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Gangsters 2

Gangsters 2

List Price: $19.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: revised review
Review: I got this game the first day it came out, and I have been playing everyday ever since. Well it came out only like 3 weeks ago! But I'm sure glad it's summer, therefore I can play this game till 2 AM and not wake up late for school. So as you can tell I find this game quite addicting and I've liked it very much since gangsters 1. I mean you can't disagree that just the idea of being able to control organized crime is wonderful and of course we can do it however vicious we like and do no harm whatsoever to society. I'm sure these kinds of games will totally revolutionize PC Game play and there might even be a new category for games called "organizing crime". There's a new game called Mafia PC, which will be coming out NEXT MONTH! We will see a lot more to come and I anticipate it. However there's some things I want to share as a reviewer.

Let's begin with the negative aspect of the game first. Basically I have to say I am not satisfied with the graphics and maps. There are minor improvements but the 3D graphics of the town are the same, you know sims style, gangsters 1, so that was quite dissapointing for me. The other part of the maps that I dislike is that the 2nd map which is 2D is actually the one you will be stuck playing with most of the time. I am serious about this, even says so in the tutorial. Imagine controling little green dots for people, little yellow blocks for cars and elminating other colour dots for enemies. Not too exciting. Even Grand Theft Auto or Commandos bird eye view style of map is better. However Gangsters 2 is not a puzzling as commandos and I believe one can get through all 20 levels of gangsters 2 without cheating. I am on level 15 already.

Ok, now what you want to know or maybe know already, the positive aspect. First I want to say the story is well written, you are a character called Joey Banes, who is trying to avenge his fathers death. Besides yourself there are tons of other characters you can hire who have different abilities, for example bombing, spying, assasination, driving, robbery, etc. Each player also have attribute points for example 1 being lowest, 5 being highest and you can add some attribute points after each level. This makes your favorite characters stronger and more invincible. The instruction manual is thin but very helpful. There is also a tutorial but I don't think a person who has played gangsters 1 would need it. This game is fairly easy to control. What I find most interesting about this game is that in order to beat a level, one cannot just go on a rampage , you must also have a strategy, a tactic. There are actually a lot I can say about this game but this is getting long so to the conclusion .....

I would like to give this game a 3.5 or even a 4 after balancing the positive and negative aspectbut I gave it a 3 because I believe, after beating a all 20 levels, a player would be satisfied with what they paid for the game but there is no certainty they would play it over again. So if you want to buy one I think the best to do is buy a used one or buy a new one while it's hot and sell it when your done. If this is not helpful enough, I believe the demo just came out, so go download it!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: What a letdown.
Review: I had high hopes for this one, because despite the original Gangsters' tedious gameplay, I really enjoyed its detail and depth. As far as strategy and gameplay though, Gangsters 2 is nothing like the original. Sure its graphics are an improvement but its gameplay, for the most part, is shallow, repetitive and dull. I imagine the boys at Hothouse Creations spent a lot of time and effort designing Gangsters 2 but I just can't fathom why they would think this game would be appealing. Each mission seems to be a repeat of the previous and ah blah, blah, blah...What's the point? This game blows! It hasn't been out two weeks and it is already marked down at Best Buy. My suggestion? Buy a book!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Ganster2
Review: I have been bitterly disappointed with this product. The website works somewhat if you can get on. The game does not work well you have to get many downloads and customer support if you can get them does not respond well. How could they come up with a sorry version of this game based on Gangsters? It never seems to work in the multi player mode either. Even when you have the same version. My friends also don't like this version. They have the same problems. All I can figure out is when it works fine, but when it doesn't watch it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Was the best and going to be the best!!
Review: I have been to every fan site website of this game and read every preview/review of this game and saw every screenshot of this game!

It's going to be a brilliant game!

Any Mafia fan will like this game, really! This is the closest that you can get to organized crime!!

GO FOR IT!!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A big let down
Review: I have purchased dozens of games and have never written a review for any of them. But Gangsters 2 was such a disappointment that I felt I had to inform and protect those who would buy this game.

The original Gangsters had some serious flaws but all-in-all it was a good game. The open-ended game play enabled you to play over and over and still have fun and learn new tricks. Gangsters 2 got rid of all this. Now there is no open-ended gameplay, it's all mission based.

The best way to describe this game is to liken it to Commandos. Similar feel, gameplay qualities, graphics and interface. But unlike Commandos Gangsters 2 doesn't do anything new.

I don't know what to say except that I felt betrayed. They've changed so much in the way of gameplay that it doesn't even feel, let alone look, like the original.

To be fair, I didn't even finish the game before I unistalled and threw it in the closet. I think it was mission #7 when I was supposed to resuce the mayor's brother who had been kidnapped by a rival gang that I realized that I was not having fun and that I had just wasted forty bucks on I game I bought a long time ago. You want this game in various forms? Go buy Commandos Behind Enemy Lines, or Fate of the Dragon, or Mob Rule, or...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Godfather of all mobster sims!!
Review: I just bought this game and have been playing it everyday since. This a story of a reluctante mobster who has to go into the bussiness and claim revenge for his dad's death in the proabition era(1920's-30's). This game lets you do everything in mobster life. You have to bulid up your "family" from the ground up. You have to complete missions, set up illegal bussienesses, recurit muscle, and carry out hits, and you have to make money to keep your "family" equipt. There is both night and day gameplay. In th e large campign mode this is all possibal. In game advise from your uncle will be vital and neccessary. This is a must have for your PC. Buy this game!

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: ...
Review: I Loved the first one but some how they found a way to butcher it. Weak story line and BAD gameplay are 2 of the games many problems. ...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Review of Gangsters
Review: I think that Gangsters 2 is a extremely brillant game and has good graphics and I am hoping that it will have some more sequels and if you want a title then I will give you.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Terrible, terrible game!
Review: I've never played the original Gangsters but I've heard enough horror stories to know what was wrong with it, but despite all the flaws people complained of everyone still seemed to enjoy the original. So when I saw the sequel on the store shelf I thought to myself that it would probably have all those flaws improved upon while still keeping it's great strategy elements. So I bought the game hoping to be able to live out my favorite scenes from the Godfather. At first the game was amusing, but after those quick 10 minutes, the game was quickly repackaged and returned!

First off, the strategy elements of the game are completely gone! Everyone used to complain about the micro-management in the first, so I guess the solution was to completely erase all management. You're basically told what business to buy and it just generates money.

The graphics are a bit cartoonish, but fitting. Although the graphics aren't realistic or polygonal they match the theme of the game and give it the appropriate feel. Unfortunately, that's all this game has! Good looks, good packaging, no substance!

The gameplay is terrible! You'll pull your hair out as you order your goons to drive two blocks away and watch him circle around the whole neighborhood before finally going to his destination... and hopefully he's not there to do a drive-by! The drive-by shootings in this game are just ridiculous. You'll quickly despise watching your thugs drive past, shoot, make a U-turn, drive back, shoot more, make another U-turn, shoot (you get the point). That doesn't seem like a very effective drive-by to me. Also, the people standing on the side walk never EVER take cover, they just stand there shooting at the car until they are FINALLY gunned down. What kind of dumb gangsters are these anyway? The AI definately needs improving! Also, don't get your car ruined. If you do, then you have the option of stealing your enemies car, but only HIS car. What sense does this make? My thugs have no problem with gunning down police officers but they refuse to steal an innocent person's car. I had to run 4 blocks (past rows and rows of perfectly good parked cars) to my enemies hideout to steal his vehicle. But basically what I am saying is that the AI in the game is pretty stupid.

Another thing that ruins the gameplay is the tedious and repetative missions. The game is basically open this shop, do a hit on this guy, buy that building, place guards here, do a hit on that guy... over and over and over again. And although carrying out a "hit" should normally be enjoyable, as you can tell from my paragraph above I found killing people to be quite the chore.

So if all of the micro-management is now non-existant and all of the action is absolutely horrendous and silly, what does this game have to offer? Simply put... boredom. The game is just too easy, too simple, and too shallow. Perhaps for the third game they should eliminate the tedious missions and make it more open-ended. Just allow you to hire thugs and build your empire. Also, they need to work on that AI a little. Why do these guys get lost in a neighborhood that's 5 blocks wide? And who ever heard of circling back around, better yet, making a U-turn while doing a drive-by? You're supposed to shoot and then high tail it outta there! Basically, it could have been a good game had they taken the time out to actually add some gameplay to it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Better than the original, simpler yet highly addictive.
Review: Over two years have passed since the original Gangsters. While the original clearly had carved out a new niche genre, it was mired in complexity and micromanagement. Not so with Gangsters 2.

Hot House and Eidos listened to the gamers feedback and implemented many features to make Gangsters 2 much more accessible to players. The first thing you will notice is a much more intuitive interface. While I am still a little hesitant to give the interface a glowing review (It's a bit tricky to read some windows and decipher information at the building level), it is much more simpler than the original. And with the lack of micromanagement of each individual gangster (like the original), you control the main character, Joey Bane, and his lieutenants. All other hired muscle is controlled by you immediate family or built in AI scripts which are pretty good.

Upon loading the game, you will notice that Gangsters 2 revolves around the story of Joey Bane, (you). It seems your father (a big time mobster) was killed by the opposing family moving into the city. It is your job, over individual episodes, to move back into your home town, avenge your fathers death, and assume the role of mob leader. You start small, just taking over a neighborhood, but as he story progresses and you move on to episodes, you eventually take over the city, then neighboring cities, then eventually cross state lines setting up your empire.

Cut scenes between each episode move the story along in a concise fashion, and a pre-episode briefing is really good in defining your primary and secondary objectives. There is good feedback (could always be better) during the game from a 'family' advisor and reading the local newspaper. The Newspaper all allows you to hire 'specialists' that can carry on special assignments for you, lists obituaries, and clues you into other subtle hints and game progress.

The graphics are pretty good, but not top notch. A new addition to the game is being able to play at night, where street lamps light the streets and shading effects are more visible. Also there are seasons, so later in the game you'll notice the snow falling.

Game control is better than the original but is still tricky. Good thing there is a pause button (the game is real time) to re-issue orders. I found I made a few errors in assigning tasks to my gangsters only because selecting them is very sensitive. Game A.I. is also good, but could be better. When in trouble I have selected my gangsters to flee, only for them to sit around idle for a few seconds and get shot at before they run. And they seem to sometime run the wrong way! Also navigating your cars can be a bit frustrating. Seems that sometimes that computer chooses the longest path to get somewhere via car, when your car could easily take a turn down another street and get to a destination in half the time.

The manual is nice, explains pretty thoroughly what you can and can not do, and even walks you through the 1st two episodes. The only complaint about the manual is a few screenshots used for explanation are blurry.

Gangsters 2 offers multiplayer support!! Now that's awesome. You can have up to 4 Godfathers trying to compete over a city. However, it would have been much better if there was a random map generator for not only multi, but single players as well. After you complete the game in 16 episodes, you just restart it again at a higher difficulty level, but it's the same cities and same objectives.

As you move on from episode to episode, you take your hired hands with you, and dole out experience points to them in different categories based on performance: combat, stealth, or special skill (diplomat, distiller, bomber, hit man, driver, etc..)

When you take over buildings in the city, either by buying them, by force, etc., you must stay in control. For the building generate you money, and if you set up an illegal business (speakeasy, card den, brothels, brewery, distiller, gun smith, etc..) you rake in more money to expand your empire. Use money to buy better guns, recruit muscle, buy better armored cars, and buy influence over the police, the judge, the DA, etc...Bribery is big, however, the FBI are incorruptible, but every other figure in the game is. I love the drive by shootings!!! I often eliminate my opponent by taking out enemy gangs by Tommy and shotguns via a drive by, hop out of the car, and bust up their business (either by bombing, or killing those inside massacre style) and speed off before the police arrive. This disrupts the cash flow for your opponent, and even better if you can capture the business yourself and set up shop. You generate more money while increasing your influence in town! But be careful, you better hire guards for you new place, because your opponent doesn't like you taking over and will soon dispatch his own thugs to reclaim lost businesses.

One of your gang members in jail? No problem! Maybe you just need to put the judge or the DA on your payroll. Or maybe a breakout is more your style.

I'm just touching the base of things you can do. There are many illegal business to set up, cars to steal, people to kidnap, patrol your area, buy of the mayor, etc....

All in all, a very worthy sequel and worth the money.


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