Gangland Hands-On

Your main character gains leadership skills as time passes. Gradually, you will achieve the rank of lieutenant and captain, which means it will be possible to take on more henchmen. The beauty part is that your ever-growing gang will someday become influential enough to remove the don from power, taking over his gangs and businesses. Actually, that will be one of your primary objectives. Being a don is a serious job, mind you. This is when you'll come to understand just how important it is to gain as much power and influence throughout the community as possible.

You must establish connections and businesses everywhere you get a chance. It's also wise to invest in relationships with international crime organizations, which will help you import a range of new high-quality weaponry. (Columbian contacts? - Ed.) Still, your main concern should be how to expand on your local businesses. Restaurants, speakeasies, and gun shops are your safest bet to achieve stable means of income on a regular basis.

Being a don also involves some responsibilities to your own family and relatives. The game allows you to get married when the time is right. Subsequently, you can have children and watch 'em grow up into competent and resourceful young gang leaders, helping you expand your organization.

It's quite obvious that a great effort was made to achieve an authentic ambiance of the 30's. Players will be able to witness genuine 30's-style architecture, observed in a wide range of highly detailed buildings. The developers have also polished the game rather well at this stage. The environment is 3D and the camera allows a 180-degree line of sight - of course, you may also zoom in and out wherever and whenever you wish. We've seen a lot of lighting effects, as well as decent-looking shadows.

Judging from our hands-on experience with Gangland, it is our belief that the game shows promise. We've only played two maps, however, so let's not jump the gun here. As far as any obvious drawbacks are concerned, the camera may require additional tuning, but otherwise everything works nicely at this point. This is certainly encouraging news for those of you looking to establish themselves as notorious, albeit virtual, mafia bosses.

The full version of the game is expected in stores on February 14, 2004.