Platform: Steam
Genre: Turn-Based Tactical Strategy
Completed: 29/01/2024
I have always been a fan of the turn-based tactical strategy genre. I've played quite a few in my time.
Some were good, such as Vigilantes; Fallout Tactics; the XCOM franchise, and the UFO franchise.
Others were alright, just not that memorable, such as Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics.
And then there were some, like Narcos: Rise of the Cartels that were a missed opportunity.
I knew, going into the game, that the reviews were bad. But I wanted to give it a chance. I genuinely wondered how they could possibly mess up the turn-based tactical strategy formula. Apparently, not that hard.
The first thing that hit me hard was the fact that you could only move one character before your turn was over. Immediately after, the AI would move one of their characters. It made things extremely hard to set up pincer attacks or ambushes. A lot of the time, I ended up favoring one character until he was of no use or dead.
There was no option for an overwatch during the missions. Instead, by skipping a move or action, you get half an overwatch action. (Skip both, and you get a full overwatch action). This would then enable that character to react to enemies running across their path. Thankfully, some classes had unlockable skills that allowed them to start with an overwatch point, but they had to survive long enough to unlock it (otherwise you would have to use up banked global level up points).
Still, I managed to persevere and I completed the DEA campaign. There were times I was really considering my choice however.
Before you could unlock the main story missions, you were required to play at minimum 4 side jobs, which in itself is not bad. What was bad however is that the side jobs are basically the same maps; the same 5 or 6 objectives recycled over and over again. It wouldn't have been bad if you could develop a strategy that works and stick to it, but because it was "move one character at a time" it was rare that you could deploy that strategy and keep to it.
Then there were the bugs and lack of quick save options. A lot of the other games I have played allow you to save before taking your turn to plan accordingly. This one only saves at the start/end of a mission, which isn't bad. What is bad, however, is reaching the person you would need to rescue (because this was the only time I encountered this bug) and suddenly the game could freeze, meaning I would have to close and restart all over again. And, if I was having a particularly good run, there was no guarantee I could repeat it.
I think the only feature I liked from the whole game, was the Killshot. After attacking an enemy, their health was dropped to 1 or 2 bars, there was a chance you could get an execution event, where you have to aim at the target quickly and fire off a shot. Aiming for the head generally finished them off. This feature at least leveled out the playing field, but keep in mind, the AI had the possibility of unleashing it on you as well. And generally, their numbers far outnumbered your team of 6.
When I finally beat the DEA campaign I won't lie, I did feel a sense of accomplishment. I felt like I had gotten through all the obstacles and deserved the victory. And it was while I was on that high that I loaded up the Narcos campaign. Started the first mandatory side mission, reached the first AI turn, and one of my guys was instantly killed (not scripted).
That sobered me up quickly. I was not ready to go through all that headache all over again.
Next up will be - O.D.T: Escape or Die Trying
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