Gangsters: Organized Crime

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Gangsters: Organized Crime
Gangsters Organized Crime Cover.jpg
Developer(s) Hothouse Creations
Publisher(s) Eidos Interactive
Designer(s) Martin Capel
Composer(s) David Punshon & Richard Wells
Allister Brimble
Platform(s) Windows
Release
  • EU: December 4, 1998 [1]
  • NA: December 7, 1998 [2]
Genre(s) Strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Gangsters: Organized Crime, also known as Gangsters, is a strategy game by Eidos Interactive for Windows, first released in 1998, and re-released in 2012 on GOG.com. It is set in the fictional Chicago suburb of New Temperance during the era of Prohibition. A sequel, Gangsters 2: Vendetta , was released by Eidos in 2001.

Contents

Gameplay

Gangsters is played by alternating between turn-based and real-time gameplay. The player must first give orders to the gangsters (referred to as "hoods") under their control, which are then played out during the real-time aspect of the game (referred to as the working week).

To have any chance of winning the game, the player must begin expanding their territory by giving hoods orders to extort local businesses into paying protection money to the gang each week and making sure it's collected on time. The player must also begin recruiting more hoods to increase the strength of their gang by giving the appropriate orders. Additional hoods can be recruited from gyms, pool halls, cafés, the docks, and the unemployment office.

The hoods have many different attributes, such as intelligence, fists, and knives, which make them suitable for different missions. A hood with high knife skill and low fists skill may inadvertently kill someone he was merely sent to beat up, for instance. Hoods can be promoted to the rank of "lieutenant", which gives them the ability to lead a crew of hoods. It is also possible to hire a lawyer and an accountant. There are different automobiles and weapons that can be purchased so the gang can carry out orders more effectively.

To support the mob's activities, the player will need to handle administrative responsibilities to ensure a steady flow of cash. This can be done through the purchase of both legal and illegal businesses, maintaining protection rackets, raiding businesses, and bribing or employing the appropriate people to keep the gang out of trouble with the law. A lawyer can ensure that arrested hoods are bailed out or acquitted of criminal charges, while an accountant can launder the mob's finances, commit tax evasion without getting caught, and audit the player's businesses in case the hoods running them are stealing from the mob (in which case they must be dealt with promptly). The FBI can start investigating the player's businesses if they aren't run well enough to avoid attention, resulting in costly shutdowns and "heat" towards the player which can eventually result in their downfall.

The game has three victory conditions with varying degrees of difficulty, from easiest to hardest:

Development

Reception

The game received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website GameRankings. [3] Next Generation said, "While there are some interface problems, a few design holes, and a sketchy manual, Gangsters becomes exactly what fans of this genre look for – something that keeps them up late at night." [11]

The game was commercially successful. [15] [16] In the German market, it debuted in ninth place on Media Control's computer game sales rankings for the latter half of December 1998. [17] The game proceeded to secure positions 8 and 11 for the first and second halves of January, respectively. [18] Worldwide, the game sold 350,000 units by June 1999. This performance led Hothouse to begin production of a sequel, Gangsters 2 . [15] Sales of the game rose to 500,000 units by November. Hothouse attributed the majority of its sales to Germany, the UK and the U.S. [16]

Sequel

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References

  1. ↑ "Britain's Biggest Choice of Software". Evening Standard . December 4, 1998. p. 204. Retrieved June 11, 2023. Gangsters...Out Today...inc. vat £34.99
  2. ↑ GameSpot staff (December 7, 1998). "Gangsters Is Loose [date mislabeled as "April 28, 2000"]". GameSpot . Red Ventures. Archived from the original on June 12, 2000. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Gangsters for PC". GameRankings . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on May 30, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  4. ↑ Rausch, Allen (January 26, 1999). "Gangsters". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ Smith, Peter (January 12, 1999). "Gangsters". Computer Games Strategy Plus . Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on February 8, 2005.
  6. ↑ Ardai, Charles (April 1999). "Mob Mentality (Gangsters Review)" (PDF). Computer Gaming World . No. 177. Ziff Davis. pp. 214–15. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  7. ↑ Bergren, Paul (March 1999). "Gangsters". Game Informer . No. 71. FuncoLand. p. 52. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  8. ↑ Colin (March 1999). "Gangsters: Organized Crime Review". GameRevolution . CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  9. ↑ Dulin, Ron (January 5, 1999). "Gangsters Review [date mislabeled as "May 1, 2000"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on December 9, 2004. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  10. ↑ Bates, Jason (December 18, 1998). "Gangsters". IGN . Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  11. 1 2 "Gangsters". Next Generation . No. 51. Imagine Media. March 1999. p. 92. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  12. ↑ Shabado, Junior (March 1999). "Gangsters: Organized Crime". PC Accelerator . No. 7. Imagine Media. p. 95. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  13. ↑ Durham Jr., Joel (April 1999). "Gangsters: Organized Crime". PC Gamer . Vol. 6, no. 4. Imagine Media. p. 102. Archived from the original on December 21, 1999. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Gangsters". PC Zone . No. 71. Dennis Publishing. December 25, 1998. p. 111.
  15. 1 2 Asher, Mark (June 4, 1999). "Game Spin: Flykatana". Gamecenter. CNET. Archived from the original on December 10, 2000.
  16. 1 2 "Pump 'Em Full of Lead! Gangsters is Set for a Return". Hothouse Creations . ZOO Digital Group PLC. November 9, 1999. Archived from the original on June 9, 2002.
  17. ↑ PC Player staff (March 1999). "Spiele-Charts". PC Player (in German). DMV-Verlag. p. 50.
  18. ↑ "CD-ROM Spiele über DM 55,--; Stand 2. Hälfte Januar 1999". Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (in German). Archived from the original on February 9, 1999. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
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