Ostritch Banditos delivers a sun-soaked, pitch-perfect Western action adventure with Westerado. You, a strong-silent-type cowboy, return home from chasing down a stray buffalo from your family's herd to discover tragedy waiting for you. Revenge is the only answer, but first you'll need to track down clues to the identity of the coward what dun it, and more often than not you'll need to let your gun do the talking for you. Can you track down a villain and mete out the only cold, hard justice that matters? Of course you can. You wear a stetson now. Stetsons are cool. Oh, and when your Uncle tells you to get a pen and paper? He's not being cute. Apart from visual clues to the murderer and a simple map, the game doesn't keep track of anything for you, so you'll want to write down your jobs and such yourself, including any important topics the people you meet talk about. Just like they did in the olden days! Another important thing to remember, however, and perhaps the most important, is that this game does not save progress. If you leave and come back, you will have the option of skipping straight to your Uncle's house, and the map will have all the locations you unlocked, but that's it. Man... the olden days are, uh, a lot harsher than I remember.
Use the [WASD] keys to move, hold [left shift] or double-tap the directional key to run, [P] to open your map and [E] to interact when the prompt appears. When you receive it, pull out (or holster) your gun with [J], tap [K] to cock it, and [K] again to fire. When you're out of bullets, tap [R] to reload one bullet each time, but try not to stand around in plain sight while you do it, since getting damaged knocks off one of the cowboy hats in the upper-left corner. When they're all gone, you'll die the next time you get hit. In order to track down the murderer, you'll need to do odd jobs for and earn the trust of the nearby townsfolk. Not only will this get you cash, but they'll help provide you clues to the killer's appearance so you can eventually get your revenge. It'll take a lot of work, though, and you'll find yourself traveling all over the land, though luckily you can use horses to fast travel to different locations. Herd buffalo, protect caravans, root out bandits, play cards, and more. Sadly, no apple-bucking is to be had.
Westerado is an amazingly gorgeous game, both visually and aurally. Suspiciously gorgeous, really, in that I remain unconvinced no infernal bargains were struck in the course of its design. (Who was it? Mephisto? Clavicus Vile? David Bowie? You can tell me!) It sounds amazing, with a perfect instrumental soundtrack that sets a new standard in music for browser games, but the amount of detail and atmosphere the retro-style visuals deliver to your environments is fantastic. The control scheme, however, is going to be a bit of an acquired taste for most people, especially since figuring out how best to aim your line of fire takes some trial and error though it will eventually become second nature. It also feels a little bit buggy in places as of this writing, with enemies occasionally getting stuck below the screen in certain missions and forcing a reload. The big killer for a lot of people, however, is going to be the game's decidedly old-school approach to play, and by not allowing players to save their game, it's definitely limiting its audience. Those willing to stick with it and take their own notes, however, will discover that Westerado is a sun-soaked masterpiece of design that will take you down your fair share of dusty trails. Try it out, and if you find it to your taste, Westerado will keep you busy for quite some time.
Doctor Who reference for the win! (Seriously looking forward to the new series after 'The Snowmen' Christmas special which almost made up for the awful 'Angels Take Manhatten' crapness half arsed goodbye to Amy Pond... but this is neither the time nor place to nerd out over sci-fi epicdom.)
I've only played a bit of this game but it looks awesome and is filling me with a nostalgia like substance. (Does anyone remember High Noon on Commodore 64? No? Too young? Thought so.)
This is the kind of game I used to race home from school to play. I can hear the disk drive now. My only gripe is that the characters are still dodgy pixels when you see them up close in conversations.
Old school games had at least fairly well drawn close-ups for a brief moment before resuming the 7 pixel avatar that begrudgingly meandered where my joystick willed it. He-Man was just a yellow dot and some shoulders in gameplay but when he threatened Skeletor he was displayed in all his buff, chiseled 8-bit glory.
Blown up blocky people just annoy me.
How to change the keys ?
Because W A S D is Z Q S D in my keyboard : Unplayable
game finished aruptly.. i think i completed it, but not sure. I shot some random bandit and then got a 'the end' screen?? Guess that was the guy I was looking for? Shame as I was getting into it and had quite a few clues
Full of heart and also full of technical problems. Sometimes the areas will turn into blank solid colors and the lag build up as it plays is absurd, and I've played many CPU intensive flash games. The bugs would be tolerable if I could just refresh the page, but the game not saving your story progress makes that an unattractive choice
The game always ends up lagging too much to be playable.
Also, here is a little trick. When freeing the buffalos from the big pen for the Indian quest you can kill some of the buffalo and it still counts as freeing them.
I agree with some of the other comments here -- this is a great game that is ruined by bugs. I have yet to finish the game, because I am always running into a blank screen, or my buttons stop working, or sudden lag slows everything down to a crawl.
What is killing me is that this is a REALLY FUN game! I really want to keep playing, but constantly starting over has quickly dried up my enthusiasm. I hope Westerado can be revisited one day when the severe bugs have been worked out, because I'd happily play more.
Gosh�where to start.
This is an amazing game. It has impressed me far beyond any other browser based game I have played, and I can say that quite confidently. The sheer depth of Westerado stupefies me.
I have 'completed' it twice and mucked around in the world many more times than that. And that's what makes it so special, it is a world. The stunning pixel art coupled with fluid animation is bolstered by a killer soundtrack to create a cohesive whole.
And yet, while I agree it possesses a lot of bugs, I don't think it ruins the game for me. What I feel though, sadly, is that Westerado is the result of aiming too high. The following is a list of things I've compiled that I really wanted to talk about, because I have a hunch that most of the people who had a look at Westerado didn't go this deep to find out. Apologies if the list is a bit wayward here and there :)
The amount of quest paths and sub-plots is mind-boggling. You can go so, so many ways with this game, it's wonderful!
However, this game really goes old school, and if you stuff up on a quest, you cannot complete it. I was asked by the Oil Tycoon to speak with the
Beefhead Bulls
about a certain Rancher, and they tested whether I was lying or not by asking me the name of the Rancher. Foolishly, I had forgotten it and took a stab at a guess. I got it wrong and that was that, the
Beefhead Bulls
wouldn't talk to me and the Oil Tycoon refused to aid me any further. This is a blessing and a curse - it's annoying when you fail and cannot continue, but it again reinforces that you are within a world, not just playing a game.
I found the gun mechanic extremely fun, and a breathe of fresh air from the usual 'aim with your mouse' schtick.
Someone mentioned earlier - there are Doctor Who references! That alone made me grin with glee. If you're looking for them, have a chat with the Attendent in Santa Anna 'Express' building and make sure to inspect every Angel statue you see�
There are other game references - the Banker tells you to remember that
'it is dangerous to go alone'
Have a look at who founded Clintville, his name is engraved on the statue on the East side of town.
A certain quest path gets you talking to the Clintville Rancher, who only speaks in 'Westerisms'. It's up to you to attempt to decipher what he actually means - more flavour to the game :D
There is a woman I found in Clintville (near the Ranch in the North-West corner of town) who tells you her Gran told her she was a 'people person'. She brags about how good she is at talking - this is all the more funny once one realises her dialogue loops, and the only way to escape is to walk away - something she tells you she does not condone early on! Little things like this add so much to the game, giving it such character.
The Indians! If you find them and help out their chief, you can eventually ally yourself with them
and take over Clintville with Indians!
You can actually influence the game world like that - another amazing addition to Westerado's depth.
Almost every gravestone and statue has writing on it. While some of these just have the names of Town Founders etc. others are much more intriguing. For example, I think many of the gravestones in the Graveyard bear the names of the dev team. Then, somewhere far East, I found a statue engraved with
'132'
I thought perhaps it was part of a quest I had yet to discover. Then there was another gravestone I think I found in the Abandoned Town which read
"T�E.KE V.. .E .AAS"
A sad message on a gravestone also in the Abandoned Town reads
'Our Sanity'
It seems the game took its toll on its makers. More weight to the 'aiming too high' theory, I suppose. Finally, in the Mines, there are three statues that all say
'Bonafide'
Speaking with a man in the Haberdashery of Santa Anna reveals that
the Bonafide Bandits had disappeared in the past, hiding their loot up North. Walking through the Mines, you can fight against what I assumed were members of the Bonafide Bandits, and in some dead ends find quite a bit of loot with which to line your pockets. What is curious is that there is a gun-cocking+mechanical sort of noise when you inspect the 'Bonafide' statues. I thought they perhaps opened a secret door if you inspected them in the right order, but I didn't experiment with that any further.
The Mines are labyrinthian, and while I managed my way around them, I'd appreciate if anyone drew up a map of the areas :)
There is a group of bandits, I think their name involves the word
'Buffalo'
who are scattered across the map. I believe there are only three of them, and if you find any one of them, they will ask you to let the others know where they reside, so they may regroup. I have only found two while I was playing.
There is a Dutch or German (I'm not sure) member of the group at the bottom of the train tracks. You can find him by following the track tracks down from the Mines entrances, or from going West from Coee's Ranch. The other member can only be accessed by going into the Mines and emerging out a certain entrance, East of the entrance I believe.
Then there's a weird section I can only think to be an Easter Egg;
if you go North from the Graveyard, you will find yourself in a small are filled with more bandits. If you shoot the locked door to progress, you can go North through a small passage in the rock. There, outside of a caravan and in front of some movie cameras, is a man with a cartoonish head. He complains about being told to come to this location but finding no producer or editor, and then gives you $500! Ostrich Banditos made Westerado, and also the arcade-y game 'High Vaultage'. I THINK that the cartoonish head bears a little resemblance to the main character of High Vaultage, but I may be completely wrong. The cartoonish man seems ready to shoot a movie, and this movie theme appears throughout the game. Whenever you are engaged in dialogue, there are strips of film moving along the top and bottom of the screen. If you die or complete the game, it is revealed you were 'playing' in a movie, as the ending screens depict five theatre-goers watching the 'credits/game score' of the film you just 'played'. They give your game/movie a score out of five stars. But what was odd about this movie theme was that, in one unimportant area, I found two movie cameras in plain sight, apparently plugged into the rocks. I'm kicking myself for not taking a screenshot, but there they were.
Here's an idea for the game - when you restart the game after completing it/dying, you retain all the discovered locations of the map. The Bank in Clintville will allow you to deposit money, which I thought was a cool idea until I realised it gave you no advantage. Your money doesn't accrue interest, and if you put it there for safekeeping there's no point. If you die with all your money in the bank, you restart the game and its gone, just as it would have disappeared had you kept it on your person. I thought perhaps you could also retain the money you deposited in the Bank when you restart, making subsequent games just that little bit less difficult.
Heck, if you have $500 and you talk to a Bank person, you can buy your own
House!
It doesn't seem to do anything save look aesthetically pleasing. I can't think of what it would do, gameplay-wise, but I believe it should have some use, if you do buy one.
Finally, some tips for new players;
Except for fast travel horses, EVERY living thing can be killed. This includes important characters like the Banker and the Sheriff, heck, you can even down your own Uncle. This carries over to ANY sort of game within Westerado, such as the escort missions. For example, I failed a Buffalo escort mission not because I didn't kill all the attack bandits, but because I accidentally shot out last Buffalo while aiming for said bandits. In this way, many quest can get stuck, and certain killings can stem whole sub-plots from evolving. Be careful with whom you kill.
The percentage in the bottom right of the pause menu I believe it just for your map. I don't believe it reflects anything to do with the quests you've completed or not.
Girls on the top floor of both the Clintville and the Train Station Tavern's can replenish your hat supply for $50 a hat. NEVER pull your gun on them, or kill one of them, as this makes them every single one deny you hats for the rest of the game. If you did so accidentally, you can still purchase slightly more expensive hats from Madame Hat of the Santa Anna Haberdashery, for $60.
Women are more dangerous than men if provoked. Every one of them carries a shot gun, which, when fired, can hit you even if you are not directly in front of them. If you have to provoke a group of people, kill the women first, to prevent getting hit by that darn buckshot.
A tip for the Oil Tycoon. If you speak to one of his guards on the bottom floor of his mansion, he'll tell you that the only way to get something out of the Oil Tycoon is to pull a gun on him. I would advise you to take this advice, but listen closely. When you talk to the Tycoon for the first time, be cocky, but not too cocky, and you'll emerge with the best deal ;)
Finally, if you have completed a certain amount of quests (basically, gotten quite deep into the game) before you confront the Murderer, you can talk him into leaving and win the game without killing/fighting him.
As for glitches, I found the major ones were the aforementioned increasing lag, glitches in circumstantial music (e.g. The 'you're in a fight' music would continue to play in safe areas, and vice versa), and a very annoying 'always running' glitch - you cannot walk, meaning you can only pull out your gun and fire it while standing still, otherwise any movement causes you to run which automatically holsters your gun.
And that's it. I've played Westerado for the good part of two days, and I still haven't worked every part of it out. A masterpiece; visually, aurally, character-wise and plot-wise, which is let down somewhat only by a lack of total polish, and perhaps the product of aiming too high.
[Spoilers added for length. -mod]
This is an interesting game that feels a lot like a retro Red Dead Redemption. Unfortunately, I died on the first mission, ie the buffalo hearding where you've got to defend them from bandits, and I can't retry it, therefore I have no clue where to go next, and the Sheriff simply comments on the botched job and doesn't give me any new ones.
If you died on the first mission, you'd have to restart wouldn't you, thus ensuring the re-occurence of that mission?
If you meant that you just failed the mission, then yes, you can't get anymore jobs from the Sheriff. I think this is a fault of the game, I reckon the Sheriff should be able to detect when a mission is failed, so he can at least give you a new one.
However, you can still complete the game without the missions the Sheriff gives out. There are quest paths EVERYWHERE :D
Try rounding up some extra helping hands for Madame Hat, or getting friendly with the Indian Chief. The Oil Tycoon and the Banker have a history, and would most likely appreciate your help :)
Pretty buggy (I couldn't get past the fence to speak to one of the ranchers) and the lack of progress saved drives me crazy. It's a shame, because the music is excellent and I find the concept fascinating.
Seriously, add some kind of save feature and I'd forgive even the blatant bugs : /
Anyone have any progress making a walkthrough so far?
I worked it out!
I found the loot of the Bonafide Bandits! Yee-haw
I really like this game...but I'd like it a lot more if I could actually finish it. I've probably spent at least 4 hours playing, but there are so many bugs and glitches, I can never get the "good" ending.
Here are the bugs I've found:
1. Lag. The game slows down to the point where it's unplayable. Doesn't happen every time, and I have no idea what triggers it. Only solution is to restart.
2. Flash error? A couple of times my screen has been replaced with a gray screen with a circled ! in the middle. It's only happened twice; switching tabs while the game is running may contribute to it. Forces you to restart.
The next few are a little spoiler-y...
3. "Kill the Beefhead Bulls" mission. I've killed them all, but when the Sheriff asks if I've done it, I can only answer "no". This has only happened once, though I still haven't completed this mission.
4. Too many hats. I completed the Haberdasher mission, for which you receive a free hat, but I already had 3. The next time I was shot, I lost a hat (down to 2), but when I tried to buy a new one, I couldn't, because "I already have 3".
5. Murderer's Hideout. I killed all the bandits in the first room, and entered the second room. Killed all the bandits in the second room, tried to go into the third room, and found myself back in the first room, unable to move or draw my gun. Forces you to restart.
6. Bank robbery. I attempted this mission after the Indians had already taken over Clintville. You hold up the bank, the Bulls come in and tell you to find a way out of town. When I went outside, it wass a yellow void with a few townspeople milling about. By walking off the edge of the screen, I returned to the Bulls camp. Talking to the Bulls led to a glitched conversation, and I got no clues from them. I returned to the bank in Clintville, and that entire sequence just repeated.
While I kinda like the fact that this game doesn't save your progress, forcing you to deal with it when you screw up a mission, it's a real nuisance when combined with all the bugs that force you to restart.
I have a lot of good things to say about this game, too, but I'd basically just be restating what brainbarf77 already said :P I've had a lot of fun playing this game, and trying out the different missions and "career paths", but I really hope the developers are able to fix these game-killing bugs so everyone can enjoy the game the way it was meant to be played.
Just to add some information not covered by the lengthy comment above�
About a mysterious tombstone and the Bonafide guys
The 132 inscription MIGHT be a clue as to how to find the secret treasure associated with the Bonafide banditos. In the mines, there are 3 statues with Bonafide written on 'em. If you read 'em in the proper order, an iron gate also located in the mines opens, or rather disappears, and behind it there's a great deal of money.
There are indications as to which is the correct order to examine the statues, though I personally don't remember it 'cause I did it by accident. My guess is the 132 clue is an indication. But the statues also make different noises when read, the same noises you make when shooting your gun, and at least one noise I didn't recognise, maybe chains. What I do know is, when you examine them in the correct order, a short success tune comes out of nowhere and the iron gate's open.
About easy money
In the Southeast corner of the map, one screen West of either Santa Anna or Cobb's Ranch, both'll work, there's an entrance to a relatively small cave, similar to the one in the Mines. In the North end of it there's a lot of money too.
And two screens North of the Graveyard (which is one screen North of Clintville) there's a weird character wearing a mask, disguised as a Jew as far as I can tell, on a movie set, reinforcing the strong theme that all the game happens in a Western film. This dude will give you 500 dollars just by talking to him.
You can use this sources of money along with the Bonafide treasure. This way you'll be starting the game with 2000 dollars already, and without killing a single person. Provided that you're good at dodging bullets, 'cause every one of this treasures is guarded by many a bandit.
About the three bandits
They're called Buffalo, I think. One of them is Juan, the other I don't remember, and the third one is German.
1 of 'em is one screen West of the Abandoned Town, which is two screens South of the Tycoon's Mansion. The 2nd one is somewhere in the Mines, and you reach him by fast travelling to the Mines, then going North, West, North, North, East, South and South (North of him, strangely enough, it's the screen with the Bonafide treasure, though if you enter this way, the treasure will be behind some rocks and you will barely see it). The 3th one, the German, is next to the South end of the railroad that begins at the Mine entrance, and you can get there by fast travelling to either Santa Anna or Cobb's Ranch and walking one screen West.
They're useless as far as I can tell. Informing them of the others' location doesn't cause anything, and none of them give you any clues about your mother's murderer.
About the Bank
It's true that depositing money in it seems to be useless. However, there are many bandits who try to rob you during the game, and I'm guessing if you let them, they will only take the money you are carrying, and your Bank money will be safe. The feature is still useless because you can simply refuse to be robbed by walking out of a conversation, but it's a nice detail I guess.
The house you can buy for 500 dollars at the Bank, though, that's something the game saves, because it's a map location. So even if you don't buy it next time you play, and you can't get there walking 'cause the bridge is broken, you can always fast travel to Home and you'll get there. And also the bridge will be magically fixed.
About mortality
It's awful, innit. But I was talking about the game. Almost all people can be killed in the game, but most people SHOULDN'T BE. You're free to kill them, but if you want to catch your mother's killer it's always advisable to think twice who you're going to point a gun at.
If you point a gun at the Bank owner, for example, he will be friendly in conversation and will give you jobs, but when he's not talking to you he'll be shooting at you. So you'll have a main character you need to engage in conversation but you will have to dodge his bullets to do so. This is really poor NPC design, one of the many you will find in Westerado.
Also, horses you can't kill. And birds neither. And Rancher Bob is also impervious to the Reaper during the missions that involve him being on your side.
About the map
Yes, the percentage is only the locations you've found and has nothing to do with how many clues you got or how many missions you completed. There's also an irrelevant bug with this. I'm currently at 106%. This, I guess, has to do with your enemy's secret hideout, which is 2% of the map, and it is the only location the game doesn't save between plays. So after finding it several times, the game keeps adding 2% to the map.
About the hats
This isn't really a spoiler, but you better take your hats seriously. As a person commented on Adult Swim, your brother probably died because he didn't have a hat. And there's a glitch that causes the game to believe you have 3 hats when you only have 2, thus reducing your maximum health to 2.
About clues and missions
The easiest clue is the one you get in any saloon by just playing a game of cards. You can basically just lose pressing R to fold, and they'll give you a clue. Once, I even got two clues by playing cards at two different saloons.
The easiest mission is probably hiring girls. In Santa Anna you can go to the Haberdasher and talk to the woman in black. By choosing the second dialogue options, you'll agree to get girls to work as hat makers. The next step is just going out, talking to girls and, when the option is available, telling them that they should work at the Haberdasher and that they're hiring. Most times in Santa Anna you'll find one or two, so you'll have to travel to Clintsville or the Train Station to get more girls. The girls dancing at Clintsville's saloon are also sometimes willing to make hats for a living, since I'm guessing dancing in a saloon is probably not the best job ever. Once you convinced three girls, you talk to the woman in the Haberdasher and she'll give you a clue.
The other characters who give you clues in exchange for missions completed are the Banker, the Sheriff, Rancher Bob, the Indian Chief, the Buffalo Express Driver and the Beefhead Bulls. Some missions overlap, since one character tells you to help another one. In most of those cases, both characters will give you a clue once you finish.
As far as I saw, only the Banker is willing to give you more missions if you screw up one. There's an extra mission that you won't see if you don't fail any of his missions. It involves getting 100 dollars from a rancher. The rancher will only give you 10 unless you point your gun at him. And alternatively, you can simply lie to the Banker and give him 100 dollars without even leaving the Bank once.
The tycoon also will give you a clue even if you fail the Beefhead Bull's mission. There's an interesting continuity error here. You can get the mission by pointing your gun ONCE at the tycoon. Then you can go to the Bulls and, instead of doing the missions, you kill every single one of 'em. Then you go back to the tycoon and you tell him you completed the mission. He will tell you he knows you're lying because one of the Bulls told him.
There are interesting and complex nets of alliance and enmity between the NPCs, so you'll want to study those and the implications of helping some dudes and hurting others. This net and its complexity, I think, is the greatest achievement in Westerado. And that's why it's a shame that some of the alliances and things you can do weren't really contemplated by the authors, so sometimes you realise the characters don't really react to the situations you can generate. That, I believe, is the deep meaning of what the comment above called "aiming too high."
Also, the great sub-plots that start awesome and don't really lead anywhere
The three bandits never get together. The ranchers never rebel against the tycoon (when you help them form the franchise, but if you side with the Bulls they appear to be fighting together). The ranchers imply the tycoon's involvement in you mother's murder, but nothing related to this happens (you can't talk to him about it, and if you kill him nothing noteworthy happens). Your mother's murderer sometimes says the ranchers hired him, yet nothing happens if you walk away and try to talk to them, or even if you kill them.
Loved that
Once I got the house, I was able to propose to the haberdashery lady! My avatar knows the value of a good hat-making spouse, it seems.
At the poker table, I had a King-high straight and was beaten by a pair of 9s...huh?! Also,
has anyone been able to get the twin bartenders together, yet? I talk with each of them and then Miss Hat, but when I go back to the bars to continue the conversation, my dialog bubble is blank (with no more selection options, such as getting information or a drink)!
It's a fun game, but I hope they can fix all the bugs.
I'm still addicted to this game, and recently found a couple things:
1. Free Hats
In addition to getting the free hat at the haberdashery for finding extra employees, you can get another one from the bandit in the mine after you find his other 2 friends for him. Also, if you go 1 screen east of the train station and then 1 screen north of that, a widow sometimes appears (you can keep leaving and going back until she shows up). If you tell her to get over the loss of her husband, she'll give you his hat.
2. Gunslinger Assistance
After you accept the carriage express or buffalo run missions, you can get the sheriff to ride along and assist you by talking with him and selecting the "Help!" dialog option. He tends to get in the way, but if you keep your distance, the two of you can wipe out the bandits pretty quickly.
Walkthrough:
Easiest way to FIND THE MURDERER (There is a real end...) and you can finish in under an hour.
You'll need about 5 clues in addition to the one you start with. Here's how I did it (there are plenty of other paths)
1. Play poker in the Saloon at Clintsville - Play one hand (not sure if you have to win a hand). After the game, the card players will give you a clue.
2. Go to Santa Anna and talk to the Haberdashery owner at the front. Go outside and hire 3 girls for her. You can also hire some girls at Clintville.
3. Talk to townspeople - I got a mission from a random girl at Santa Anna to clear the graveyard of bandits. After finishing the job, I returned to her and got a clue.
4. Take a big mission - THEY ARE CHALLENGING:
I preferred the Oil Tycoon: Go to the oil tycoon's house and talk to him. You'll have to draw your gun once to get him to like you. Put your gun away and continue the conversation. Pull it out again when he offers you $50. He'll offer you $100. Put the gun away and go talk to the Beefhead Bulls (one screen to the right). Talk to any gang member. Say you'll "prove it" to him. When he asks to the target is, say "Robert Johnston" (note the 't' in Johnston). Get on with the mission and try to kill the buffalo. After the mission (WIN OR FAIL) talk to a bandit and he'll tell you to go back to the tycoon. If you win you get a clue and your reward of $100. If you lose you still get a clue. Not too shabby.
5. Indian Chief:
This mission is relatively easy, but I do it after any of the ones above because any action you take in this game affects future events (which is why it's so brilliant).
Go talk to the chief at the Indian Camp and take the first mission. It's an easy one - you have to drive the buffalo out of their pens. Each ranch has a gate that you can shoot to open. Note that each rancher will get pissed and try to kill you so watch out. There's also a ranch in Clintvile. After completing that, go back to the chief for a clue.
There are other missions to get clues, but these are the ones I used.
THE MURDERER'S HIDEOUT:
You know you have enough clues when you return to Clintville and AUTOMATICALLY talk to some guy. He asks for $50 in exchange for information on the murderer's hideout. Handover the cash and you get the hideout location (off the map). Ride there for the REAL END. Good luck ;-)
Secrets:
There are some secrets in the game such as a hidden area off the map to the north with a funny easter egg - find it north of the graveyard.
You can also get hidden treasure in the mines by reading the statues in the right combination (I believe it's 132).
Talk to a bank teller to buy a house and then marry the Haberdashery lady...
There's a ton of exploring to do after the main story. Have fun! You can also go on rampages, but that could take years and cost millions of lives.
I also wanted to write a walkthrough guide, but because of the open world nature of Westerado, this is more of a mission list, how to start them, and how to get clues from them. (Thanks to the previous commenters for their many tips, some of which may have been duplicated here.)
Completionist Missions:
If you want to finish the game with a full description of the murderer, you'll need about a dozen clues to his appearance, plus one for his current location. I find this particular sequence to be quite effective, and it also reveals the life stories of the sheriff and banker:
A. Protect the Buffalo Express Carriage [3 clues]
1. Talk to the banker in Clintville for a job.
2. Talk to the sheriff next door about your murdered family, and then ask for help with protecting the carriage. (You can actually do this task without the sheriff's help, but then you'll only get 2 clues.)
3. Talk to the Buffalo Express driver in Santa Anna to start this mission. (The sheriff is already there waiting.)
4. Successfully fight off the bandits, and then talk to the banker for the 1st of 3 clues.
5. Talk to the sheriff in his office for the 2nd of 3 clues.
6. Talk to the the Buffalo Express driver for the 3rd of 3 clues. (Funny how the sheriff is also still there waiting. :-)
B. Protect Rancher Bob's Buffalo [3 clues]
1. Talk to the tycoon at his mansion for a job (you'll have to pull your gun on him to win his respect).
2. Talk to the Beefhead Bulls gang about the plan; tell them twice that the tycoon sent you, and that you'll meet them later when you're ready.
3. Talk to the sheriff, ask if anyone needs help (this unlocks Rancher Bob's fast-travel location), and then say you have an urgent need for his help in protecting the buffalo.
4. Talk with Rancher Bob to start this mission.
5. Successfully protect the buffalo, and then talk to Rancher Bob for the 1st of 3 clues.
6. Talk to the sheriff there next to Rancher Bob, ask if anyone needs help, tell him you finished the last job, and he'll give you the 2nd of 3 clues.
7. Talk to the tycoon for the 3rd of 3 clues.
8. Go back to Clintville, and someone should offer you a map to the murderer's hideout in exchange for $50. (At this point, you could just go to the hideout and finish the game, but then you'd have to get past 3 waves of his henchmen. Instead, for these Completionist Missions, we'll continue to get all 12 clues for his appearance, plus one more for his final location, so we can confront him outside of the hideout.)
C. Deal with the Beefhead Bulls [1 clue]
1. Talk to the sheriff at Rancher Bob's, ask if anyone needs help, and he'll direct you to the Beefhead Bulls (who you just defeated, so they'll be pissed).
2. Successfully win the shootout with the Beefhead Bulls, and then go back to the sheriff, ask if anyone needs help, tell him you finished the last job, and he'll give you the clue.
D. Deliver Something for the Banker [2 clues]
1. Talk to the banker, and he'll ask you to deliver a map to the tycoon.
2. Talk to the tycoon on behalf of the banker, and he'll give you the 1st of 2 clues.
3. Talk to the banker for the 2nd of 2 clues.
E. Play Cards at the Saloons [2 clues]
1. Join a game at the saloon in Clintville, and even if you don't win, you should get a clue.
2. Join a game at the saloon in the Train Station, and even if you don't win, you should get a clue...maybe not immediately after playing in Clintville, but after doing other quests in between (also note that sometimes you'll get the same clues you've already received, so you'll have to do more missions).
F. Find Employees for the Haberdashery [1 clue]
1. Talk to Madame Hat in Santa Anna about the haberdashery, and offer to find extra hands.
2. Successfully talk 3 girls (from Santa Anna, Clintville, or the Train Station) into working at the haberdashery, and then talk to Madame Hat for the clue.
3. She'll also give you a free hat...but because of the bug noted by others, make sure you don't have 3 hats when she gives you the extra one; otherwise, you may end up with a maximum limit of 2 hats the next time you get shot!
G. Get Rid of the Graveyard Bandits [1 clue]
1. Talk with girls, until you find one who wants to visit her father's grave, and offer to get rid of the bandits there.
2. Successfully rid the graveyard of those bandits, and then go back and talk with that same girl for the clue.
Alternative Missions:
Unlike with the previous Completionist Missions, which can be done sequentially from A to G, some of these Alternative Missions may conflict or interfere with others (for example, killing the buffalo vs. protecting them):
H. Free the Buffalo [1 clue]
1. Talk with the chief at the Indian Camp to start this mission.
2. Successfully free the buffalo in Clintville, Cobb's Ranch, Rancher Bob's, and Rancher Richard's, and then talk with the chief for the clue.
I. Help the Indians Take Back Clintville [1 clue]
1. You must first complete mission H (Free the Buffalo).
2. Talk with the chief at the Indian Camp to start this mission.
3. Successfully shoot all the people in Clintville, and then talk with the chief for the clue.
J. Build Rancher Protection Franchise [1 clue]
1. You must first complete mission B (Protect Rancher Bob's Buffalo).
2. Talk with Rancher Bob to start this mission.
3. Successfully talk Rancher Cobb, Rancher Richard, and the Clintville rancher (accordin' to hoyle, NOT on the shoot, of the first water) into joining the franchise, and then talk with Rancher Bob for the clue.
K. Kill Rancher Bob's Buffalo [1 clue]
1. Talk to the tycoon at his mansion for a job (you'll have to pull your gun on him to win his respect).
2. Talk to the Beefhead Bulls gang about the plan; tell them twice that the tycoon sent you, and start the mission.
3. Successfully kill the herd of buffalo, and then talk to the Beefhead Bulls, who tell you talk to the tycoon.
4. Talk to the tycoon for the clue.
L. Collect Bank Loans [1 clue]
1. If you fail mission A (Protect the Buffalo Express Carriage), the banker will offer you another job of collecting debt owed by the ranchers.
2. Talk with Rancher Richard and get him to pay off his debt.
3. Talk with the rancher in Clintville and get him to pay off his debt.
4. Talk with the banker and give him $90 or take a cut (don't take it all), and he'll give you the clue.
M. Rob the Bank [1 clue]
1. You must first complete mission K (Kill Rancher Bob's Buffalo).
2. Talk to the Beefhead Bulls to start this mission.
3. Talk to the banker to hold up the bank.
4. Search for the unblocked exit, knock on the bank door (press E), and lead the Beefhead Bulls to safety.
5. Talk to the Beefhead Bulls for the clue.
N. Reunite the Buffalo Bandits [1 clue]
1. Talk to Buffalo Bandit Juardo (fast-travel to the Mines and go N, W, N, N, E, S, S) to start this mission. (Note: You must talk to Juardo first; if you talk to Juan or Juaroen before Juardo, you cannot complete this mission!)
2. Talk to Buffalo Bandit Juan (directly West of Abandoned Town).
3. Talk to Buffalo Bandit Juaroen (directly West of Santa Anna).
4. Go back and talk to Juardo, and he'll give you a free hat (don't know if that same hat bug applies here).
5. Go back and talk to Juan for the clue.
6. Go back and talk to Juaroen, and he say's he'll give you $50...but doesn't (I think it's a bug).
What is Juaroen saying? (translated via translate.google.com):
Dutch: HALLO VRIEND! De meeste noemen mij JUAROEN, BUFFALO BANDIT JUAROEN!
HELLO FRIEND! Most call me JUAROEN, BUFFALO BANDIT JUAROEN!
Dutch: Ja, ik snap het ook niet helemaal...nederlands past niet echt in een WESTERN spel. Voor de meeste is dit gewoon DOUBLE DUTCH.
English: Yeah, I get it...not entirely Dutch does not really fit into a WESTERN game. For most this is just DOUBLE DUTCH.
Dutch: Hey, ik denk dat ik een baantje voor je heb...ben je GEINTERESEERD?
English: Hey, I think I have a job for you...are you INTERESTED?
Dutch: Hey, GEEN PROBLEEM, dan niet, komt wel goed zonder je!
English: Hey, NO PROBLEM, or not, will be fine without you!
Dutch: Mijn vrienden, JUAN & JUARDO zijn een tijd geleden ergens verdwaald geraakt, en nooit meer terug gekomen...
English: My friends, JUAN & JUARDO have become lost somewhere a long time ago, and never came back...
Dutch: Als je ze vindt, vertel ze dat ik klaar ben om weer mijn GUNS eruit te halen en de PAARD weer op te gaan. SNAP je het allemaal? VEEL DANK en TOT ZIENS!
English: If you find them, tell them that I'm ready to get back my GUNS to extract and HORSE again to go. SNAP it all? MANY THANKS and GOODBYE!
Dutch: Zei hij dat? Ik wist niet dat hij me zoveel miste.
English: He said that? I did not know he missed me so much.
Dutch: Vertel hem waar ik ben, ik moet nog wat dingen zelf regelen, en dan KOM IK ERAAN!
English: Tell him where I am, I got some things arrange themselves, and then GET THERE!
Dutch: Ga maar, en vertel hem waar ik ben, ik kom er zo aan!
English: Go, and tell him where I am, I'll be there!
Dutch: Ja, JUARDO was altijd vrijgevig, hij zou het waarderen als ik je een kleinigheidje gaf...
English: Yes, JUARDO was always generous, he would appreciate it if I gave you a little something...
Dutch: Hier, $50! Dat zal toch wel genoeg zijn. TOT ZIENS!
English: Here, $50! That will surely be enough. BYE!
O. Visit Murderer's Hideout
As mentioned earlier in mission B (Protect Rancher Bob's Buffalo), once you unlock the Murderer's Hideout location, you can go there to finish the game. If, while playing the Completionist Missions, you stir up a dormant bandit camp (for example, by taking their bags of money), and the murderer happens to be hiding there, he might escape. If he does, you WILL have to have to confront him in his hideout, and need to get past his henchmen by any of these methods:
1. Shoot them.
2. Bribe them with money, which will cost $250 for the 1st wave, $500 for the 2nd, and $1000 for the 3rd, so you'll need to carry $1750 with you when you go there.
3. Bribe them with something else. The only thing I've seen them respond to, other than bullets and money, is hats--they leave without a fight if you've completed mission F (Find Employees for the Haberdashery).
Side Quests:
These Side Quests don't get you clues, but they provide other benefits listed, and may add to your final score:
P. Pick Up Bags of Money
Besides the main Mines location, there's another one directly East of Santa Anna. Other bags of money can be found in the following locations:
1. Tycoon's Mansion [7 bags]
2. Abandoned Town [5 bags, guarded by dormant bandits (who spring into action only when the bags are touched)]
3. Directly West of Abandoned Town [3 bags]
4. Directly South of Abandoned Town [4 bags, guarded by active bandits]
5. Rancher Bob's [7 bags]
6. Directly West of Graveyard [10 bags, guarded by dormant bandits]
7. Movie set 2 screens North of Graveyard [3 bags]
8. Train Station [5 bags, guarded by active bandits]
9. Directly North of Train Station, or West of bought Home [3 bags, guarded by active bandits]
10. Directly South of Train Station [6 bags, guarded by dormant bandits]
11. Santa Anna [2 bags]
12. Directly South of Indian Camp [3 bags, guarded by active bandits]
13. Directly West of Indian Camp [5 bags, guarded by dormant bandits]
Q. Confront the Bartender Twins
1. Talk to the Train Station bartender, and ask if he runs both saloons.
2. Talk to the Clintville bartender, and ask if you saw him in another saloon.
3. Talk to Madame Hat in the Santa Anna haberdashery, and ask if the saloon owners go there often.
4. She tells you to bring them together in a room so she can show them evidence that they're twins...but I don't think this quest goes any further than this.
R. Marry Madame Hat
1. If you want to complete mission Q (Confront Bartender Twins), you must do that first, because you won't have a chance to go back and talk to Madame Hat about the bartenders at the end of this one!
2. Talk to one of the bank tellers when you have at least $500 in your pocket, and he'll offer you a house for that amount.
3. Buy the house, fast-travel to the Home location, and go West across the bridge, where you can pick up a bag of money and talk to the real estate agent.
4. Talk to Madame Hat and tell her you're there for her.
5. Go to your Home, and she'll be there waiting.
S. Visit a Movie Set
1. From the Graveyard, go North twice.
2. Talk to the guy, and he'll give you $500.
T. Find the Bonafide Bandits Treasure
1. Two screens North of the Train Station, there's a statue that says "132".
2. Go to the Mines and read the Bonafide statues (press E) in that same order--i.e., leftmost, rightmost, and center--and the gate that's directly North of the 3rd statue will open.
3. Enter and take that stash of money!
U. Console the Widow
1. From the Train Station, go East and North (you may have to leave and go back a few times before the widow shows up).
2. Talk to the widow, and tell her it's time to get over her loss.
3. She'll give you a free hat (don't know if that same hat bug applies here).
Sorry, a couple corrections to Side Quests in my earlier post...
P. Pick Up Bags of Money
2. Abandoned Town [5 bags, guarded by dormant bandits (who spring into action, NOT only when the bags are touched, but ALSO when provoked by your gun! ;-)]
T. Find the Bonafide Bandits Treasure
1. Two screens North of Santa Anna, there's a statue that says "132".
If you find any other mistakes, or know of any other missions/quests I've missed, please post a comment...I'm always interested in finding new things to do in this wonderful game!
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