There's so much of me that wants to give this game a higher score than I did. El Paso, Elsewhere has so much going for it in its atmosphere and its insanely well-written story. However, its gameplay doesn't hold up to the same level of quality, leaving it to stick out like a sore thumb.

It's less that the gameplay is outright bad because it's not. It does enough to carry you from point A to point B, but that's it. It features all the tools that make third-person shooters like it great, but rarely knows how to use those tools to the fullest effect.

The kryptonite to that is the difficulty, which only rarely provides any sense of challenge. The few glimpses of it feel incredible, but 95% of the time you'll never find a reason to use half the weapon roster, let alone the iconic slowdown mechanic of games like Max Payne.

I'd say this is still more than worth picking up for its incredible story alone, but you should be aware of what you're getting into. You need to be ready for the story and atmosphere to pretty much carry the game on its shoulders.