British company Digital Auroch has released the video game "Drug War" (Narco Guerra in spanish), which emulates the Mexican government's fight against drug trafficking and drug cartels.

Digital Auroch is known for developing strategy games based on real life conflicts. A few months ago the company released a title which focuses on the conflict in Syria, called "Endgame: Syria".

Drug War is the first game to be developed that focuses primarily on the Mexican drug war. Other vidoegames in the past have made mention of the problem, but Drug War tackles the issue in greater detail. Drug War is a complex strategy game in which the user, playing as the Mexican government, must consider and evaluate many factors while battling the drug cartels.

The game developers researched the economic factors, the national and international policy, as well as the conflicts which stem from the drug war. Thomas Rawlings, the game's director, defended the launch by saying that "it is always better to talk about the issue and what is happening, whatever the medium we use, than to play blind and pretend nothing is happening", (quoted on the Regio website in an interview with Rawlings).

Rawlings stressed the importance of games as a means of understanding the world, and talked about how game developers create these titles in the same way that musicians compose songs or documentary filmmakers make important and relevant films. "The games are a part of the way we understand the world in which we live and I'm really proud of the work we've done because it involves many people who are expanding the conversation at the same time," added El Regio.

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During gameplay, the user plays the part of the Mexican government and must confront the drug cartels in an all-out military and strategic war on all fronts.

The title places the player in complex situations where local political corruption and the actions of the police cause changes in the flow, distribution and market prices of drugs. The game rewards those that avoid simplistic strategies in confrontational attacks on the cartels or those that focus solely on the problem of consumption; the user must adopt an intelligent approach to fighting the drug war.

Unlike "Endgame: Syria" which was rejected by Apple in their digital stores and can not be purchased on this platform, "Drug War" is now available for iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Android, PC and Mac for $0.99, and will soon be availble on Google Play as well, according to further information provided by the Regio website.

(Source)