry rustling grass. Kate is the only one in your team who can move silently over any terrain; a skill
the heavy-footed Sanchez will never possess in 100 years.

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15

Flora and fauna

Unlike other strategic games, in DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE, the natural environment
plays a not insignificant part and is far more than a mere backdrop. A picturesque waterfall not only
looks pretty, but also allows weapons to be fired under cover of the sound of rushing water. Loud
noises cover up quiet sounds, and that applies in DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE just as it
does in the real world. The fact that a stick of dynamite thrown into a river never explodes is obvious.

It is not only the environment that should concern you, but also everything that runs or creeps about
in it. In this game, you cannot kill any animals (after all, Greenpeace would rightly object to that), but
the animals can be hazardous to you. A flock of crows scared into flight by incautious actions, or a
number of pigs squealing in terror may call a watchful sheriff to the scene. So refrain from hunting
rabbits - you may end up being spit-roasted yourself.

My kingdom for a horse

Naturally enough, the horse has a special role in the animal world, for what would a cowboy be
without this most trusty of all companions? Thus in many scenarios, at least one of your mission aims
consists in procuring horses, so you can ride off after fulfilling a task.

It is also unwise to gallop flat out through the level during a mission. If you do, every opponent within
a mile will know of your existence in seconds. And if you take a single hit when on horseback, these
flighty animals will throw you off. You can make good use of this behaviour trait, since your enemies
will also follow you on horseback. Sam's snake is superbly well suited to causing horses to shy (and
causing the rider to bite the dust). Equally effective is Cooper's ability to cut through girth leathers.

However, opponents do not always jump into the saddle when pursuing you. A riderless horse
wandering about also inspires a particularly conscientious NPC to act and bring the runaway back to
where it belongs.

To prevent your opponents mounting their horses, you can "lead the animals away" (who said
anything about stealing?). If you have a character in the saddle, then you can click on a second horse
(note that the mouse pointer changes into a lasso). The animal will now follow you obediently, but
only until you click the right mouse button and release the connection.

In some seemingly hopeless situations, all six of your heroes have a special
trick up their sleeve. If you are in a raised position (e.g. on a balcony or a wall)
and a horse is tied up beneath you, with one daring leap you can jump straight into
the saddle (click on the horse with the left mouse button) and dash away. Yeeeehaaaa!!!

Another thing about horses: both PCs and NPCs can only ride on saddled horses, so do not
try to jump onto an unsaddled horse from a balcony - it could be painful!

Whatever the weather

In their pursuit of the train robbers, not only do Cooper and his gang have to deal with frightened
animals, but the changeable weather can often make life unexpectedly difficult for our heroes.

There are scenarios, ie. when it rains, when certain weapons cannot be used, such as Sam's
dynamite (the fuse will not light) or Doc's gas tubes (the gas disperses too quickly in the rain).

Night scenes have their own particular problems; your opponents have reduced viewing ranges, but
their hearing is acute; they pay more attention to sounds around them. Furthermore, you cannot use
Kate's mirror dazzling trick at night (or in caves, or when Kate is in shadow).

On the other hand, you can use the cover of night to your advantage: your
opponents’ reduced visual range renders them more vulnerable to surprise
attacks or even full-frontal onslaughts. On many levels there are gloomy corners
where your PCs are almost invisible (they turn dark grey). If you stand in any of
these places, an NPC will not see you even if he passes right by you. On the other
hand, the range of your own weapons is reduced at night, as is the visual range
of your own characters.

The wind plays a strategic role in each scenario; observe the windmills in
the background or rising smoke to determine the direction of the wind.
This indicates what flight trajectory Doc's balloons will follow when he
releases them.

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16 17

Collecting objects

For their standard weapons, all PCs carry an unlimited supply of ammunition with them. All other
weapons and objects (e.g. Sam's dynamite, Doc's gas tubes, Sanchez’s stones, etc.) are limited. In
some missions, only a limited supply of the respective weapon is available, while in others you will
have to manage with none at all at the outset.

However, in some levels you can replenish your supplies during the mission by taking objects from
your surroundings using the current character. The easiest way to find these supplies is to open the
mini-map and look for the yellow crosses indicating the presence of such objects.

A character can only collect these extra objects (the mouse pointer changes into a hand when
over them) if he or she can use them (ie. Doc cannot collect TNT barrels and Sam cannot collect
gas tubes).

When the bullets start to fly – during combat

No matter how good or clever you are, sooner or later you will become involved in fistfights and
shoot-outs. When this happens, you will need to follow a few basic rules. Firstly, the standard
weapons differ in range, firing rate, penetrating power and magazine size. Sanchez's shotgun and
Cooper's Colt are pretty deadly at short range, but rapidly lose effectiveness at a distance.

A weapon's crosshair will always indicate probability of a hit. The further away from an NPC
you move it, the darker the cross becomes. When it is black, your hit probability at that distance
is close to zero.

You should also note that you must re-load a weapon once you have expended the magazine.
The time taken varies, depending on the weapon and naturally, you are unarmed and vulnerable. If
used too much, your weapon can become overheated. Note the red level indicator on the magazine
display above and to the left of your character's head. If the red reaches the top of the indicator,
your weapon has overheated and you must wait until subsides into the light red area.

If you are wounded in a fight, you can see the extent of the wound from the portrait of the relevant
character, which gradually turns red. If your character has lost all his or her life points and the
portrait turns completely red, then he or she dies. The severity of an injury depends on various
factors, such as the distance from which an enemy bullet has hit the character. Wounded team
members may be healed by Doc; their portraits then return to normal.

What to do if discovered

If an armed NPC discovers one of your characters, several things could happen: either your opponent
is a trigger-happy fellow who shows no mercy and will immediately open fire. Or he might be a
coward and you will survive, as he will probably seek safety by fleeing to call for reinforcements.

In some cases, particularly if your character is unarmed and the NPC does not consider you a threat,
it may be that he only threatens your character and your character responds by automatically
raising his or her hands. The NPC will now slowly approach you and knock you down as soon as he
is in front of you. He will then keep watch by your unconscious PC.

When this happens, you can rescue your comrade by knocking out the guard using your other
characters, or use a Quick Action (e.g. throw a knife or shoot) to put the opponent quickly out of
action as he cautiously approaches, though this method runs certain risks.

Incidentally, opponents can also surrender when the situation is reversed. They put their weapons
away and raise their hands. What you then do with a surrendering NPC is your business.

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Putting an NPC out of action

There are two basic ways of getting rid of an NPC: knock him out or kill him (the latter is only
advisable for armed opponents).

If you put an NPC out of action temporarily, then stars will start to circle over his unconscious body.
These stars act like a timer, in that their number decreases gradually and when the last star
disappears, the character will come to. How quickly this happens depends on the NPC's constitution.
Incidentally, PCs can also be rendered unconscious since some of the actions can affect your own
heroes (e.g. Doc's gas tubes, Sanchez's swipe).

When you have knocked out an NPC, with Sam's help you can tie him up and gag him so that the NPC
is permanently out of the way assuming, that is, that he is not discovered and freed by another NPC.
Furthermore, clever NPCs can bring round unconscious comrades, regardless of the number of circling
stars, by kicking him.

Please also note that blows with a fist or similar actions take life points away from NPCs. So if you
hit a civilian too often it can happen that the he or she will never get up again (and the game will
then be over for you).

A further possibility for putting an opponent out of action is Sanchez's tequila bottle; drunken
opponents tend to react somewhat negligently and suddenly lie down for a short nap. How long the
NPC will sleep is difficult to estimate in such cases.

Quick Actions

Apart from the normal method by which you can control characters, give them
orders and make them carry out actions, in DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR
ALIVE, you also have a particularly powerful and, we believe, unique function
available: the Quick Action.

For every individual PC, you can plan an action and save it with a kind of macro function. Each PC
can perform these actions all together or one at a time as you wish. Thus, at the press of a button,
you can make Kate dazzle an opponent, while Cooper simultaneously sprints away and knocks down
a second NPC and Doc throws a gas tube at a third guard.

How Quick Actions can be programmed is described in the next section headed "Game controls".

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2120

End of the Mission

There are just two ways of ending a mission: either you are successful or you fail. If you
have fulfilled all the mission objectives, then you have completed it successfully. By way of
a small reward, after every level you will receive a special tip, which can usually help you with
the next scenario.

Missions can fail for various reasons; a mission ends immediately if one (or more) of your
team members dies or if you kill a civilian in the heat of battle. Ignoring the mission aims
(e.g. "Don't be discovered") leads to the scenario suddenly being curtailed. The reason for your
failure will be displayed together with the "Game Over" display, so that you will not be left
guessing exactly what went wrong.

Game Controls

Left mouse click / right mouse click

Left mouse click

Right mouse click

As a general rule, clicking the left mouse button confirms an action; ie. you
make the selected character carry out an action. This is generally the mouse
button for "AFFIRMATIVE".

Clicking the right mouse button usually ceases an action, ie. you stop
the currently selected action (if it has already started), or you reject it (provided
you have only selected it). This is generally the mouse button for "NEGATIVE".

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22 23

Navigating with the camera

Move image
window

Zoom in /
zoom out

Change to
a particular PC

Mini-map

Either press the relevant arrow key (up, down, left, right) to scroll or shift the
image window in the chosen direction, or move the mouse pointer to the left or
right edge of the screen.

Using the [+] and [-] buttons on the numeric keypad, or using your mouse
wheel (assuming it has one), you can zoom into or out of the image. Three zoom
levels are available: normal (standard setting), zoom in and zoom out. Please
note that with some larger maps, it is not possible to zoom out. (You can use the
mini-map to have an overview at any time).

A simple click on the relevant figure or the portrait of the figure allows you to
change to the respective character, but without the image window centring on
the newly selected PC. A double click on the portrait of the figure changes to the
character, and the image window centres on the new selected PC.

Pressing the [M] button or a left mouse click on the map corner indicated in the
user bar at the lower right corner of the screen opens the mini-map. This shows
opponent NPCs as light red points, your own characters (PCs) as light green and
civilian NPCs as light blue points. Lying down is indicated by mid-town points,
meaning that the character is unconscious and/or tied up; points in a dark colour
indicate a dead NPC. Collectable items are also marked with a yellow cross,
while obstacles that can be climbed by Cooper are highlighted with a green
double arrow. Horses are indicated (brown points) as well as other animals
(grey points). To move the image window to a particular place on the map, click
on the relevant point on the mini-map. To close the mini-map, right click on it
or press [M] again.

Lock camera onto PC / NPC

Camera lock

Unlock camera

Click on the padlock in the lower user menu bar, making the mouse pointer
change to a question mark with four arrows pointing towards the different
compass points. As soon as you move this over a PC or NPC, the camera will
follow that figure (the graphic in the user menu bar changes accordingly from an
open to a closed padlock).

If you have locked the camera onto an individual, then simply touch the edge of
the screen with the mouse pointer to deactivate this function (the graphic
changes accordingly from a closed to an open padlock). You can also click on the
padlock to unlock the camera.

Selecting characters

Select a character

Select several
characters

Select all characters

De-select
characters

There are three ways to select a character: you can click on the character or their portrait , or
you can use the number keys from [1] to [6].

To select several characters, keep the [Left SHIFT] button pressed down and then either
press the relevant number keys [1] to [6] or click the relevant portraits of the heroes, or
directly on the characters you wish to select. Alternatively, you can pull a frame around the
figures to be selected using the mouse.

To select all characters in a scenario at once, press the [A] key.

To de-select all selected characters at once, either press the [D] key or right click next to
the characters. To de-select a particular person, right-click on the portrait of the character
or keep the [L SHIFT] button pressed down and left click on the character's portrait.
Alternatively, pull a frame round the figures you wish to select, thereby automatically
de-selecting all the other figures.

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2524

Moving characters

Walk to a
particular point

Run to a particular
point

Crawl

Stand up

Go behind building

Climb ladders

Stand still

Use a horse

Select a character and click with the left mouse button on the location to which the
selected PC is to go (if the PC cannot go to this place, the mouse pointer changes from
an arrow to a cross).

Select a character and double-click with the left mouse button on the place the
selected PC should run to (if the PC cannot go to this place, the mouse pointer changes
from an arrow to a cross). If you are carrying another person (Cooper or Sanchez), you
will not be able to run.

To change to crawling mode, you must either click on the lying figure symbol in the user
menu bar at the bottom left screen edge, or press the [C] button.

To change back from the crawl mode to normal mode (ie. stand up), you must either
click on the stand up symbol in the user menu bar at the bottom left screen edge,
or press the [S] key. Your character will stand up and start running if you perform
a double-click on the landscape.

To go to the other (from your viewpoint, invisible) side of a building, you can click on
the location. This may, however, lead to confusion if your character can climb on the
roof of the building concerned, as in doubt, the mouse pointer interprets the higher
point as the target. In such cases, in order to get to the other side of the building
instead of onto the roof, you must keep the [L SHIFT] button pressed down (the mouse
then pointer becomes transparent) and then click on the target point. In this mode the
outlines of the entrances of all the buildings in this scenario are also displayed.

All your characters are able to climb up and down ladders. To do this, you must
either click directly on the target point (e.g. the roof or the ground) to climb all the
way up or down the ladder, or you can click on a point on the ladder, at which your
character will stop climbing. PCs carrying a PC / NPC (Cooper or Sanchez), cannot climb
up or down ladders.

To make a figure stop walking before reaching his or her destination, simply right-click
next to the figure.

To mount a saddled horse, simply click on it (note the changing mouse pointer).
To dismount, click again on the horse. To jump from a balcony onto a horse below you,
again simply click on the horse.

Buildings and obstacles

Seeing through
buildings /
obstacles

Enter a building

Leave a building

Investigate
a building

If you press the [CAPS LOCK] key, the picture changes
to “silhouette” mode, where every PC and NPC standing behind
a building or other obstacle obscuring your view becomes visible
in outline. A green outline indicates a PC, while a red outline
denotes that an opponent is present, and a blue outline symbolises
a civilian.

Click on one of the possible entrances (doors, portals, etc.).

Click on one of the possible exits (doors, portals, etc.) to leave the building
through this exit, or click on a target outside the building, whereupon the PC
will take the next available exit.

Stand directly in front of an entrance, move the mouse pointer over the door
and wait a moment. The mouse pointer indicates that the room behind is
being examined through the keyhole. If the keyhole symbol turns green at
the end of the examination, then the building is empty. If it
turns blue, there are civilians in the building, who might
panic and send for reinforcements if you enter the
building. If the keyhole symbol turns red, enemies occupy
the building and entering it would mean certain death for

you unless, that is, you use Sanchez (see descriptions
"The Heroes") to enter. If there are opponents in the
building, a number will be displayed indicating how
many NPCs are inside.

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Character actions

If you have selected a single character, you can either switch back and forth between
the actions using the [G], [H], [J], [K] and [L] key, or you can select the required
action directly in the user menu bar under the character's head by clicking on it with
the mouse pointer.

If an action in the user menu bar under the character's head is grey, then you cannot
select it for the time being. There are various reasons for this, e.g. because it is
night, because it is raining, or because you have no more supplies of the selected
weapon (dynamite, gas tubes, etc.). However, if you select an action and cannot
carry it out (e.g. because you cannot throw the dynamite stick so far or cannot see an
opponent who is standing behind an obstacle), then this is indicated by the mouse
pointer, which is bears a red cross or is coloured red.

When you have selected an action, the mouse pointer changes accordingly to
indicate the chosen action (e.g. crosshair for a weapon). Simply select the target
point with the mouse pointer; this can be a PC, an NPC, a horse, or simply a point in
the landscape. For some actions (watch, dynamite, stone, etc.), you should wait a
moment, since you will receive additional help, such as the radius of Cooper's watch
or the trajectory of Sam's stick of dynamite. If you wish to carry out the action, you
must simply confirm this with a left mouse click.

This is a special feature on Cooper's watch: if you place it on the ground, you can set
a countdown by moving the mouse (from 5 to 30 seconds). The watch will begin to
play a melody once the time has elapsed. As soon as you have set the timer, confirm
with a left click and place the watch on the ground.

Select an action

When is an action
possible or not
possible?

Perform an action

Set the timer

For some actions (e.g. Kate's garter trick or Sanchez's siesta), you must select the
target point, otherwise the action will be carried out at the character’s current
location. In this case, the mouse pointer changes to “OK”. As soon as you confirm
with a left click, the action will be performed. A right click curtails the action if you
change your mind. Note that before confirming with OK, you can still orientate the
figure with the mouse. This is particularly important with actions like Kate's garter
trick, which is more effective if you stand facing the opponent.

To curtail a current action or to reject a selected action, just right click on the mouse.
You can also use the [G], [H], [J], [K] and [L] keys to carry out a different action.

Each character has a standard weapon, for which he or she has unlimited ammuni­tion. However, depending on the size of the magazine, he or she will have to re-load
the weapon now and then. To re-load a weapon, either click on the symbol in the
user interface next to the head of the character, which shows how many rounds
remain in the weapon, or press the [G] key. To stop the re-loading process either
right click or just continue firing, whereupon the loading process stops.

Your characters can sometimes interact with objects (e.g. Sanchez can push
boulders). If you move the mouse pointer over the object, it changes accordingly and
shows you the relevant possible action.

If you are standing behind a wall or other obstacle and try to sight an opponent
standing round the corner with your standard weapon, your mouse pointer
may show two crosses simultaneously: one red and one green. When this happens,
when you hold down the [L SHIFT] button, a transparent image of your character
will appear beside him. If you now click the left mouse button, your character
will roll around the corner and open fire on the opponent and take cover again when
you right click.

The moment you draw your standard weapon, your character will automatically
come to a standstill. To move on with your weapon drawn, keep the [Left CTRL]
key pressed down and click on the location. Your character will briefly withdraw the
weapon and walk to the destination. As soon as you release the [Left CTRL] key,
your hero will automatically draw his weapon again.

Confirm an action
with OK

Curtail / reject an
action

Re-load weapon

Other actions

Roll’n’Shoot

Move with
weapon drawn

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2928

Quick Actions

Select an action, press the [Q] key or click on the large clock in the lower user menu
bar and confirm the action (e.g. walk to a particular place, shoot at an opponent,
etc.). The action will not be carried out, but only saved. You can also do this in
the reverse order: first click on the clock or press [Q], select the action, carry out
the action (or in this case, save the action). The advantage of this method is that
your character does not move until you carry out the Quick Action (very effective
if you are under threat and have your hands raised!). You can save one Quick Action
for each character.

If you have saved only one Quick Action, you can press the [SPACE BAR] to execute
it. Otherwise, click the small clock over the portrait of the figure whose saved Quick
Action you wish to carry out.

If you wish to carry out all Quick Actions simultaneously, either press the space bar
or click the green arrow above the large clock in the user menu bar.

To delete a single saved Quick Action, you can either select the relevant character and
press the [BACKSPACE], or right click on the small clock over the relevant portrait.

To delete all Quick Actions at once, you can either select all the characters at
once and press the [BACKSPACE], or right click on the large green arrow in the lower
user menu bar.

Save a
Quick Action

Perform a single
Quick Action

Perform all Quick
Actions

Delete a single
saved Quick Action

Delete all saved
Quick Actions

The viewing range of the NPCs

Hold down the [L ALT] button and move the question mark
mouse pointer to any NPC in order to show his viewing range.
Alternatively, you can click the telescope in the lower user menu
bar and then move the question mark pointer to an NPC.

Release the [L ALT] button again or click once with the right mouse button.

If you are in question mark mode with the mouse pointer (see above) and left click
somewhere in the landscape, you will set a viewing range counter in the form of a ?
in the landscape. Using this ?, you can enquire how many opponents can see this
marked point.

The viewing range counter provides information on how many opponents have
already seen the marked point, by changing into the relevant number. To display the
opponents whose viewing ranges have moved over the counter, press the [TAB]
button. With this key, you can switch back and forth between the viewing ranges of
all relevant opponents. The same applies if you click on the counter next to the
binoculars in the lower user menu bar.

In order to delete a previously set viewing range counter, either hold down the
[L ALT] key and right click directly on the viewing range counter or right click on the
counter next to the binoculars in the lower user menu bar.

Display a viewing
range

Exit viewing
range mode

Set a viewing
range counter

Check a viewing
range counter

Delete viewing
range counter

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30 31

Further commands

To return to the Game menu with the Options /Load/Save functions, in which you
can also see the short briefing (a summary of the mission aims), press the [ESC] key.

To save the current game as a Quicksave, press the [F5] key.

To load the Quicksave, press the [F8] key.

Options /
Load/Save Menu /
Short briefing

Quicksave

Quickload

Summary of all keyboard assignments

[+] / [-] Zoom in / Zoom out
[ARROW KEYS] Scroll the image window in the relevant direction
[M] Open or close mini-map
[1] to [6] Switch back and forth between characters
[SHIFT] + [1] to [6] Select several characters
[A] Select all characters
[D] De-select all characters
Right click on portrait De-select particular character
[C] Change to crawl mode
[S] Stand up (if previously in crawl mode)
[Left SHIFT] Display entrances / exits of all buildings
[Left SHIFT] + left click Go behind building
[CAPS LOCK] Switch outline view on or off
[G], [H], [J], [K], [L] Switch between the five actions of a selected character
[G] Re-load the standard weapon of a selected character
[Left SHIFT] + left click when

crosshair is red and green Roll round the corner and open fire on opponent
[Left CTRL] Hold down to move with drawn weapon

[Q] Store a Quick Action
[SPACE BAR] Execute one / all saved Quick Action(s)
[Backspace] Delete one / all saved Quick Action(s)
[Left ALT] Hold down and mover mouse pointer over opponent to display

viewing range

[ESC] Return to Game menu and look at short briefing
[F5] Quicksave
[F8] Quickload
[ENTER KEY] Skip dialogue

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3332

Opponents

How can I recognise an opponent?

There are two fundamental external features which distinguish an opponent NPC from a civilian.
First, all opponents carry a weapon relatively openly in their hand and the colour and behaviour of
the viewing ranges differ from each other. If, at the beginning of the game, you are not too sure who
is who, you can have a look at the mini-map, where the opponents appear as red points and the
civilians as blue points.

How do opponents differ from each other?

During the course of the game, you will have to deal with ever nastier and cleverer opponents,
whose behaviour and methods of attack differ greatly one from the other. Altogether in
DESPERADOS – WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE, there are more than 25 different types of enemy, ranging
from somewhat dim-witted would-be gun-slinger heroes to sheriffs, soldiers and trigger-happy
Mexicans, through to sharp, knife-throwing assassins.

Each of these NPC characters has many individual character traits, including IQ, courage, shooting
ability, fitness, laziness, aggression, adrenaline level, life points and many other features determi­ning his behaviour. Since these values cannot be displayed (Why, you ask? Well, how many
cowboys have their IQ stamped on their forehead?), you must observe your opponents and draw
your own conclusions. Again here the rule applies that whatever is true-to-life should not be
lacking in the game.

The viewing range

The most important aid in combating your enemies is the display of their viewing range.

This not only indicates where an NPC is currently looking, but also his current

status (state of alertness).

A green viewing range indicates that the NPC is in a normal condition (whate­ver that may mean for the relevant opponent). He suspects nothing and is happy
and satisfied. If his viewing range turns yellow, something has awakened his
curiosity. This may be a sound, an object on the ground, an immobile body or a
movement somewhere at the edge of his vision. If the viewing range changes to
red (and focuses as well), the NPC has identified you as an enemy! Should this
happen, the NPC's further behaviour depends on a number of factors. If you are alone and your
opponent is a courageous sharpshooter, he will probably open fire or at least threaten you. If he is
a coward or if you outnumber him, he will probably flee and alert some comrades, whose viewing
ranges, surprise, surprise, then also change colour.

Apart from green, yellow and red, there are three other colours a viewing range can have. If an
opponent is hit by Mia's poisoned arrows, his viewing range turns black - the NPC is poisoned and
his vision is clouded. (It's best to take cover at that point.) If, however, Kate succeeds in distracting
an enemy with her garter trick, his viewing range turns pink; the sight so bewitches him, that he is
like a helpless puppy. But beware: an opponent who has already switched over to red cannot be
enticed! If, however, an opponent threatens you or you threaten an NPC, then his viewing range
turns orange.

Another trick in Kate's and Mia's repertoire also involves the viewing range; they can dazzle an
opponent (with a mirror or firecracker). If they succeed, the NPC's viewing range disappears for a
short time and the perplexed opponent rubs his eyes.

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3534

What does an NPC actually see; everything within his viewing range? Unfortunately, it is not as
simple as that. If you look carefully, you will see that the viewing range becomes more and more
transparent the further towards the edge you go; this means that the likelihood of being discove­red becomes ever slimmer the further towards the outside edge you appear. An opponent is also less
likely to see you if you are stationary or are lying on the ground. The speed at which an opponent
switches to yellow and then to red therefore depends mainly on where in his viewing range you are
when you come into its range.

In addition, consider the reaction time; how quickly an NPC recognises you are a threat, depends on
his IQ. A slow-witted character needs much more time to twig; you might say the visual message
takes longer to reach the brain!

Since the viewing range is calculated in 3-D, it also takes account of height differences. Thus an
opponent might look up from street level to a roof (which you will also see), but he can only see the
part of it he would see in reality.

If a viewing range encounters an obstacle, two things can happen: the viewing range can disappear
behind the barrier and the area behind is completely obscured from the opponent, in which case it
is irrelevant whether you are standing or lying behind the obstacle. However, if the viewing range
behind e.g. a rock merely turns grey, then the NPC can discover you if you are standing behind the
rock, but not if you are lying flat on the ground. The part of your body an NPC has discovered (e.g.
head only or the whole body) is displayed on the screen in a coloured outline.

Life points

If you shoot at an opponent, you will see that for a short moment a small red number appears over
his head. This display shows you how many life points a hit has claimed from the opponent. If his life
points fall to zero, the opponent dies.

Civilians

The function of civilians

Depending on the scenario, the civilians' behaviour towards you changes. In some missions, the
townspeople are neutral ignore you, while in others they can help you by leading NPCs astray.

However, since as a bounty hunter you do not necessarily make a good and trustworthy impression,
you should initially treat civilians with caution. If you have to slip into a town to save a character
from death on the gallows at the hands of a lynch mob, then you can assume that the civilians in
this place also represent an indirect threat to you.

How can civilians be dangerous to me?

Since civilians carry no weapons, they cannot open fire on you nor directly attack or injure one of
your player characters. Note though, that the bright green viewing range of a civilian NPC can also
turn to bright red when he or she discovers you and realises that you are armed or if he stumbles
upon a corpse in the street.

In such situations, some civilians react by running away and hiding in the nearest building. Others
call loudly for help or run off and alarm opponent NPCs, who then immediately pursue you.
Therefore be careful: even a child, a banker or a housewife can bring your mission to an unexpected
and sudden end at any moment.

What should I do about civilians?

As already mentioned several times, you must not kill an unarmed opponent (and in some cases, not
even the armed ones!). However, you can always knock civilians out and tie them up to get them out
of the way. To send a civilian off to sleep, you have a range of possibilities open to you: Cooper's
fist, Kate's kick, Doc's gas tubes, Sanchez's swipe. The shock waves from Sam's dynamite sticks can
also knock a civilian unconscious, although the blast radius is hard to estimate, so that use on
civilians is to be discouraged.

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36 37

The Heroes

Warning: If you read on here, you may lose some of the fun of the game, since some of the heroes
only join your team in the course of the story, so the descriptions here divulge certain plot elements.
Each time a new character is introduced, there follows a tutorial level to familiarise you with the
heroes’ basic capabilities. The explanations below are intended as additional help, which you may
or may not need, to complete the game successfully. Nevertheless, some special tricks and dodges
are only given here, since they are outside the scope of a tutorial.

John Cooper

John Cooper is a man of few words and by nature a loner. He never
stays in one place for long. As soon as he has completed his
bounty hunting in one place, he moves on. When he has no need of
a gang, he prefers to work alone. But Cooper knows only too well
that even a Colt holds only six bullets, which is why he seeks out a
few old partners now and then to help him with particularly
dangerous missions.

•

Colt – Cooper's standard weapon with 6 rounds. This revolver has neither the range nor the power of
a rifle, but it is the most rapid firing of all weapons.

•

Fist – Cooper's method of silencing an opponent or civilian for a while. To land a punch, Cooper has to
stand directly in front of the individual.

•

Knife – Cooper has two possibilities here: either he uses it to put an opponent out of action in
hand-to-hand combat or he can to cut through ropes or saddle girths. Alternatively, he can throw it at
opponents, although he then has to retrieve it before he can use it again. When throwing, note the
dotted trajectory line: if it is light green, you will kill automatically kill the opponent in your sights. If,
however, it is dark green, there is a high probability that you will only injure him and the knife will fall
to the ground.

•

Watch – Cooper can place his watch on the ground and set a countdown of up to 30 seconds, after
which a melody starts to play. In this way, Cooper can lure inquisitive opponents and overpower them.
Cooper can retrieve his watch at any time and the melody ceases.

•

Carry a person – Cooper can throw an unconscious or dead person over his shoulder and carry them
away, irrespective of whether they are an opponent, civilian or team member. When Cooper carries a
person, however, he cannot run. To put a person down at a certain spot, you need only click the right
mouse button.

•

Climb – Cooper is the only one in the team who can also climb up sheer rock walls or other uneven
precipices. You need only click on the relevant obstacle (note the changing mouse pointer) or directly on
the target on the upper or lower edge of the obstacle. Precipices that Cooper can climb up are indicated
on the mini-map with by green double arrow.

•

Saddle horses – the characters can only ride saddled horses and Cooper is the only one who has this
necessary skill. You need only to click on a spare saddle for Cooper to pick it up. Then you can place it
on any unsaddled horse (by left-clicking on the horse).

•

Triple Shot – using the Quick Action function, Cooper can carry out a so-called Quick Shot (a kind of
triple shots). As soon as you have activated the Quick Action storage function and selected Cooper's
Colt, you can click on up to three different targets (or opponents) in succession. Quick Action stores all
three targets, so that as soon as you perform the Quick Action, Cooper will shoot at the three targets in
quick succession.

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3938

Samuel Williams

Samuel Williams has previously been involved in several fights with Cooper. There is probably no greater expert in
every type of explosive in the whole of the western United States than him. The expression pyromaniac is an
understatement Sam's case. His great weakness, though, is the opposite sex. Sam just cannot resist a demure
glance from a pretty woman, and that fact has landed him in trouble often enough.

•

Winchester – Sam's standard weapon with 12 rounds. The Winchester has an enormous range, but Sam needs
a moment after every shot to re-load the weapon.

•

Dynamite – Sam can use his dynamite sticks to put a whole group of opponents out of action for good.
However, the dynamite only works against people; doors or even whole buildings cannot be blown up with it.
Furthermore, the supply per scenario is very limited.

•

Tying up – when an NPC has been knocked out and lies unconscious on the ground, Sam can tie him up and
gag him. Like this, the opponent or civilian poses no threat, even when he wakes up again, since he cannot
run away nor call for help. Other opponents can come to the aid of their bound comrade and free him; if they
find him, though.

•

Snake – Sam always carries a snake around with him in a sack, which he can put on the ground at any time and
any place. If an opponent walks past the sack without noticing it, the snake shoots out of the sack and bites the
opponent. However, if the snake is discovered and killed by the opponent, Sam can no longer use this function
in the current scenario. Caution: Sam is the only one who can pick up the sack again; any other team member
would also be attacked by the snake and bitten if he or she came too close. Incidentally, the snake reacts only to
movement; putting it next to a motionless opponent only activates the snake when enemy moves.

•

TNT barrel – in some scenarios Sam finds a TNT barrel, which is
activated in his inventory as soon as he collects it. Sam can use this TNT
to blow up certain buildings and other structures. However, Sam can
only place the barrel close to the structure to be blown up. Since he has,
at most, one barrel per scenario, this is too precious to be wasted on
blowing an empty shed to smithereens. As soon as Sam has put the
barrel in the right place (note the changing mouse pointer), he begins to
lay a powder trail, the path of which depends on the direction in which you guide Sam. You can get Sam to light
the powder trail himself (note the changing mouse pointer again), or use Kate's mirror to ignite it from a
distance. Alternatively, you can explode the barrel with a shot. Incidentally, brave opponents will try to
extinguish a burning fuse!

•

Stationary Gatling – in certain scenarios there are Gatling guns (rapid-firing machine guns) fixed to the ground.
Sam can only use these Gatling guns when they are unmanned, that is, no enemy gunner stands behind them.

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40 41

Doc McCoy

Despite a long-standing friendship, even Cooper only knows McCoy as "Doc"; he has never known his first name.
McCoy is the only one in the gang to have fought in the Civil War, more than 20 years ago – an experience that
has turned him into a cynical disillusioned man. And although he lost an eye at the battle of Gettysburg, he
should never be underestimated, because, as he says himself, he can "shoot a fly off a wall from 100 feet" with
his Buntline.

•

Buntline – Doc's standard weapon, holding 6 rounds. This revolver, with its elongated barrel, has a greater
range than Cooper's Colt.

•

Precision bullets – when you select the Buntline in Doc's inventory, directly under the symbol of the
weapon, a new symbol appears showing extra-long bullets. If you click on this symbol, Doc loads his Buntline
with special precision bullets and screws a telescopic sight onto the barrel. His weapon then has an even
greater range, which is indicated with a special gunsight. These bullets are limited in each scenario (and
sometimes none are available to him, or he must first collect them from somewhere).

•

Gas tubes – in his doctor's bag, amongst all the medical equipment, Doc also carries small bottles containing
a knock-out gas he developed. He can throw these tubes at opponents, who are put to sleep for a short time by
the gas. Caution: the gas will also affect your own team members, so always throw the tubes as far as possible;
these are also limited per scenario.

•

Balloon – when you click the symbol with the gas tubes, another symbol is activated above it; a leather
bladder. This bladder is filled with a gas that is lighter than air. If you select one of these balloons, Doc ties a
gas tube to it and it rises into the air. The balloon is carried by the wind and can be shot out of the sky by any
team member using a standard weapon, causing it to fall and break the tube. A good method for knocking out
opponents from a great distance.

•

Healing – when heroes are wounded (note the indication in the portraits), Doc can heal them provided he

has a first aid pack in the respective scenario. To heal a character, Doc must stand directly in front of him or her.
Click the first aid symbol in Doc's inventory and then on the person to be healed (of course, Doc can also
heal himself).

•

Scarecrow – Doc can place a scarecrow at any chosen place, in order to
distract opponents. Just click on the relevant symbol in Doc's inventory
and then on the place where Doc is to put his "double". To remove the
scarecrow again, simply click on it.

•

Pick a lock – Doc is the only team member who can open locked doors and even safes with a skeleton key. Just
select Doc and then click on the locked door. Some doors defeat even McCoy (e.g. if they are bolted on the other
side). If that is the case, he will tell you so. You should then consider another possibility (e.g. the TNT barrel).

•

Awaken unconscious PCs – if for some reason (a poor throw with Doc's gas tubes, Sanchez's swipe or a
punch from an opponent), a team member (apart from Doc of course)is out cold, then Doc can immediately
awaken the person regardless of the number of circling stars. A left click on the unconscious person suffices (note
the changing mouse pointer).

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Kate O'Hara

Similar to Cooper, and whose path she often crosses, Kate is restless soul who
never stays long in one place. She earns her keep by playing cards and she is a
popular guest at games because of her breathtaking appearance. However, her
unabashed luck at Poker (one could almost call it magic) gets her into trouble
again and again - trouble from which Cooper, in particular, has had to rescue
her more than once.

•

Derringer – Kate's standard weapon, capable of firing 3 rounds. The term "revolver" would be an exaggeration
for this weapon and Kate only carries the Derringer in case of emergency. Nevertheless, it is small, quiet,
discreet and fits neatly into her garter.

•

Queen of Hearts – Kate always carries a pack of cards with her. She can throw the Queen of Hearts onto the
ground to lay a trail anywhere. Opponents who discover a card follow the trail, depending on their intelligence,
and are thus led into an ambush. The number of cards is limited and Kate can only pick up cards once after they
have been thrown down.

•

Garter – If an approaching opponent has not yet seen Kate, she can try to beguile him by beginning to play
seductively with her garter. As soon as the opponent's gaze falls on Kate, his viewing range turns pink instead of
red and, fascinated by this overpowering sight, he will stagger towards Kate. After a little while, though, even
the most dim-witted enemy realises that Kate is only playing a trick on him. Do not delay too long, therefore,
before putting the supposedly harmless opponent out of action.

•

Mirror – when Kate uses her mirror, she can dazzle opponents up to a certain distance away. Their viewing range
then disappears for a time and the dazzled enemy rubs his eyes in confusion. Kate cannot use the mirror when
she is in shadow or at night. Another trick Kate can perform with her mirror is igniting a fuse (Sam's TNT barrel)
from a great distance.

•

Kick – Kate's kick has a similar function to Cooper's punch. And its effect is the same - namely that an
opponent is knocked out. Especially in combination with the garter trick, this is very effective and much more
reliable than, say, Cooper's punch.

•

Crawl – Kate is the only person in the team who automatically starts to crawl if, when creeping up to an
opponent, she moves over noisy terrain. While Sanchez or Cooper are unsuitable for stalking an enemy standing
on a creaky wooden bridge, Kate can approach any opponent as silent as a shadow.

•

Change clothes – in some missions, Kate has the ability to exchange her functional riding clothes for an
enchanting black evening dress. Disguised in this way, enemy NPCs only recognise her as an opponent when they
catch her doing something suspicious. Otherwise, they behave neutrally towards her, so that in such situations,
Kate can move unmolested through the scenario.

Mia Yung

Mia, who is only 18 years old, lives with her father in a
staging post somewhere in the mountains near the
Mexican border. Previously this station had belonged to
the Pony Express, but now riders seldom pass through
this inhospitable barren region. Despite her young age, Mia is already an experienced and courageous fighter
and has the heart of a lion. Her only friend is a small monkey called Mr. Leone, which she has trained and which
obeys her every word.

•

Blowpipe – Mia's standard weapon with one shot. This weapon has only a very limited range, although it is
extremely effective when it hits home. The tip of the dart fired from the pipe is poisoned - and any opponent hit
by it succumbs to hallucinations within seconds and begins to fire in all directions like a madman. When that
happens, he no longer cares whether he shoots friend or foe.

•

Whistle – a blow through this whistle and every opponent in the immediate vicinity is lured by its shrill
piercing sound. Especially in combination with Mia's capability to hide in empty barrels, the whistle is an
excellent means for enticing enemies into an ambush.

•

Firecracker – has a similar effect on opponents as Kate's mirror, except that it can blind a whole group of
opponents at once if thrown into their midst. Also works at night and in shade, although it makes a great deal
of noise and attracts the attention of opponents in the vicinity.

•

Peanuts – peanuts can only be used in combination with Mr. Leone. Mia has a limited number of peanuts
available, which she can throw onto the ground wherever required.

•

Mr. Leone– Mia has two ways that she can make use of her little monkey: either she
sets him onto an opponent, whereupon he leaps at the man's throat, thereafter to run to
the next pile of peanuts if Mia has previously set one up. If not, Mr. Leone comes straight
back to Mia. The second option is that Mia sends Mr. Leone to a chosen pile of peanuts.
The monkey then runs to it and dances around (and in this way distracts opponents) until
Mia calls him back again (with a right mouse click).

•

Hide in a barrel – dainty and incredibly agile and nimble, Mia is the only team
member who can hide in empty water barrels, which can be found in almost every
scenario (particularly in towns). If an opponent has not seen her, he will pass by the
barrel without realising there is someone inside.

™

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4544

Sanchez

Cooper and Sanchez are old acquaintances – "friends" would be the wrong
expression in this case, and although Sanchez is the leader of a band of
Mexican gangsters, the two of them are not exactly deadly enemies either.
They respect each other - that is the best description of their relationship.
Sanchez looks like a bear: he is huge, loud, clumsy and enormously strong,
hence his nickname: "Grizzly". However, underneath his rough shell is a
good-hearted nature and Sanchez's word is always worth more than that of
many a so-called man of honour.

•

Shotgun – Sanchez's standard weapon, able to fire 2 rounds. Due to its
“shrapnel” effect, this is the most devastating of all the standard weapons. Wherever the bullet lodges, no more
grass grows. At a distance, this weapon loses its damaging power rapidly.

•

Tequila – as a dyed-in-the-wool Mexican, Sanchez naturally always has a bottle of good traditional Mexican
aqua vita on him. But he doesn't drink it himself, preferring to set the bottles in his inventory on the ground so
that they will be found by opponents. Many enemies cannot resist the fire water and drink freely when they find
a bottle, often leading to a brief but complete blackout of the opponent.

•

Siesta – if you select this symbol in the inventory, Sanchez pulls his sombrero over his face and sits down
wherever he is and pretends to take a nap. Opponents discovering him in such a position usually approach out of
curiosity to identify the supposed lazybones. Only the most intelligent enemies blow Sanchez's cover and
immediately open fire.

•

Swipe – if you activate this function, Sanchez snaps his shotgun together and swings it around.
All opponents (and friends standing near him) are knocked to the ground at once. Very effective in
combination with the siesta trick.

•

Stone – Sanchez can collect stones lying around and either throw them directly at opponents (thereby to knock
them out) or in their immediate vicinity (to distract them).

•

Clear a building – Sanchez is the only team member who can enter buildings even when they are occupied by
opponents. If there are only 3 or fewer opponents in the building, Sanchez clears the place and throws the
opponents out of the door or window.

•

Portable Gatling – like Sam, Sanchez is also capable of using a fixed Gatling. But by
virtue of his bear-like strength, he can rip them out of their anchorings and carry them
around with him, but he cannot climb ladders or stairs with them.

•

Push – thanks to his almost super-human strength, Sanchez can move boulders or other
obstacles (note the changing mouse pointer).

•

Carry persons – Sanchez is so strong that he can lift and carry away not just one, but
two unconscious PCs / NPCs. But like Cooper, Sanchez cannot run when carrying a person. To put one or both PCs
/ NPCs down at any place, simply click the right mouse button.

™

Manual Despe GB 23/07/02 9:37 Page 43

4746

™

CREDITS

Bruno Bonnell presents

an Infogrames Production:
Desperados – Wanted Dead or Alive.

Infogrames Motion - Europe

Executive Vice-President, Production and Publishing

James North-Earn.

VP Infogrames Motion

Olivier Goulay.

Infogrames Motion Production Team

Production Director Eric Labelle.
Executive Producer, Dialogues & text

Ralf C. Adam.

Associate Producer Sascha Pieroth.

Infogrames Motion Marketing Team

VP Infogrames Marketing - Europe Larry Sparks.
Marketing Director Monique Crusot.
Senior Product Manager Michael Bach.
Junior Product Manager Sebastien Brasseur.
Public Relations Europe Matt Broughton,

Lynn Daniel.

Spellbound Software

Producer & CEO Armin Gessert.
Game-Designer Jean-Marc Haessig.
Lead Programmer Stephane Becker.
Programmers Guillaume Brocker,

Yann Gouverneur,
Martin Kuppe,
Nicolas Papier,
Arno Wienholtz.

Artists Jean-Marc Haessig,

Serge Mandon,
Jean-Michel Stenger,
Eric Urocki,
Fabrice Weiss.

Level-Edition Lionel Barthelemy,

Myriam Haessig,
Eric Urocki.

Level-Design Lionel Barthelemy,

Jean-Marc Haessig,
Martin Kuppe,
Roman Powerennyj,
Jean-Michel Stenger.

FMV-Cutscenes

Developed by Virgin Lands.

Music Composition and Sound Design

Giovanni Vindigni,
Michael Anarp,
KBP Studios Paris.

Voice Recording

Recorded at Toninton Studios,
Bad Vilbel,
Head of Studio:
Wolfgang Zarges.

Voice-over Artists

Main Characters

Torsten „Lenni“ Münchow,
Olaf Renoldi,
Michael Betz,

Frauke Poolman,
Helge Heinold,
Antonietta Piccinni.

Other voices

Peter Heusch,
Dieter Gring,
Hans-Jörg Karrenbrock,
Klaus Bauer,
Pierre Niemann,
Sonngard Dressler,
Michael Deckner,
Peter Wenke,
Martin Arnhold.

Motion Capture Actors

Johannes Steck,
Gisa Schmidt.

Infogrames services

Legal and Business Affairs

Tony Duret,
Nelly Jacquin,
Caroline Brunel.

Creative Support Group

Emmanuelle Tahmazian,
Patrick Chouzenoux,
Michel Mégoz,
Rose-May Mathon,
Sylvie Combet.

Localisation Co-ordination

Sylviane Pivot,
Heike Walter.

Infogrames QA / Testing
QA Manager

Olivier Robin

QA Team

Dominique Morel,
Emmanuel Cholley,
Jocelyn Cioffi,
Vincent Laloy,
Philippe Louvet,
Carine Mawart,
Marlous Van Vliet,
Emeric Polin.

Pre Mastering

Stéphane Enteric.

Testers

Carl Buchholz, Lionel Billault, MarieEve Burdin, Aurélie Crawford,
Lionel Deygas, Grégory Eche, Andrew Dymond, Chrisatopher Evans,
Régis Philibert, Sabrina Brahimi, Nathalie Bergèse, Régina Robin,
Nicolas Danière, Pascal Guillen, Fabien Faure, Olivier Genoux, Florent
Ruard Dumaine, David Leneveu, Cyril David, Florian Viale, Claudia
Daniel, Laura Erena Vicente, Hania Helmchen, Claudia James, Cécilia
Jard, Eugenia Veronese, Ina Wierstra, David Erchoff-Costet.

Special thanks :

Michael „Well-Done“ Bratsch, Helmut „The Mouse“ Stiefel,
Stéphane „Popy“ Rousseau und Valerie, Jean-François „Sapiens“
Sturm, Sebastien Egles, Thomas Haessig, Gregory Recht und Anne,
Martin „Schimmi“ Szymanski, Detlef „Rebound“ Richter, Judith
Schulz-Häuser, Dagmar Steinmetz, Frank Wagner, Peter „Just-In­Time“ Schwindt, Patrick „Native Canadian“ Dowling, Jan „Broker“
Thomas, Sophie Wibaux, Renaud Marin, Marcin Kaczmarczyk, Eric
Baesa, Richard Guthmann, World Multimedi@, Magic Alex „Ich
würde das so machen“, Irmschler Repro, das Gasthaus zum
Goldenen „M“, Restaurant Delphi/Kehl.

[e-mail]

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