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[hemmingjay]

ignore this
wrong thread edit

[Leatra]

I'm going to wait until the released version. I have really low expectations about this game anyway. It's not really a good game from what I have heard anyway.

They should have tried going with real-time combat. It's not like I'm not fond of turn-based combat but there are games where this works well (like, video games with D&D rules) and there are games where this doesn't work. And then there are turn-based games which shouldn't be turn-based in the first place AND were developed by companies who don't have any idea about turn-based combat.

So, yeah. My expectations are low.

[EuchreJack]

I'd suggest trying the demo if you're thinking of buying this, just to see if it will work on your computer.  The game dies when it tries to start tactical combat on my machine.  Too bad, it sort of looked interesting too.

[lordcooper]

Is this any good then?

[alexpoysky]

No. Hands down flat out terrible. I wish I were joking. I played it and it's a VERY shallow game, no enemy families, barely scratches the strategic surface of what could be done beyone banal clicks that send out single pre-made "hero" units to different buildings to pull off heists and what not without it even being depicted on screen.

Combat is pseudo wannabee xcom but over simplified to the point of it being broken, having guys with knives often dole out LOTS more damage than people with tommy guns.

So yeah, pass on this while we wait for a REAL strategic gangster sim, regretfully

[ragnar119]

  Looks like I will not be geting this game.  Anyone has anything positive to say about the game, what it did good?

[lordcooper]

That's a pity, I've been wanting a decent gangster sim for an awfully long time.

[hemmingjay]

It's not a gem, but I disagree with Alex. Perhaps we just had different expectations from it. It's definitely not a gangster sim. It's a lot like Tropico than Gangsters. It's like a city builder/lite biz sim/light tactical combat game. I also think the combat is much more like Jagged Alliance BIA than XCOM. It is simple, but has a lot of strategy based upon how you used your different units/weapons.

It's a flawed game but not without some good things. It's a slow paced game though, so don't expect a lot of crazy action. Remember Tropico where you had to wait for enough money or goods to build up before advancing? Just like that.

I won't tell anyone to buy it, especially at the current price, but I will say if your expectations are tempered and you get it for a good price you will enjoy it for a bit. It's certainly better than the likes of A Game of Dwarves.

[Leatra]

I wouldn't even call it a Mafia game. You can have a maximum of 5 people in your crew. They have classes, like enforcer and hitman but if you were expecting things like ranks like in a real Mafia family, that's not going to happen. Everybody just levels up.

It seems fun at first but it just keeps repeating itself. There are no Mafia wars since you are the only family in the game. The cops are the only problem but they automatically accept bribes anyway. In combat, you can just punch tommy gun-wielding gangsters to death. Combat feels like a forced aspect of the game. Every building has 2 or 3 things to do in it and you don't even see what's going on inside. Most outcomes are similar, like getting booze from a smuggler or stealing booze from a refinery. There are 3 resources (beer, liquor, weapons) to steal, produce, buy, and sell to make money. Your reputation only helps with prices. That's pretty much it.

[Biowraith]

I found the story campaign part of the game pretty enjoyable - well presented, the objectives gave it a bit of momentum, and I liked the turn based combat. There's definitely room for improvement in a number of areas, but all in all I thought it was pretty good.

However, once completed I felt zero inclination to play through it again.  So that leaves Multiplayer and Sandbox mode for replayability.

Multiplayer was actually fairly fun, but you only have 2 vs maps and 2 co-op maps, so it gets old fairly fast.  And the lack of in-game chat is a real problem when trying to play co-op.

Sandbox, eh, I just don't think the game works for sandbox at all.  There's nothing to compete against, the world barely reacts to you, and it never changes of its own volition.  So it doesn't take too long until you've bought out all the independent businesses, raided everything you can't buy out, and well, then there's just nothing left to do - no further expansion, no new challenges arising.  It doesn't have the sort of living world that some sandbox games have where the world's constantly changing and other agents are acting in it with emergent stories etc; it's just you and minor characterless NPCs who only ever do anything in direct reaction to you, and those reactions are very limited.  It also doesn't really have the visual aspect of e.g. a city builder game where you can see your city/empire/whatever building up and expanding.  And finally it has a really low ceiling on exactly how much you can expand before you've filled the map and cleared everything of interest (the small maps don't help there, but the way income tends to snowball I don't think larger maps would really help).

Overall I consider it a decent, but also disappointing game.  I'd say it's worth buying for the campaign, but only at a fair discount (30-50%).  And definitely not something to go into with strong expectations/desires for an update of existing gangster games (which I get the impression is a big part of many people's extreme hostility towards the game). 

There's a demo for those unsure though, and it's fairly representative of the rest of the game (perhaps a little too much, in that besides new gang members there's not an awful lot to unlock in the full game that you can't also get in the demo).

[lordcooper]

Tried this over a mate's house and I want my thirty minutes back please.  It's just utterly terrible in pretty much every way.  Farmville in a suit.

[Neonivek]

Tried this over a mate's house and I want my thirty minutes back please.  It's just utterly terrible in pretty much every way.  Farmville in a suit.

Honestly while I don't think it is anywhere near that bad... It isn't an irrational response.

Afterall Omerta is probably the most streamlined commercial RTS I ever seen to the point where it seems more like a turn based strategy game yet without any large strategic considerations.

Mind you I mean Streamlined in the negative connotation. It feels less like a game someone put a lot of time into because they thought it was a great game and more like a game a marketing department came up with.

Though I do like the combat at least. It is actually what, to me, stands out about this... to the extent where I wonder if the gang management wasn't tacted on. Still doesn't save the game as it also has its big problems as well.