Gangland – PC – Review

Gangland, the long
anticipated RTS from Whiptail Interactive, is finally seeing release.  The game
promised a huge, open-ended game universe, action-oriented RTS gameplay and the
ability to control many aspects of the Mafioso universe.  However, the game
falls short of the mark and many flaws prevent the game from living up to its
potential.  The game’s take on the “gangster game” subgenre is appreciated,
although there are better offerings (as well as better RTS games).

Gangland puts you in the
shoes of Mario Mangano, an immigrant from Sicily on a mission of revenge.  It
seems that three of your brothers murdered a fourth and then fled to Paradise
City to make their mark on the crime underworld.  You come to Paradise City to
work under your uncle Vincenzo, find and kill your murderous brothers and build
up your own criminal empire.

The first missions in the
game are pretty standard RTS fare.  In the first mission, you gain control of
Mario and another henchman as you go around and collect extortion money from
nearby businesses.  These missions are randomly eventful, as sometimes you can
complete these without a hitch and other times the thugs at the businesses will
open fire on you, forcing you to kill them off.  As the game progresses, you
gain the ability to hire more and more henchmen, thus giving you a source of
troops to complete the more intense missions in the game (as in when you have to
kill off other mob bosses and so forth).  The missions get harder and more
complex as the game moves along, often requiring you to use resources like cars
in order to complete them.  Eventually, as you begin to gain control of the mob
and its resources, the game will take more of a shift to the simulation aspects,
requiring you to run your mob as you would any business, by taking over other
businesses.  In another strange gameplay twist, you can get a wife and have
children (who can then go on to work in your business as they grow up).

In theory, Gangland’s blend
of RTS, action and simulation should make for a pretty compelling game.
However, there are too many issues to be overlooked.  The difficulty level is
far too unbalanced, thrusting you into mob boss fights and very tough missions a
bit too early in the game.  All of the different game elements aren’t very
balanced and things (like setting up your own mob family, taking on a wife,
etc.) become more of nuisance then a real help to your situation.

The combat system is also a
bit of a pain.  The firefights are fast and frantic, but can also be a little
frustrating since you often cannot move your henchmen to proper coverage to keep
them out of the line of fire fast enough.  The police AI is also pretty erratic,
sometimes attacking you for no reason and other times letting you be, making it
a very annoying element of the gun battles.  Another problem is the lack of a
save feature within the missions.  While a patch is in the works to address this
issue, as it stands at the moment, you can only save the game between missions.

The graphics in Gangland are
pretty impressive, and contain the level of detail and polish that the gameplay
really needed to shine.  Paradise City is a huge place, and the level of detail
in the city is excellent.  The characters are well animated, and although not
terribly detailed are still comparable to similar titles in the genre like
WarCraft III.

The sound in Gangland is a
bit of a hit and miss.  There is some limited voice acting, which is well done
for the most part.  The music however is a strange blend of rock and techno and
seems out of place in a mobster game.

Gangland had a lot going for
it.  However, the end product fell short of expectations and ended up having too
many glaring flaws to be a truly great game.  If you are looking for a great
mafia game on the PC, well, get Mafia.  However, if you’ve already played
through Mafia and would like to try an RTS/action/sim hybrid set in a huge mafia
universe, then Gangland is your safest (and only) bet.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 6.9
In theory, Gangland’s gameplay has a lot going for it by providing a deep mix of
action, strategy and simulation.  However, the steep difficulty, erratic AI
and overall lack of balance in the gameplay ultimately flaw the experience.

Graphics: 8.5
The graphics in Gangland are very impressive.  The city has a great amount
of detail, and the character models look good and are well animated.
Overall, a very solid presentation.

Sound: 7.0
The sound is a mixed bag.  Good voice acting and sound effects are
otherwise mired by strange, out-of-place techno/rock music.

Difficulty: Hard

Multiplayer: 6.9
The online element to the game is pretty fun.  You have the choice of
playing a conquest mode in which you build up your criminal empire (a very
arduous process), or you could simply shoot it out in a quick skirmish.
The main glaring issue with the multiplayer is some bugs that disrupt the flow
of the game, often times causing lock-ups. 

Concept: 7.5
The game has a great concept, incorporating many different gameplay elements.
However, most elements are lost in the execution.  

Overall: 6.9 
Concept-wise, Gangland had a lot going for it.  However, the game
ultimately falls prey to several different key flaws that prevent it from being
truly great.