Description:
Studio 3 follows up its 1997 city-making game Constructor with Mob Rule, an entertaining combination of real-time strategy tactics, city construction, and resource management. Following a storyline that takes place during the Prohibition era of the early 1930s, players build resource centers, such as cement, brick, or (bonus-producing) gadget factories, then branch out to income-producing businesses like restaurants, hotels, and casinos. City management starts out simply, but as Mob Rule progresses, players must assign duties to each unit ranging from operating an establishment to combating the nearest hostile gang; Mob Rule offers a complex and sometimes overwhelming micromanagement affair. Though Studio 3's description of Mob Rule as "mafia-simulation" sounds intense, the graphics and in-game video sequences lean more toward comedy than toward The Godfather trilogy. Colorful, cartoon-like characters complement the highly detailed, 3-D buildings and landscapes. Thankfully, Mob Rule's hectic nature is assisted by an intuitive interface and a collection of training missions that should start most players off on the right, and not the cement, foot. City simulation fanatics might opt for SimCity 3000, and real-time strategy groupies likely will head for StarCraft, but if you're searching for a complex mob-based blend of the two, take the Godfather's advice and begin your crime reign with Studio 3's Mob Rule. --Doug Radcliffe
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