‘Narcos: Rise of the Cartel’ Scheduled For November 19 Launch Date

If you’re one of the millions that went crazy over the exploits of Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s Narcos series, then you might want to take a look at the new game by Curve Digital.

Together with Kuju, the London, England based video game publisher announced today that they are set to release a game based on the popular TV series on November 19.

Narcos: Rise of the Cartel will center on the events that took place during the series’ first season. The “brutal, tactical, turn-based” game will have players side with either the Medellin cartel or the DEA in two distinct campaigns.

Fans of El Patron will particularly identify with the game’s setting since it will depict the time when the drug trade in Colombia was at its all-time high and Escobar is on the verge of expanding his empire with a mix of corruption and crime.

“America is now starting to take notice and it is up to the players to choose their side,” said the article. At this point, they can be one of Escobar’s henchmen and help him with his evil plan, or side with Steve Murphy and the DEA to “topple the growing criminal empire.”

The game will also feature “iconic locations and characters” of the franchise. El Mexicano, Javier Pena and Primo will be among those that will reprise their roles, and each will have unique abilities and perks to dictate the game as it progresses.

PC Gamer’s Robin Valentine was able to play the “near-final build” of Narcos: Rise of the Cartel and admitted that he was surprised to know that the game offered more than one might expect from the TV adaptation.

“You build a stable of soldiers, send squads out on missions, and control them in small-scale battles with tough odds and permadeath,” he said. But instead of moving just one character, Valentine pointed that the player’s squad will move altogether. At the same manner, the enemy move theirs.

“Every time you do something, your foe immediately gets to do something in response.”

Narcos: Rise of the Cartel is much like XCOM, but with more tension. If players are not careful and just move their favorite characters more than the rest of the gang, they can find themselves riddled with bullets. They will need to play their cards right lest they want to strategize all over again.

Narcos: Rise of the Cartel will be launched digitally on November 19 for the PC and PlayStation 4, while Nintendo Switch and Xbox One will have their turn on November 21 and 22, respectively.