LADYDRAGON.COM - GANSTERS

Eidos Interactive in collaboration with Hot House Productions gives us a strategy game that takes place in the time when the GANGSTERS were ruling the place. You're in the 1920's and you the chief of a criminal organization in the New Temperance city near Chicago. So, do you think your able to stand and take over your adversaries in this world fill with violence, prostitution, gambling and corruption?

Presented like an old movie, the introduction gives you the news from New Temperance. It's the 1920's, the gangsters are untouchable and they rule the place...

It's a real-time strategy game that is divides in working weeks. There is four gangs (you can play up to 4 players at a time over a network or modem) one is yours and you have to eliminate the three others. You want to be the boss, you want the money and you don't want to get in trouble with the law. To get there, you try to build an honest reputation by supporting good cause while still running illegitimate businesses.

There are a lot of options available. For those who like to have the control, they should be happy with it. You can determine the physical aspect of your character, decide if you want to play a short or a long game, etc. But you don't have only these game options; as a matter of fact you have many strategic tools inside the game.

You can make a territory check, give orders, look at your finance, do extortion and recruit gang members. These are just a few features that the game has..

The graphics are not exceptional, but maybe I was expecting too much because I was very interested in this game. The perspective view is cool, but there are no graphical innovations that can attract my curiosity.

The maneuverability is a little bit lower than average; you'll probably need a good adjustment period. If you really want to appreciate this game, you'll have to sit in front of your screen for a while. As a matter of fact, not everybody will be that patient.

The interface is intuitive with the icons, but it's so badly implement that the game becomes harder to use. Something interesting though, when you put the mouse pointer over an icon, a description bubble appear, this way, the interface is a little bit more complete and user-friendly. Something else very well done is the instruction booklet, it is very complete and helpful, and with that you can start your career in the organized crime.

Gangsters is a bit more complicated than the average, but with a theme like that, it is bound to attract a lot of player. It probably won't be a classic, but it will give you hours of entertainment.

Company
Eidos Software
www.eidos.com

Category
Strategy

NOTES

Interest : 91 %
Control : 70 %
Graphics : 75 %
Sound : 76 %
Originality : 92 %

TOTAL : 81 %

Requirements

Operating System:
Windows
95/98

Processor:
Pentium 166MHz or better

Memory:
32 MB of RAM

CD ROM:
4X or faster

Video:
2MB video card
DirectX 6.0 compatible

Hard Disk:
150MB of free space

Hard Ware:
mouse

Michel Blanchette