The city of Los Cuervos isn’t as innocent as it looks – behind a shiny exterior lies a world ripe with crime, corruption and depravity. Toby LaJune is a former alderman who was framed for embezzling city budget reserves. Years later, it’s finally time to go home – to find the ones who framed him are now running the city. Enraged by the betrayal and the city’s overall decay, he sets out to avenge – and clean up the town.
You play the game as Toby LaJune, a former local politician sent to jail on bum charges. With the aid of your uncle 80 LaJune and your brother Tatum, you return to Los Cuervos to start your life all over again. You pick up odd jobs here and there, but ultimately your objective in this action adventure game is to wipe out the bad guys and become the mayor of Los Cuervos.
During the gameplay you complete missions to get money and fame – and most importantly – the means and connections to take over the city. But remember: though Los Cuervos may look like a small hick town, it’s ripe with possibilities – both legal and not – to make money and find items. Take your time to get to know the town and its inhabitants, and don’t shy away from taking on some extra missions. The game’s a sandbox title with myriad options, minigames, side quests, choices and ancillary encounters.
Main Cast of Characters
You’ll meet several characters on your way to vengeance. Some are there to help you in ousting the evil Mayor and his corrupt companions, and some are there to stop you. Here are some of the game’s main characters.
- The LaJune Family Your uncle – nicknamed “80” for falling from the 80th floor of one of the city’s two sky scrapers and surviving – is a sarcastic old geezer who is something of a father figure to you and your brother. The LaJunes hook you up with your first apartment, car, job and other utilities. They help you along the way by connecting you to people who can get you close to the mayor, too.
- Ralph Paquin Once one of your closest friends, your arch nemesis has taken over the city. He’s the puppet master of a town filled with corrupt politicians and cops.
- Gato Kurdishian The Mayor’s wife, who used to be your girlfriend before you were sent to prison.
- Earl Eaves a local politician and media mogul who has tarnished your fame with falsified exposees published in the local newspaper he runs.
- James Booth The chief of local law enforcement who tampered with the evidence to frame you. He runs many of the illegal business ventures with the Mayor, and has issued an order for his employees to make your life a living hell. So watch out for trigger happy cops who’ll bust you for any indiscretions they catch you doing.
- Garry Salón never mind his speech impediment, he’s one of the biggest jefes of the Los Cuervos criminal underworld. But if you prove yourself worthy, he and his mobsters will aid you in raising hell.
- Sandra Serrano local reporter and the president of the local history club Los Cuervos Society, she helps you in gathering evidence of the Mayor’s criminal ventures.
- EJ Dicklady is a consultant at the Mayor’s office who doesn’t approve of his employer’s actions. He is someone who can get you close to the Mayor.
- Tony “Laser” Capa the leader of the Upper Los Cuervos Gang. His thugs are in a gang war with the Lower Los Cuervos Gang, which may cause some disturbance around town.
- The Classic A demented but seemingly harmless sculptor who’s hell-bent on creating a life-size statue depicting, according to his own words, his daughter who died as a child. He might ask you to get him some tools and whatnot, and he might give you clues about the city’s secrets.
Places of Interest
When you start playing, you’ll be given a place – a Home Base, if you will – where you can save your game between missions. Once you’ve made enough money, you’ll be able to move out from your studio apartment in the Gremio District ghetto and get a nicer place somewhere else in town.
If you get caught while doing something illegal, the cops will chase you and arrest you. They’ll release you soon enough but take any weapon and ammo you might be carrying and a chunk of your money to pay for your fine.
Same thing goes for the local hospital – you respawn at the hospital if you’re killed during gameplay but they’re sure to take your weapons and some of your money.
During your spare time, feel free to hang out in the city’s bars & pubs (Cuban Gringo, Cosmopolitico or The Tin Pint Pub, just to name a few), shop in the malls or get nutricious food from the various restaurants and grills (such as Goofy Burger, The Merry Hen and the always crowded The Corner Cafe). Restore your health by getting food from a restaurant or by getting medication from either one of the city’s pharmacies. Get weapons and ammo from the LC Shooter store.
If you’re looking for a new outfit, try the Andrew’s Store or Kiwi for some slick urban style clothing, or LessMann if you’re more into suits and other more traditional apparel. New haircut? Head on over to Rhi-No near the railway station or FlameHair near the other end of the Champán Tunnel.
Catch a flick at the movie theater which is, strangely enough, located in the Carpenter High School premises. Then there’s the city library – or maybe you want to catch a play performed by the Campo Nuevo Actors at the Champán District Theater. Hit the various gyms or the La Ronda Malo skate park for exercise.
The city is relatively small, but if you do get lost, navigate with your smartphone’s GPS and map – and feel free to listen to the local radio stations on your phone while you’re at it.
The Story
Toby LaJune is all set to start a new life after prison but is unable to so properly before having his revenge on his supposed friends who set him up.
Through connecting with different elements of the Los Cuervos community by completing various missions, he manages to gather a whole network of people who help him in
creating anarchy all throughout the city. Gaining the locals’ trust is key, but connecting all the elements of the Los Cuervos society is no easy task. Toby has a challenging quest ahead of him…
Amidst the chaos Toby gains access to the Mayor’s secret files. Toby exposes the criminal schemes (among them smuggling, money laundering, manifacturing narcotics – all done in secret at the desolate Alexander’s Mall) Paquin and his cohorts are up to. But those aren’t the only secrets Toby unravels during his quest of revenge…
Having exposed the Mayor’s evil-doings Toby is finally able to clear his name – and become the new Mayor of Los Cuervos. But not without a bloody and dramatic face-off with everyone who betrayed him.It’s time for a revolution!
Side Missions
Strangers and supporting characters are likely to give you some side quests, the completion of which is voluntary but worth the while.
You can make extra money by driving a cab or collecting empty bottles or seeking local relics for Sandra’s collection. Go to the old market place in the evening and challenge other drivers to race from the market place to the railway station. The stakes are high, but he who wins, wins big.
You also get rewards (money, respect) for completing particular challenges such as seeking local relics for Sandra’s collection, competing with the local sports hero Biggie “Marathon Man” Hollows in track & field events, aiding gangs in expanding their turfs or robbing someone right in front of the Police Station.
You can also deliver fast food from the city’s restaurants to paying clients. But choose carefully: the city’s Chinese restaurants, both run by Tom Lin Dom, are in serious competition against the Turkish restaurants which are run by Akeem Bass. Neither chain of restaurants takes kindly to competitors, and they won’t shy away from sabotaging your assignments.
Main Missions (examples):
Topsy-Turvy Train Trouble: You’ve just arrived in town and started building a life for yourself, when all of a sudden you get a phone call from – who else – the Mayor himself. You agree to meet him on the bridge above the train station. But it was all a hoax: the bridge is rigged with explosives and – well, explodes once you’ve reached the spot you agreed to meet at. You survive the trap, but all railway traffic is effectively impossible after the collapse.
Bank Go Boom: Tony Capa agrees to help you out on one condition – you have pay him a s***load of money. You take his gang to rob the Northern Bank. You blast through the guards, hack into the vault, take the money – only to find that tens of cops have surrounded the premises. You and your gang now have to fight your way out and escape the police. What ensues is an exhillarating chase across town.
Barbershop Beat’Em-Up: You learn that the chief of police is getting a haircut and you figure that’s your golden opportunity to strike. You confront him off guard and give him a cut he won’t be happy about.
Mayoral Masquerade: After securing your fake ID, you masquerade as an employee of City Hall and break into the Mayor’s office. This is where you find all the evidence you need to clear your name.
The Trouble With Garlic: The people of Los Cuervos love their garlic – and those local criminals sure like to smuggle drugs by stashing them inside garlic transporting trucks. Salón wants you to take a truck loaded with garlic and cocaine from his factory to his dealers around town. But look out for cops and rivaling gangs.
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof: Feeling sorry for leaving you all those years ago, Gato comes to meet you at the Sunny Hill recreational park, wishing she could make amends. One of Paquin’s thugs sees you and tries to take you out with his friends. You have to protect Gato from the attackers. After a narrow but successful escape Gato confesses that she’s still in love with you. At first you think it’s just a trick, but then you give in to your feelings, too…
A Dictator Dethroned: Paquin’s thugs have informed their boss abour your encounter with Gato, so Paquin, desperate and enraged after having been exposed as a criminal, resorts to kidnapping his wife. You of course go after Paquin who tries to escape in his helicopter. You shoot your way through Paquin’s thugs and confront your nemesis on the roof of City Hall. You destroy the helicopter before Paquin manages to board with his hostage, but he escapes. You chase him around town guns blazing, and catch up to him eventually. You resolve your animosities with a duel on a secluded Los Cuervos riverbank.
And in the aftermath, you marry Gato and get elected mayor, who will rebuild the city. Peace is restored in Los Cuervos, but only for a little while…
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