Cartel Tycoon Preview

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Drugs are very bad for you, but things were different in the eighties, at least a little bit. Take the reins of your own empire as you are thrown immediately into the world and have to figure out the best way to make your money. In a top-down city-builder type title the people over at Moon Moose have come up with something pretty fun. Cartel Tycoon is a game that is about smuggling legal and illegal substances for money with the goal to become the leader of everything. Find out more in our preview below.

One thing that immediately hits me about this title is its story. You are a cartel leader and you have to hire lieutenants to make your group bigger and to deliver items from one place to another. There are different narratives that you can go through but for the early-access copy, they are limited. If you run out of funds your cartel leader tries to flee and is swiftly assassinated. It doesn’t end there though. No. You get to choose the next cartel leader from the lieutenants that you have. This motion gives you an option to replay the story with your original leader or to move forward. The game gives you money to start with your new leader and to continue with already built buildings.

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Be careful when you choose the violent path as you attack other gang territories. Once you start down that path forever will it dominate your destiny, at least concerning the authorities that will come down on your cartel. They will seize your buildings and blockade your city depending on how high your threat level is. Once you get a threat level high enough it won’t go back down and then it will even harder leading your group. Fighting gangs is the only way to grow the empire and it is a necessary evil. I had a lot of fun with this mechanic but the Army always wants to blockade my city.

Learning which crops to plant, or what chemicals to make is all a matter of researching the proper buildings and upgrading them. Early on you start with opium crops and then move your way up to other types of products that were made during the time period to meet the meta for this cartel builder. The higher the profit the better it is for you. There are other non-illegal things you can make and sell also like vegetables, consoles, and even televisions. Choose what to do very carefully and don’t overextend yourself.

Overall, it is a fun time playing out a scenario from around the time I was born about something that happened at that point in history. This is only inspired by the narco trade from the eighties and not based on any real events. That being said I would give this a try if you are interested in other tycoon type titles.

Note: Our copy was reviewed on PC with a code provided by PR.

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