The name John Romero may not mean much to the younger players, but it is quite different for the old guys, who inevitably remember the heyday of the man with the silky hair when he worked at id Software. But after Doom and Quake, nothing was ever the same: failure of Daikatana, rumor of death, more or less ephemeral participations in too many studios, Kickstarter project canceled, we go and the best. Today, things seem to have stabilized and the former video game star is focusing on his own development structure, Romero Games, which today offers us the intriguing Empire of Sin.
The era of fast-FPS definitely seems to be a thing of the past for John Romero, as Empire of Sin’s gameplay leans towards management and tactics. Any new part begins with the choice of the boss that you want to play, knowing that there are about fifteen of them. If some are totally fictitious, others on the other hand come from real criminal personalities such as Alphonse Capone, Joseph Saltis or even Sai Wing Mock. These characters are all very different from each other, in terms of age, gender, nationality, gameplay bonuses, and most importantly, special ability. It is indeed the latter which should guide your choice, since it will have a significant influence on the course of the fights. Thus, Mabel Riley has a shot that ricochets off several targets, Elvira Duarte can bewitch an enemy guard so that he turns against his colleagues, Al Capone shoots bursts of bullets that block enemies, Angelo Genna throws knives and Sai Wing Mock uses poison bombs. These are just a few examples.
Once your favorite boss is selected, a small cutscene based on a sequence of multiple-choice dialogues is triggered. Because under its air of sandbox, Empire of Sin actually offers a significant dose of scriptwriting. The dialogue phases concern not only the boss but also the gangsters he recruits. Each character has a specific story, as well as specific traits that provide various bonuses and penalties. Regularly, one of our lieutenants offers us a small mission, which generally consists of eliminating one of his former comrades. Depending on whether we kill the unfortunate or spare him, whether we let his enemy speak to him or whether we entrust the discussion to the boss, the outcome may vary completely, ranging from a gain of confidence on the part of our mercenary until abandonment of post on his part. In addition, notions of intimidation, authority and persuasion allow different approaches during the dialogue phases. These small scripted missions effectively reinforce the atmosphere of the game, which smacks of the prohibition of the 1920s and the mafia activities that go with it.
MAFIA: XCOM EDITION
And who says mafia, says fighting! Those of Empire of Sin take place on a turn-based basis and more or less take up the principle of XCOM. Thus, each member of our team has two action points, which he can spend on movements, shots, special attacks or use of objects. It is also possible, and even strongly recommended, to place our gangsters behind cover elements. As tradition has it, a full or half full shield represents the effectiveness in protecting every place where it is possible to stand. It is then up to the player to make the best use of all the elements at his disposal in order to chain shots with the greatest percentage of chances of hitting. When a fight takes place in an establishment and not on the street, victory offers one hell of an additional opportunity. The choice is then given to us between demolishing the place, looting it or taking control of it. This last option is obviously the best for expanding our empire. You can then choose to create a hideout, a brewery, a sweatshop, a brothel, a casino or a hotel. Each type of establishment naturally has its advantages and disadvantages. Gangsters, for example, can get STDs if they stay too long in a brothel, while in the casino, one too lucky customer can mean temporary loss of money. The sinews of war are still alcohol, absolutely necessary to keep underground bars running. We then begin to get into the entire management aspect of the game, which asks us for example to produce and serve alcohol of different qualities depending on the location and neighborhood. It is also up to us to recruit more and more mercenaries, manage their inventory, choose their talents as they progress, or even juggle their various friendships and enmities. Bribing the police is also on the menu, while a whole pan of diplomacy makes it possible to manage relations between the different gangs (non-aggression or protection pacts, commercial agreement, payment of tributes, etc.).
THE EMPIRE EMPIRE
Naturally, any alliance is destined to be betrayed if one wishes to reign supreme over the whole city. Alas, the players also have something to feel betrayed. If Empire of Sin offers us game mechanics that hold the road perfectly, very correct graphics and a very pleasant atmosphere, it suffers on the other hand from an imperfect finish. The interface for example would have deserved more attention. It is not always clear or practical. In addition, the translation leaves much to be desired. Some sentences are translated too literally, and even clumsily, without considering the overall context. It also happens that we go from informal to formal in the same dialogue. Or that an English term slips into the middle of a French sentence (“select Begin Sitdown” in the tutorial for example). Or that typos have survived the proofreading step (“appoint an advisor”). Even more annoying, several menu windows display the following message: “########”. Admit that in these conditions, it is very difficult to know whether to click on confirm or cancel …
In addition, the game collects various and varied bugs, which will hardly surprise the regulars of Paradox games. For example, a mission that asked us to save a character was never validated once his opponents were eliminated, while another encouraged us to find such and such a person in such and such a place… when they were not there. We have also witnessed several improbable behaviors on the part of the NPCs, whether in terms of collisions with the scenery, fanciful aiming or various blockages. The game is not as broken as the remake of XIII (it is difficult to pass this one …), but there is still something to gripe about! We may also regret not having to deal with an open or semi-open world, the game imposing on us a (small but systematic) loading time when we go from one district to another or when we return to the interior of a building. But make no mistake, it is indeed the finishing concerns that handicap Empire of Sin the most. Without them, the final mark would have deserved two or three more points.
