Narcos: Rise of the Cartels

Story:

In 2015, back when Netflix could make great shows, they released one of the greatest TV shows ever - Narcos. The first two seasons told the story of Pablo Escobar from the late 1970s up to his (spoiler alert!) death in 1992.

Who he was? Oh, just one of the biggest (if not THE BIGGEST) druglords/narcoterrorists in the history of narcotics. He built his drug empire from the ground up and he ruled it with an iron fist. Bribes, kidnappings, murders, bombings: he did it all to reach his goals.

In the TV show, Pablo Escobar was played by the handsome and charismatic devil named Wagner Moura. So charismatic in fact, that you almost sympathize with Escobar in the show, no matter what horrendous acts he commits.

Why the history lesson, I hear you asking? Well, just a little bit of a context to get you into my headspace. The show was great, but the game doesn't have a single ounce of that greatness.

Just like in the show, the story is told from both sides of the law, so you're given a choice: pick the narcotraffickers and help Pablo Escobar build his drug empire by eliminating competitors and bribing government officials, or you play for the DEA agents who try to stop him. Some key characters from the show - Escobar, El Mexicano, Steve Murphy, Peña, and others are present - but their roles are limited. 

The plot is linear, the key moments of the series are somewhat present here (such as the rise and fall of the cartel), but presented dryly, with no unexpected twists or deep dialog, there's no emotional depth. If you're a fan of the show, this would be an opportunity to “relive” familiar moments, but you'll be disappointed by the way the story is told.

For new players, who have no connection with the show, there are no interesting story bits and twists to keep them engaged.

Graphics:

I often praise graphics in budget titles, but not this time. The graphics are pretty much mediocre. Sure thing, locations partially recreate the atmosphere of the series - Medellín slums, government buildings, Pablo's mansion, jungles - but it all lacks polish and detail. 

Textures are simplistic and often muddy, character animation is janky at best, and effects like explosions or smoke look unnatural. 

Don't get me started on character models, especially the ones who are supposed to represent the main cast. When I look at these models, it feels like I'm visiting a cheap (extremely cheap) wax museum. "Plastic mannequins" is the best description I can give.

The game is played from the top view in tactical planning and third-person view for battle management, which would be awesome, but third-person feels like it breaks the already slow pace in combat. I'd go as far as saying that XCOM: Enemy Unknown in 2012 had a better execution of this concept, even if you couldn't manually aim. Some interface elements (like the strategic operations map) look unfinished, which creates a feeling of cheap "mobile" graphics. For a turn-based strategy game from 2019, this is a clear disadvantage, especially against the backdrop of competitors like XCOM or Phoenix Point.

Well, at least between main missions there are some awesome shots taken straight up from the TV show.

Gameplay:

The core gameplay is turn-based tactics in the spirit of XCOM but with SO MUCH jank.
Firstly, the mechanics are simplistic and weird: hit accuracy works strangely, as you can miss a lot of shots that have 80% accuracy. Okay, fair, XCOM has this too, with the invisible dice rolls deciding if the shot is going to hit or not. Except I've played XCOM a lot and in Narcos it still feels like you miss twice as often. 

The damage is unpredictable (a pistol suddenly turns out to be stronger than an assault rifle), in XCOM you could turn off this option and have guns dealing the set amount of damage every time. Here, you're at the mercy of the random chance.

Remember how your soldiers could utilize the environment in XCOM? Forget it. In Narcos, characters can't even shoot an enemy hiding on the opposite side of the wall or behind the corner.
But the thing that frustrated me the most was the turn order system. So, if you didn't know, in XCOM and most of the other "xcom-likes" the turn order worked like this: the turn ends only after all members of your squad are done with their actions. Then it's time for the enemy squads to do the same. Then the turn ends and you have to do it all again. It presents the player with more chances to come up with an interesting strategy. Here we have one character per turn. You choose one of your units and do an action, then the enemy chooses one of their units and does the same. There's not much room for developing a strategy being making some reactionary moves.

Just like in most of the games in this genre, your units can get abilities and better equipment.
Units can be injured or killed. Injured units have to recover before they can rejoin your squad (or you can use some of your cash to recover them instantly), and killed units must be replaced.
In XCOM, you valued each soldier, not just because you spent time and money developing them, but because you could customize and even name them, making them not just any nameless goon, but a soldier with a personality attached. In Narcos, you don't care about anyone, except the main cast, because all other units look like a bunch of clones: same faces and all.

The game can be a little bit hard in the beginning stages, just because your units don't have many abilities, but after a few missions, even on high difficulties you can pass the mission with 1-2 fighters, and the rest just chill on the map.

Maps are either claustrophobic with no room for maneuver or so huge, that you have to spend a few turns just to move your unit into a position.

No saves inside missions (only autosaves between them), mission structure is linear.

As I've mentioned before, you can choose a side to play as (when you complete the DEA campaign, you'll get access to the Cartel campaign), but there's no incentive to pick, beyond your personal preference. The mission structure is pretty much the same for both sides.
It took me 20 hours to complete the game as both Cartel and DEA and it was boring as hell.

Audio:

The soundtrack is okay, it sets up the right atmosphere and they even brought back the iconic "Tuyo" by Rodrigo Amarante which served as the main theme for the TV show.

Voicework on the other hand is lacking. As far as I know, only Boyd Holbrook who played Stephen Murphy in the show, is credited in the game.

Few audio lines there is, sounds less enthusiastic than I would like. 

Conclusion: 

"Narcos: Rise of the Cartels" - a typical example of a game based on the series which failed to realize the potential of the source material in a videogame form. Yes, it can provide some entertainment, with familiar locations and basic mechanics of turn-based strategies. The thing is, boring gameplay, bugs, and lack of depth kill all the interest.

Honestly, you're better off watching the TV show this game is based on. Save your money and time.