Sometimes the title of a
thing can be better than the
thing, despite the
thing having the room to be fleshed out much more than its titular descriptor. And in some cases that's because the deeper side of the
thing is actually maybe kind of boring, or definitely in need of some serious
zhuzh to get it front and centre, as we discovered with
City of Gangsters.
In that it is that, in name only. The more apt description for what the game actually is, would be
City of Logistics Managers, as decreed by our very own Beer Baron in training,
David Wildgoose.
Here's a snippet from his in-depth review:
New recruits can join your gang as the workload increases, and it's a blessing to be able to automate some aspects of the business, such as assigning someone to perform a regular delivery. Even the rare moments of conflict, as you encounter rival operations and local street thugs, are resolved in stark monochrome text popups and icons marked "baseball bat". As your criminal empire expands, it only serves to accentuate how much of a managerial pen-pusher you really are, spending more of your time drawing up work schedules and studying the accounts than enjoying the ill-gotten fruits of your labours.
Maybe at heart I'm more of an accountant than I'd like to admit, but I found I didn't care that City of Gangsters had sold me a bill of goods. It didn't take me long to realise I was actually playing City of Logistics Managers and, happily trading in my tommy-gun and fedora for a set of spreadsheets and map tacks, I ultimately found I preferred it that way.
Click here for our full City of Gangsters review.