Today in Gaming: Review

Today in Gaming: NarcoGuerra is a brand new game title from GametheNews.net -- a developer that makes games out of real-life events in order to spread awareness. In this game, you play as the newly appointed chief of police tasked with taking control of Mexico away from the drug cartels.

Storyline

The backstory of this game is based in real life. In 1937, a guy named Anslinger was working for the government and decided he wanted to become more important than he was. He used racism, Hollywood, and a partnership with William Randolph Hurst and a chemical company to vilify and destroy the hemp industry.

Throughout the seventy-plus years that followed, science and common sense told us all that everything we were being told was a mistake or a baldfaced lie. However, the beneficiaries of the Anslinger doctrine refuse to give up their cash cow. After all, they have mansions to pay for.

As a result, the drug cartels in Mexico have gained so much wealth, they are able to control entire provinces through the use of brute force.

Enter you... one police chief.

The Game

It's a Risk-like game where you have provinces within the State of Mexico and you have to maneuver troops from one location to the other.

There's the "story" mode, which is your single player and a multiplayer mode (local) where you can play with others.

Settings/Menu/HUD

Change the music and sound effects, turn off the tutorial, and launch the help screen -- that covers the settings. The game is quite simple, so the only HUD is the buttons on the right as well as the interface that pops up in between rounds to give you the results of your actions and those of your enemies.

Mechanics/Units

You are limited in what you can do by the cost. The first attack is free, but each subsequent attack costs more and more money. You also have to battle corruption by making key investments or you will begin to lose people from your army. Of course, you need to recruit more people as the drug lords pad their rosters as well.

Graphics/Cutscene

It's a very simple game -- as it should be. We don't need a lot of graphics, just a map and some numbers.

Pros

The game does a great job of showing you just what an up-hill battle the good guys face in Mexico.
Your consistent need to balance handling corruption with defending your position makes this game exciting.
The AI doesn't just square off on you like in other games; it camps in key positions and attacks other AI enemies.

Cons

The music doesn't really work for me and I found it distracting; the game is just as much fun without it.
Those sons-of-bitches killed Jorge.
A few times, when I invaded a province, the troop counts for neighboring counties immediately became known. I would have preferred if they remained hidden -- giving me a reason to use my scouts.
The game would be more dynamic if who goes first -- you or the cartels -- was random compared to you always going first.

Final Thoughts

This is a good quality game that delicately handles a difficult topic and does so without proselytizing. As simple as it is, it really does put you in the shoes of a lone police chief trying to save his people from greedy criminals and arrogant neighbors.

This game costs $1US and the profits from the game go toward a good cause. These guys are going to be able to make bigger better games in the future if we support them today. I highly encourage you to check out this game, their other titles, and purchase a copy to help make the world a better place. Oh, and you get a good game with it too.

Most importantly, read up on all this and find out exactly what "War on Drugs" means -- don't just watch Ronald Reagan vomit out the words and get all American. Read what every one of the surgeons general have said for the past century. Read about Portugal and how they've proved us wrong. Read about how 30% of the people in prison today in the U.S. are there because they were both black and holding a joint. Read, read, read.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Review - NarcoGuerra