Narcos: Rise of the Cartels

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels
45
Metacritic
51
Steam
56.802
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$29.99
Release date
19 November 2019
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
51 (666 votes)

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is a brutal turn-based action strategy game based on the hit Netflix TV series. Explore the entire first season from two sides each with their own unique story. Join the narcos and expand the drug cartel empire, or take up arms with the DEA and bring it crumbling down

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Narcos: Rise of the Cartels system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 x64
  • Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (2 * 3100) OR AMD Athlon II X4 645 AM3 (4 * 3100) OR equivalent
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti (1024 MB) OR AMD Radeon HD 6850 (1024 MB) OR equivalent
  • Storage: 12 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: Low Preset + 30FPS+
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Analhilator
Analhilator

Was kinda hyped for the game with the setting and the genre + third person shooting, but it's all kinda lame.
You can only move one unit in a round and you can run and fire.
The AI is fine, completely suicidal but fine. They rather get a shot in then run and heal but most units are stationary. Because you can only use one unit per round, instead of all your units. Which for me lead to soloing the mission with one unit and maybe switch to another unit that was nearby the objective.

I dunno if I can really recommend it...
I guess there was a reason why the game is 29,99 with 20% off on release.

If the RPG part would be more then buy a unit and use its weapons for ever and ever I could have seen me not refunding it.

Moagim
Moagim

Its a decent turn based strategy game. I wish the game was more complex (Phantom Doctrine style investigation would be great in this game, it would be nice to be able to choose and modify weapons for characters etc), but from the couple DEA missions I played so far I can say that I am satisfied with what I got here - it is a combat focussed TBS in a cool setting.

Shadow Von Haze
Shadow Von Haze

I played the first few levels of this game and it feels like the game wants to be like XCOM but fails at it. Enemies are really dumb or op with little variation between them. being able to only use on character makes you almost want to only bring 2 or 3 troops so you dont have 5 or 6 injured men at the end of every mission.

[retard_magnet]
[retard_magnet]

There is nothing about strategy in this game. In general I have a suspicion this is more a project for the "iphone in toilet", than a tactical shooter. I bought it because from videos i got illusion about "xcom like" gameplay, but there is no gameplay. Only skirmish with one(!) enemy in turn.

Peabody
Peabody

What lets this game down is the two things in my opinion. Combat just isn't engaging since you can only move one unit a turn, and the enemy will next to always charge once you move close enough, end up using just one guy for whole mission, not much in the way of tactics. The other problem is that is all there really is, in between missions you can hire new people, and spend excess points to lvl up, thats it. Nice idea, just no real substance

Edgewalker
Edgewalker

Complete trash - you get only 1 activation per turn regardless of how many guys you control. That means that if you want to move 5 guys from your squad once each - lonely enemy will get 5 activations/actions/attacks as a response. It boils down to one of your guys fighting and all the others just standing and doing nothing.

Phart
Phart

Yeah, no, it doesn't work. A mix of stupid AI and poor game mechanics ruins the bit of potential the game has.
One example of poor mechanics - the counteract system is a** backwards. For some reason, a guy you select and order him to do nothing gains 1 counteract point (allowing him to react to an enemy come in sight during the opposing turn), but the other 4 guys sitting there twiddling thumbs gain nada. Might as well be blind and dumb. This is the exact opposite of what you would expect in real life, and makes for a very gamey unrealisric experience.
One example of stupid AI - the AI guys have no self-preservation. They'll run out of cover and past other agents to get a shot at the one agent of yours that has the least life left, ending their turn in the open surrounded by four enemies ready to obliterate them. Again, feels super gamey and gets old very fast.
I didn't spend much time with the game. Really couldn't stand it past a couple of hours of game time. Uninstalled and goodbye.

кирклестат
кирклестат

It's hard. :) Maybe I'm not just used to it, Gameplay is X-Com like. If you love that game, you'll love this.

LilyanaKabal
LilyanaKabal

I really want to like this game. But the damage to health ratio is fucked, the cover system is paltry at best, leveling up gives no real bonuses and just another niche, circumstantual trait, and you instantly lose if your leader dies.

Additional gripes include the lack of variety in classes, no weapon customization, and some deranged attempt to be a Harder Xcom.

BrickWaffle
BrickWaffle

I think the negative reviews are from people who expected the game to be XCOM in Columbia. While it is similar in many ways, it is different in some key (and in my opinion, interesting) ones. Only being able to use one unit per turn is interesting. You can using support abilities like vigilance to boost your team's ability to counterattack and it makes strategic positioning and cover extremely important. If you want a slower paced, less hero-driven tactical game, this is fun. If you're a fan of the show, even better.

NFC3SPECTRO 1911 TTV
NFC3SPECTRO 1911 TTV

O jogo tem algumas similaridades com X-Com, seus gráficos vão para o estilo realista, mas a jogabilidade deixa muito a desejar, a inteligência artificial é bem simples o que acaba por não ofertar desafio, os cenários são pequenos, falta mais detalhes táticos que seriam muito bem recebidos no jogo, os equipamentos poderiam ser mais realistas como no jogo jagged alliance back in action, enfim não vale o preço, pela mecânica pobre eu avalio este game em 20 reais no máximo.

O tema é bem interessante, e prometia muito, só compraria em mega descontos.

Comprei e não devolvo por gostar da temática de turnos e ter poucos games do gênero, é um produto que poderia ser bem mais do que é!

===================

The game has some similarities to X-Com, its graphics go to the realistic style, but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired, the artificial intelligence is very simple which ends up offering no challenge, the scenarios are small, lacking more tactical details than would be very well received in the game, the equipment could be more realistic as in the game jagged alliance back in action, finally not worth the price, by the poor mechanics I rate this game at 20 reais at most.

The theme is very interesting, and promised a lot, would only buy at mega discounts.

I bought and do not return because I like the theme of turns and have few games of the genre, is a product that could be much more than it is!

hamz
hamz

Its a shame, i really like this game but only being able to move 1 unit at a time ruins this game so much. You cant use any real tactics at all, just constant back and forth. Horrible game design. Every unit should have one move and one fire per turn..... you fucked it up devs.

yoel648
yoel648

I playing the game without any issue.
One unit at the time but is fine !!!!

ratchetveli
ratchetveli

There's some good in this game for sure but it is slow and mundane due to only being able to move one unit at a time.

Sharpkill375
Sharpkill375

Moving one unit a round slows down the game way too much. Makes it take forever to move all your men. Another thing that annoyed me was the shotguns accuracy at long range. Not sure if it was just me, But I got sniped from across the map with one.

EZ-C
EZ-C

This is an amazing game, one I could play for hours continously and allows you explore deeper into the Narcos series - came across Pablo, Gustavo and Poison so far, would love to see others such as La Quica, Sureshot, Blackie, Velasco, Jairo, Gato, Gorilla, Limon, Ricardo and others playable as part of your squad, the size is limited to 5 however would be amazing to increase this and play larger battles, but so far amazing!

moomoo
moomoo

-Rise of the Cartels works on my humble little computer! It a fucking Unreal Engine game ;
-Very much like Xcom (Long War) ;
-Except you only get to use one member of your squad per turn then the other team uses one member of their squad ;

That is all.
ADW 2019.11.26. 1:58 p.m. UK

Criminal2020
Criminal2020

Pretty Good Cut Scenes
Story Mode Follows Season 1 Of The Show
Negatives that need some practice play to understand the click play but does get easier!
7/10 good not great still playable

SkyRiderJM
SkyRiderJM

I like the game and recommend it. I've seen the TV show so it is fun to play it as such. I am not an xcom player so the negative reviews others have mentioned don't apply to me and I agree with the DEV's that it is fine for one move of a squad member per turn. Just watch a few you tube videos to see if you would like it.

TribalJeebus
TribalJeebus

It's basically an overpriced mobile game. There was so much potential with this story, but the combat is lame and repetitive. If you are a fan of the show, its still worth a play IMO, but wait for a heavy discount.

☣☣LoOOoLq8☣☣
☣☣LoOOoLq8☣☣

the game based on netflix t.v. series so if you like the show you will like the game here is the list of pros and cons

pros

1- quality of the game is good but not great so you can run it even on potato pc or laptop
2- you can create squad and lvl them up . each squad have a skills like healer or rocket launcher
3- if you like xcom or chess or strategy games you will like it
4- collecting money to buy squad or healing them or unlock other side missions .
5- there is story in the game so people who didn't watch the series they will enjoy it . some Cutscene are new not in the series and some they toke it from t.v. series .
6- there is two side you can play with difference story you can choose between narcos team or cops

cons

1- sometimes you will get board because all things keeps repeating nothing new.
2- there is no online mod for fun
3- when the bots playing you can't skip to play faster .
4-only one turn for each round .
5- voice actors keeps talking the same dialogs when you choose them this is annoying and sometimes it's noise they should add more dialogs better .

so i will give it yes becuase i like the show and based on legend character . and the gameplay is fun too but they need to add online mod to make it more fun and challenge,.

ghostly909
ghostly909

Never seen the show.After watching the trailers and the fact its a turn based interested me,so onto reviews as i've bought some poor (x rated language probably not allowed) games in the past,realising reviews were bang on the mark.Because most of the negatives with this game where to do with only being able to move one character at a time i thought i'd give it a go,more of a challenge.You have to think more,and make sure each character covers one another,or your team won't last long.Glad i took a chance on this game.

☨☭Kapitány_Úr☭☨
☨☭Kapitány_Úr☭☨

I think this is an actually a good game.....I dont know why are some people dislike this game. Because this game has nice graphics and interesting mechanics

BlackBeard
BlackBeard

This is a good strategy live action game, altho i think it could have been better, with more charcters and different sicarios.

Gen. Loopanini
Gen. Loopanini

100/10 Perfect portrayal of how the cartel does things: do whatever it takes to kill your men. I rage quit almost all times cause I wasn't careful enough. Great game.

-RM-| BBudz
-RM-| BBudz

definitely like the top down/FPS style! devs did a great job and im also exited to get their other recent title. If your looking for something that gives you a real challenge...this is it. Single movement per turn(no spoilers) play style allows for very in depth decision making on who and what you want them to attack etc. its awesome!

loopyfruit1
loopyfruit1

A poor version of X-com, poorly constructed over the same few maps. Can only move one character at a time so whats point in a squad

javierricardo91
javierricardo91

I love this game, specially the theme and how the whole experience brings me back some other great games I've played.

𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚
𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐚

You can buy it without stress. The negative reviews wanted a copy of XCOM, an XCOM 3, but the game is only BASED on XCOM.

When you fall in love with a game, you keep trying to find that game elsewhere ... but each game has its own personality.

The game is extremely well done, in addition to being based on NARCOS. If you watched the show, you will be completely immersed in the game. Besides that, it ran on my computer which is an i3 and 1gb of vram.

basicllyiplaygames
basicllyiplaygames

i really like it its definitely interesting it reminds me of the movie American made and it has the same kind of gameplay as
x-com i found this in my queue and decided to get it while it was on sale im glad i did its a great game!

singingsmartboy
singingsmartboy

Funny... I shot the bad guy and he still survived... Whereas when he shot my guy, my guy died immediately.,.. What type of game is that?

The Fountain
The Fountain

Good game and excellent environments. Challenging without being to hard. Playing as the DEA and i like the nods to the TV show.

Detective Sadist
Detective Sadist

Narcos is one of my most favourite shows and it's such a shame that it's only official game, minus the cash grab mobile games, is poorly done with not much thought gone into it. Rise of the Cartels has some decent things going for it but in the end it feels pretty rushed, lazy and has questionable design choices.

PRO
- Great music that is featured in the show
- The locations do resemble areas around Colombia
- You get to play as both the DEA and the Medellin Cartel
- Really nice artwork used for character icons

NEUTRAL
- Various kinds of missions but they just seem to be mainly the same
- Real life names rarely come up which I guess is a legal/licensing issue.

CON
- The graphics are pretty dated for a 2019 game that seems more like a port of a mobile game.
- You can only move one unit at a time even though you have a whole squad
- You'll be visiting the same locations quite a few times
- Enemy AI will pretty much become suicidal and put themselves in danger just to damage you
- There isn't a great level of depth to it, all seems very basic
- The voices are all in English and some of them (namely Pena) isn't very good.

With some much needed improvements and graphical upgrades this could have been an amazing tie in to the show but it seems that they just didn't find the right developers for bringing the show to gaming.
If you're a fan of low budget strategy games, like ones you find on mobile, then you may take some enjoyment out of this. If you're looking for a more in depth strategy game like XCOM or Phantom Doctrine then you may not enjoy it as much with it's watered down gameplay. Even fans of the show like myself will have difficulty.
Also buy it on sale, £9.99 still felt a bit much for me, sadly.

AUGdawg
AUGdawg

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME IT IS HORRIBLE

You will have a 5 person team and only be able to move 1 unit per turn. You will go insane as I did.

Save yourself.

DO NOT BUY THIS GAME

FukdUpDude
FukdUpDude

I think this game is quite entertaining overall. The game-play quite laid back.
There are I think improvements that could be made to the game-play to make it more enjoyable. For example being able to move only one of your team per turn.
I would recommend buying this game while its on sale at a reduced price!

Rigafan
Rigafan

For a licensed product (Narcos Netflix TV Series) this is actually a really great game.

Imagine X-Com style gameplay but in the world of Narcos. You get to play as the Good guys DEA and fight the Cartels and you can also play as the Cartel once you finish the game.

The game looks great, very clean and good level design, very true to the series and it also plays well too - yes it is a console port and some of the controls are a bit off but the game is not so intense so its easy to get used too.

If you are a fan of Narcos this is even better as it is voiced by the original actors and feels like you are in the TV Series almost! If you are a fan of X-Com style gameplay and want something else to try it is an option but don't expect it to be anything close to the level of X-Com, it is a simple game but fun nonetheless.

mark312jk
mark312jk

fun but repetitive side missions and narcos seem harder to win with than dea

Adriano Coelho
Adriano Coelho

Great strategy game; A multiplayer version would be great, because the AI is very bad.

ControlC
ControlC

It's OK game... really boring.

Wolfeyez
Wolfeyez

I really wanted to like this game, but in the end, the turn-by-turn based game play really ruins this game (for me). You can not move squads into place, you have to move one team member at a time, shoot, then allow for the "enemy" to take their turn/shot, then you can move to another teammate to a location of choice (which is limited) and take a shot, repeat above every time. Not fun at all...

My only regret was not installing within Steams timeline for refunds.

thickfurred
thickfurred

Please don't buy, even if like me you see it cheap in a sale. I have rarely been this disappointed in a game that had so much potential. Compared to movement and action system in x-com 2, this is truly dreadful, and makes no sense. Resting DURING a fire fight, means units (yours and the narcos) can heal back up to full health...!! Zero equipment upgrades, and no HQ to improve leaves this game a one trick pony, and boring as heck.

robocrab
robocrab

the battle is so challenging and intense with 1 unit move per round mechanic, very recommended

taoren
taoren

only move one member of your squad....

people playground gaeming
people playgro…

Easy to understand, not too challenging, fun way to spend a few hours - if you like the Netflix series.

"LargerRanger5"164.95Mhz[750mW]
"LargerRa…

honestly....pretty mixed feelings on this game. I mean, I can see what the idea was for this game...but it doesn't feel finished.

so any characters speaking in Espanol sounds good, but for the Narco characters speaking in english, it genuinely sounds like a text to speech device.

Game mechanics... so in short. usually start with two deployment locations. can't choose what units start where, and sometimes the map can mislead you into moving your troops in what little room they're alotted to move during said phase, tricking you into thinking you're moving your men into cover, when in fact, they are in the open. I like the idea, but the XCOM 2 mechanic would work SO much better for what comes after.

once you're ready to start the game works basically like a chess but more complex....downside is the AI is basically the same from XCOM 2, so once they are low in numbers, the last guy will retreat, and force you into a bottleneck area, basically forcing you to sacrifice someone because you can only move one person per turn. don't try grenade/bombs to make your own opening/kill through walls, it won't work.

I say the XCOM mechanics work better as

A: you basically have all the same attack/special soldier abilities as XCOM, so all you lose here is a METRIC FUCKTON of mobility/maneuverability.

B: it would feel more immersive overall as your team can REACT/ADAPT to the mission as it develops in one turn instead of 100, but so can your enemy as it seems like the AI was designed to perform just as such.

C: The bottleneck/fatal funnel/whatever you want to call it is pretty irritating. what this means is if their is one bad guy left, they'll usually retreat to a room that forces you to sacrifice someone in order to take them down, you can't outflank these spots, you can't sneak in before they get the chance, so you have to send in one guy who will soak up a ton of hits because you have to keep the heat on them, but can't afford to send in anyone else without sacrificing a turn, and leaving that SAME injured teammate in a spot where they can take continuous damage, if you pull them out, they can't get far enough, so the AI sacrifices its LAST piece to kill that guy....as mentioned, you are sacrificing someone because you can't use windows/other areas where you SHOULD have a line of sight on your enemy, and thus MITIGATING the fatal funnel risk

Recon/scouting a place poses the same risk, sacrificing a member of your team to get information.

Good thing about mechanics: I like the new overwatch where you control whether or not your characters overwatch attack hits, or misses by aim/LOS...more immersive, I like it. it forces you to take environmental cover in consideration when moving a character, not just line of sight. too bad its overshadowed by the rest of the game basically running on potato mode.
the deployment phase I also like despite its flaws, improve the area in which you can move, and it'll pretty much fix the problem I mentioned previously.

Graphics? pretty good in my opinion, I like it, but polishing a turd, its still a turd. the game needs a lot of polish for what they charge.
Story: Redo the voice acting entirely, make the characters sound more believable, & at a MINIMUM, bring back the squad movement mechanics of XCOM 2. might help raise the price value a bit to where its a worth a little more than "Wait for it to go on sale for 1/3rd of the price" like i did.

$10.00 is fair for what you get by far, but $30.00 is at best pushing it

akluis
akluis

I paid $5.99 for the game. That's $10 more that this game is worth.

You control only a single member of your squad per turn. And you can keep on using that one character again and again. I knew that going in and while not my favorite it's playable.

Even though you are controlling just a single character, that character gets 1 and exactly 1 movement point. That character also gets 1 and exactly 1 'action' point.

I could see a super-simple system like that if you were handling multiple team members, but not when it's just one.

And yet when you actually shoot they go to this crosshair system like you should be able to aim at different body parts, but you can't.

What's even weirder is the 'overwatch' or 'interupt' system. If you don't use all your points (and exactly what this means is never properly explained - do you not move at all, or can you use your 1 movement point but only move slightly) and a guy runs up on you, it triggers this event where the character moves in slow-motion, and you have a few seconds to shoot where you have to manually put your crosshairs on the target and fire.

AND you are allowed to fire multiple times. "normal" pistol shooting seems to be you fire 1-3 rounds of which none, some, or all will end up hitting the target. But when firing when it isn't your turn at a guy rushing you, you can steer your crosshairs to his head and dump 5 or 6 shots into him?

Further, for me, the game was really buggy. Once I moved it would auto-end the turn without allowing me to use my action point to shoot. (and yes, I had good LOS because generally the next round the enemy would shoot at me, then move away.

Sauza
Sauza

This game taught me how to speak Spanish 10/10

SoccerSwagger48
SoccerSwagger48

To be honest, this game isn't all that bad; the mechanics are a little clumsy at times, but it still works. It's all about coming up with special tactics while only using one character. The story is intriguing, particularly the narco storyline; it follows the same plot as the show, which is also well-made. All of the missions are a lot of fun, and all of the maps are fantastic, Get the fuck out of here if you're looking for a working Real Time Strategy. Nobody gives a damn, but it's a good goddamn storyline with entertaining missions. That's the only thing that matters. I really hope a game based on Narcos: Mexico is made. 9 out of 10. If you're hating on this game it's probably because you're bad. This game is honestly really challenging at times, struggling to keep your leader alive or complete the objective before getting your most important man killed. It puts you in really intense situations just like the show did with its characters, rise of the cartels is an accurate narcos experience. I love how the narco campaign is a metaphor to the danger of being a trafficker, putting your life on the line for some extra cash.

can
can

The more you kill, the more people come in extra.
Artificial intelligence is pretty bad.
The game is not worth buying, watch the show better instead.

FrostyCakes
FrostyCakes

A bit hard to learn at first, but fun once you get used to it. Just don't get too attached to your recruits.

kamora
kamora

this game is the shitiest game i've ever played they dont let you do anything and its 25 pounds fo what?

Apxthy
Apxthy

the 1 man per move thing isn't inherently bad, but i'm not sure how to feel about it. it's fine on paper, but it's incredibly jarring going back and forth between you and the enemy every 4 seconds (if that) and leaves 80% of my men behind me while the strongest one pushes forward. if they get shot (it never came to this but), all you gotta do is rest (heal your character on pip per turn). two missions over 30 minutes won't show me everything there is to see, but it showed me what i *needed* to see. ultimately, i was bored. with reluctance, because i can tell thought went into this, i feel a thumbs down is necessary.

Tuck Fheman
Tuck Fheman

I've held off getting this game for a long time simply due to the number of bad reviews and man am I pissed at every one of you leaving a bad review! ;)

This game is amazingly fun! The counter attack and kill shot features are pure genius and add so much to a turned based shooter. I honestly do not understand the complaints regarding moving a single player at a time, this to me is a great feature and adds a lot of strategy to the game. The unit upgrades are pretty sweet as well.

There are a lot of details in this game that I haven't seen in other TBS like wounded bad guys limping away bleeding and dropping their weapons when killed. This just adds to the games immersiveness. And the story is great of course, so if you liked the show, you'll love this game!

If you're on the fence, pick it up on sale for sure and you will not be disappointed ... unless you just completely suck at planning out strategy and maximizing your squad (which I assume is the issue with the negative reviewers). ;)

Saila
Saila

Good tactics, great immersion. Turn system feels ok and fits overall gameplay, but you have to get used to it.

Oakland Police
Oakland Police

garbage game. hit chances don't mean anything. missed 3 consecutive 79% hit chance shots while AI is able to hit full cover shots easily. ridiculous

batman305
batman305

I really wanted to like this game. I don't know if I agree with some of the reviews. I think a lot of people don't like the single turn player game format. It does take a while to get used to. I think the graphics are great, and the game play is fun. I played it for about 7 hours straight. But when I get stuck at the end of level 3 and its impossible, random guys just keep showing up around me and shooting me almost to infinity. Maybe there is a strategy to the level I just don't understand. I wish I could beat that level and progress because its quite a pretty game.

Dead Astronaut
Dead Astronaut

TENTATIVE REVIEW: Grab on Sale: X-Com style tactics game, with a great setting, that is unfortunately brought down by the implementation of alternating single unit turns. While not a total deal breaker does hamper the overall gameplay. Grab on sale if you are a fan of turn-based tactics.

Status: Playing (Will update thoughts upon completion)
Achievements: 10/34

Pros

-Setting/Theme: This theme/setting is something I’ve always wanted and would love to see more realistic style turn-based tactics games. If anyone wants to revamp Police Quest: SWAT 2 and make it a turn-based tactics game, I will throw my money at you.
-Kill Shot: The triggering of Kill Shots when enemies are on one health allowing you to aim and fire at the target is pretty fun, plus get to watch the enemy die in ragdoll goodness.
-Dual Campaign: The inclusion of a dual campaign, one for DEA and Narcos, is a cool inclusion and it kind of mirrors the simultaneous story from the Netflix series.
-Leveling System: I like the leveling system of the old school individual pool/group pool of skill points. Additionally, upon leveling up you get to choose 2 new skills among the active/passive skills available. The allowance of 2 skills per level just gives that vibe more character development versus selecting 1 passive or active skill per level.

Cons

-One Character Per Turn: So, this is really the biggest gripe I see regarding this game and it’s understandable. I will say it is an interesting take on the turn-based mechanics with more of a chess vibe of you move a character the AI moves a character. BUT..the execution leaves a lot to be desired while not an outright deal breaker for me I would have liked to see it implemented differently. As it stands, it makes it difficult/impossible to try and set up squad mechanics, flanks, or support a primary unit with a secondary one as you are often in a reactionary state. Example: move a unit, turn ends, unit gets shot, heal unit/shoot, turn ends, unit get shot, move unit, turn ends…etc. You get stuck in this loop of focusing on a singular unit without much recourse to support them as moving another character takes away a critical turn from the unit in danger creating this “who do I sacrifice?” dynamic. This generally leaves two strategies, move slow and keep all your guys together in close range to be able to support each other as a full squad or run and gun as a singular commando of death which kind of ruins the vibe of establishing a counter narcotics initiative. What I would have liked to see:: I think the system would have worked better by forcing you to use each character once per turn for a round alternating with the AI until the last character goes and the turn order resets. This would prevent the one-man-army strat and allow you to consistently provide support among your squad and use every character. Additionally, this would allow you to set it up where you can use 1 character back-to-back if you so choose depending on the last unit you moved and the first one following the round reset. I don’t know if this is the perfect solution but on paper it sounds like a better method of doing the alternating unit mechanic.
-Counteract: The inclusion of “overwatch” (Counteract in this case) has become a staple of these X-Com type of turn based tactics games. I have some issues with this system as it seems only one character can take an overwatch shot per turn sometime resulting in enemies running through the middle of your squad just to only be shot at by one of your guys carrying a handgun instead of the dude 2 feet away with a shotgun or the whole squad. Another issue I have is when the counteract triggers you will sometimes react with no possible shot as your dude unloads into a wall/car/whatever object is in front of them or on occasion will not be able to even fire as the reticle doesn’t appear. Sometimes it doesn’t even trigger with guys running through doorways or directly in front of your unit and nothing happens.
-AI Attack Range: It’s insane to me that a Narco wielding a 9mm Beretta or Uzi can consistently hit my units in full/half-cover from a full city block+ range, and my SpecOps units with M16’s and Sure Shot (Aimed Shot basically) can only get like a 30% hit chance on the same target who is standing in the open in the middle of the street.

Other Stuff
Noteworthy info to help you better decide on Pass/Buy/Grab on Sale

-Shot Angles: Some of the angles don’t make sense. My guy is behind a box with half cover and can get shot by an enemy one tile diagonally to the right of the box, but my unit can’t target and shoot the same guy who just shot them. Some probably consider this a Con, but it is present in just about every turn-based tactics game I have played.
-Lack of Customization: A big selling point for me in these games is the ability to customize the characters which helps to build attachment to them in my opinion. I would have liked to have seen the inclusion of some customization features for non-story characters to include some name, weapon, and cosmetic options.

joker4536
joker4536

Not great but not bad, get it when it's on sale.

bladee
bladee

Fun game for the what I paid $5.99 (80%off its original price) and remained fairly entertaining throughout its 2 campaigns which are fairly similar aside from the main missions. Main missions are what made this game fun along with a unique cutscene and situation. The side-missions begin to get tedious once you start raking money making it pointless and more of a way to prolong the game with "content." I think unlocking the main missions should require 3 side-missions instead of 4, but other than that the game is solid.

Capt. Howdy
Capt. Howdy

As someone who has not watched the series this is based on I really did not have any high or low expectations. I went in expecting a game where I play as Pablo Escobar and make/distribute cocaine with the occasional turf war with other gangs and the DEA but instead I got a boring experience that lacked engagement. How fun does it sound to only control one person at a time? I'll tell ya it's not fun at all it quite literally made me bored to tears over how boring it was. Everything you would expect from a turn-based game is just absent and I'm still processing how you could screw this up. I just can't recommend it.

Cala
Cala

After playing "Narcos-Rise of the Cartels" for more than 100 hours I can assure you, that this "Jagged Alliance-XCom-Phantom Doctrine"-Genre-Mix-alike title is much better than a simple arithmetic mean of the comments and evaluations you will also find in this sector.
Racking about the fact, why so many people downvoted this game, the conclusion arrives, that, although the AI might occasionally seem dull or sometimes not in place at all, there is a lot of precision and concentration necessary to finally master the game. One move, one action at a time. You need to be one step ahead of what the opposition might try. Better be two steps ahead. It reminds of chess.
Graphics (Unreal Engine) look fine, the sound is pretty, the background story might be well known (at least to people of my age) and has a tight connection to the first chapters of Netflix´s series of the same name and origin (Gaumont).
More than that, the game concept tries, to a certain degree, to mash up pure tactical shooting strategies (as we know from the games mentioned above) with a (occasional) FPS- experience, which makes well for a special kind of entertainment and challenge. There is no ingame "save and try again"-possibility available and only a few missions can be played repeatedly without negative consequences. Maybe it´s this "Iron-man"-principle, which causes negative assessments and ratings? I´m still guessing.
Finally - I´d be pleased, if follow-ups to this game would appear, as the mentioned Netflix-Show had some successors in the meantime, which would certainly yield for more gaming plot of this kind. The price should not be a problem. Games with some kind of replayability and their engineers, who provide more than a whole week of gaming fun, should get the needed funds to develop further.

Don_Stylz
Don_Stylz

Great Game for what I paid (80%off original price).. Its a fun and interesting turn based combat strategy game, its got nice visuals, good music and videos clips from the narco's show. Have only played a few DEA missions so far and have not played playing as Narco's , If you can buy the game on special and you like turn based strategy games. its a good buy.

Old Raver
Old Raver

Its a fun and interesting strategy turn based combat strategy game, its got nice visuals, good music and videos clips from the narcos
Occasionally seem dull or sometimes not in place at all, there is a lot of precision and concentration necessary to finally master the game. One move, one action at a time. You need to be one step ahead

a bit like XCom & Xcom2 - Phoenix Point Genre-Mix

DarkKamu
DarkKamu

juego re choto es como si en una partida de ajedrez te comes un alfil y entran 3 alfiles mas al tablero y si a vos te matan el alfil no hay reposicion

not a suspicious federal agent
not a suspicio…

if you payed over 3 dollars for this you got scammed.