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Platform: PC Genre: Real-Time Strategy / RPG Publisher: Whiptail Interactive Developer: Media Mobsters ETA: March 2004
Related Links: Review: WarCraft III: Reign of Chaos (PC)
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Gangland
Playing the bad guy is almost as common as playing the good guy. With the success of the likes of Grand Theft Auto III, it only makes sense that this divide has been established. With a mix of the strategic Mobsters and the action-packed Mafia, Gangland is a real-time strategy / role-playing hybrid that puts you in the well-tailored pants of a little-known thug in a city alive and ready for the taking.
I got to play around with a preview version, but before I get to that here are the facts: Gangland
is a fast paced arcade-style action game that combines the RTS, RPG
& SIM genres into a whole new breed of gaming mayhem. Born into the
Sicilian mafia as one of four Italian brothers, Mario, Angelo, Romano or
Sonny, players must work their way up within the family and compete with
other gangsters and mafia factions from all over the world for supremacy
in Paradise City. Players will set up extortion rackets, bribe, steal,
kill, bootleg, seduce, put out contracts, make drive-by hits, blow up
buildings, get married and have children, build brothels and
speak-easies, ally with international connections and much more...
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Features: Gangland offers a unique blend of RTS/RPG/SIM. Experience a living city with 800+
characters per map. Interact with 500+ NPCs, each with their
own individual behavior per map. Make your own family from a choice of 20+
unique characters. Visit 26 different map locations in
Paradise City. Solve 26 conquests and challenges using a
vast array of weapons and gadgets. |
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An “Event Engine” ensures
unpredictability and makes sure no two games are the same. An integrated high score keeps track of the
good and the bad… and the ugly. On paper, it all seems like a good idea but
gamers might have a problem hurdling the camera.
It’s not an insurmountable hurdle, but learning its ins and
outs will take time. It can
be handled using only the mouse, but the only manageable way to keep
everything in sight is to use the keyboard and mouse in tandem.
The engine is 3D and it really makes the city seem alive
(complete with day/night cycles), but getting the camera in the best
angle for any given situation takes some practice (particularly during
combat).
The combat is real-time but it feels like
it might have been more accessible if it had been turn-based.
Once the bullets start flying it can be hard to keep things
together (mostly depending on the size of your attack group). Even out of combat it can a little overwhelming to keep track
of how your “family” is doing and the activities of the competing
crime organizations. What I liked about Gangland is that most of
the gangster clichés and standards are all accounted for.
Paying off the police chief, jumping into a car and doing a
drive-by, trading bullets with underworld hitmen – it’s pretty
complete. The wait will be short for Gangland –
it’s expected later this month. - Omni |
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