Video Game Vintage Title: Omerta – City Of Gangsters

Omerta – City Of Gangsters

Omerta � City of Gangsters is a simulation game with turn-based tactical game-play elements developed by Haemimont Games and published by Kalypso Media for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and the Xbox 360. The game was released in German-speaking countries on 31 January 2013. The international German download version for Windows was released through the Steam-service as well. The English version was released just a day after in the rest of Europe whereas the version for the US market was released on 12 February. A version for Mac OS X was published on 2 August 2013.

Omerta – City Of Gangsters Plot

The title covers the time of the 1920s - the Roaring Twenties - at the time of the Prohibition in the United States. The games story itself takes place in Atlantic City, Atlantic County where, due to the ban of any alcohol in this era, Mafia organizations were able to become powerful off the back of the illegal speakeasys.

In a time where criminal gangs rule the city and a handful of morally-questionable men were able to succeed through illegal gambling, high-strength spirits and shady machinations, the player's storyline takes place as he stands in this melting pot of illegality. The player's character is an immigrant who was born in a small village in Sicily and has just arrived in Atlantic City. He has to work his way up the ladder through the Mafia-like world. Working his way up from nothing, He must establish himself in the criminal underworld by buying and raiding businesses and attacking rivals, all the while simultaneously fulfilling his version of the American dream.

Omerta – City Of Gangsters Gameplay

In the beginning just small hole-and-corner dealings, with time the players character edges up his business in the hierarchy of criminality advancing highly enough to establish his own little business. The player can expand its business more and more by purchasing untenanted shops, buildings and structures to establish his own bar, brewery or distillery or even buy out an opposing speakeasy. More legal ways for generating income are buying apartments to obtain leasing. In the end it's intended to acquire warehouses to extend storage.

As the game progress the character can recruit his own companions and manifests thereby his own little gang and with this help conquer other territories of other gangster bosses tightening its own Mafia syndicate. Those characters provide specific role-playing elements as they handle, based on their individual characteristics, the different load-outs they can be equipped with. In turn-based confrontations with other combatants the player can expand his influence using his henchmen to push other godfathers bit by bit out of business to become the unchallenged patron of Atlantic City to reign supreme in the end.

In addition to both co-operative and competitive multiplayer game-play, it offers a sandbox mode to explore the game world, roam and expand freely on six different maps covering districts of Atlantic City to play an endless game.

Reception
Metacritic aggregated a score of 54 from 100 points for the Windows version.

PCGamer gave the PC-version a rating of 78 out of 100 points, praising the games mechanic as well as the AI while comparing its combat style elements just to X-COM or Jagged Alliance. The story felt behind describing it as too superficial and simple, just depth-less. The atmospheric music on the other hand is said to be a brilliant melange of Jazz of its time, Ragtime and Klezmer - and its missing credits such a shame.

�Not as tough or as deep as it could be, Omerta is still a destination well worth a visit.�

�Tim Stone, PCGamer.com

Hardly able to rate the game more than just 30 percent, was Metro GameCentral, they tested the PC-version as well. Although they were really thrilled in the beginning for a new kind of made-men-game since a decade, the turn-based combat system turned out to be just ungainly. Also stating that the soundtrack was indeed touching, the reviewers found the strategy graphics to be impressive � at least on first view. Finally "Omerta" is said to be just upsetting not just due to its promise done badly but the game on its own, since it is even in later stages just unsatisfying due to missed challenge altogether.

�You can see the basis of a good game here but Omerta gets almost everything wrong, from the shallow game-play to the bland, characterless gangster atmosphere.�

�Roger Hargreaves, GameCentral|Metro.co.uk

The people of Hooked Gamer were totally hit by the obvious potential, as they gave the PC-version a rating of 8.4 out of 10. Describing it as �different� and the turn-based combats as short but satisfying, the games campaign offers some minor new game play elements. Judging the graphics at best overdrawn, the rivals aren't challenging even in the end. As a summary, it plays just too easy after the first missions. The game leaves the player just too fast alone, begging for more.

�What struck me most was the potential. Omerta is a good game but if it succeeds, it has the potential to be a great game. �

�Sergio Brinkhuis, Hooked Gamers