If there were time machines, everyone knows when to visit them. While some like the medieval knights or classical Greece more, others party more and are more into the Guateques of the 80s. Personally, I’ve always liked the exciting 1920s, when the “gangsters” were almost as well known as the famous ones. I don’t know if I would have the guts to take on characters like Bugsy Siegel or Bonny and Clyde, so I’m happy to do so in the latest iteration of Romero Games, the Empire of Sin strategy title.
The main goal of Empire of Sin is to build a fruitful criminal organization in Chicago in the 1920s by either doing business with other mobs or wiping them off the map, all along with a somewhat limited narrative. You can’t talk about the 1920s in the U.S. without mentioning the ban. So building this empire is not going to be an easy task, so you must always keep your business as discreet as possible as most of them are He deals with alcohol for profit. You can start other businesses like casinos or brothels as well, but alcohol is hands down one of the best tools for cleaning people’s pockets. Therefore it has to be drawn.
Since Empire of Sin is a job that requires you to build your own organization, the game mechanics mix both strategy and management. The title is basically divided into two parts: the first refers to the management, which covers the creation and running of your criminal empire, while the second is based on struggles and strategies. You could say we are facing a mixture of Civilization and XCOM.
In terms of the administrative area, you need to acquire new real estate and hire staff and then move up to both levels. For example, you can buy a brewery or speakeasy and start selling alcohol while the improvements mean you have more storage space, higher quality alcohol, better safety, or a friendlier environment. All of this increases the interest of the population in going to your premises and making them safer when it comes to withstanding attacks from other mafias.
On the flip side, in terms of staffing, you can spend your money hiring thugs to fight for your boss. You can just use their services (which isn’t cheap at all) or stop by the black market to equip them with weapons, supplies, and body armor that, depending on the time period, won’t be much more than a regular vest. .
Combat is what you’d expect from a title that incorporates the XCOM-style strategic combat system. Each character has two turns (skill points) per turn, and attacks usually consume one of those turns. However, you need to consider many percentages if the move is successful, such as: For example, the range at which the attack is carried out, the precision of the weapon you use, or if the enemy is covered. The fact is, we don’t face a combat system in which you direct one movement and forget about the rest. Yes, there are times when you target a rival in the head and still get the shot through your head butt; something very stressful, I assure you.
The playable characters are not very different from each other. At the start of the game you have the option of choosing your mob boss from a selection of familiar faces. For example there’s Al Capone or Dean O’Bannion, and if you’re like me and love to watch series and world-related things, it won’t take long to pick the boss as it is probably your favorite. Each mob boss has unique skills that set them apart from the rest, and are often related to the style of fighting and the crimes they commit.
For example, Angelo Genna can use his Fan of Knives skill in combat to throw a hail of knives at enemies. Speakeasy upgrades are cheaper for him too, and every brewery he buys already has a guard. additional security. Ultimately, these skills are nothing more than small details as you cannot choose Yes or Yes for any character on any character unless you are going to enjoy the game in the highest difficulty available. In relation to the other characters, they are thugs that are part of your criminal organization, and aside from being used in combat, they are just plain AI characters.
The design of the Chicago of the 20s is very interesting as it is divided into a few neighborhoods that you move between by traveling quickly. Already in one neighborhood you can control your character while walking down the street (or a building) from an isometric view or playing directly from the world map. There is none better than the other, although it is true that when you play street level, you get more immersed in the title as you can feel the hustle and bustle of a city full of people and opposing mafias. Think of this neighborhood system as if it were the civilization map, but to get around you need to travel fast instead of building ships and traveling in them.
After enjoying it for a while, I can assure you that there are many very good things. The world is fascinating and the way the bosses of the different mafias interact will immerse you in the title. While the narrative part isn’t its forte, it does allow you to make your own choices, thus providing you with a personalized experience. Also, I have to say that I loved the simulation in general. I’ve had a great time building my empire, managing my finances, and investing wisely, but that doesn’t mean I have a few issues, some of which are more serious than others.
The first is the fight that for those who do not live by and for XCOM or are crazy about strategy, will end up bothering them very much. When you see that you have a 76% chance of getting a shot, you would be calm when it comes to pulling the trigger, right? Well, in the Empire of Sin, that number is over 13% because you are sure to fail. The biggest problem, however, is mistakes. I have come across a few that disrupt the overall gaming experience such as: B. infinite loading times, freezing, freezing of the screen or simply glitches that don’t let you advance in a certain part of the story. The truth is that it’s something very annoying because sometimes I had to reload previous games onto the last one to keep moving forward. I know an update will be released on launch day that will fix some, many, many of these bugs, but I can’t turn a blind eye when there are so many I’ve come across.
I generally love the title. I think it has great potential and the work of Romero Games has made me impatient to see where it goes and what the studio has in store for us in the future. However, mistakes lead to you pulling your hair out. I can only point out that. So I don’t know if to recommend the startup game as I know it has some bugs that can prevent it from even advancing in the story. However, if you are looking for a novel strategy experience, Empire of Sin has great potential. Remember what I mentioned.