Gangland Impressions

Organized crime is back in vogue, thanks to the success of television shows like The Sopranos and video games like Grand Theft Auto III and its sequel, Vice City. Gangland is a game that will try to capitalize on this trend--this upcoming mafia-based game lets you live the life of a wiseguy on the rise. Thanks to its arcadelike gameplay and Sims-like management, you can experience everything from drive-by shootings to grooming your heir to succeed you in the family business. We recently had a chance to play through an early version of this unusual game.

Rival mob families battle it out to provide "protection" services to high-end businesses, like this jewelry shop.

Set in the fictional Paradise City, Gangland tells the tale of four Sicilian brothers who came to America to make their fortune. Three of the brothers became crime bosses, while the fourth, your character, came to kill them. However, to accomplish that goal, you have to work your way up the mafia career ladder and become a crime boss in your own right. Thus, the early part of the game is about performing mob missions for your uncle, who's also a mafia boss. These jobs include extortion, gun running, intimidation, and, of course, good old-fashioned whacking of snitches and rival mobsters.

As a fledgling mob captain, you can hire a crew of your own, including muscle-bound bouncers, tommy gun-totting gunmen, and seductive femme fatale assassins. Both you and your crew gain experience and abilities over time, so the longer you have them around, the more useful and powerful they become. Eventually, you'll set up operations of your own, and you can recruit additional mobsters to guard your safe houses and provide protection services for your businesses.

The game is played from a top-down perspective, much like the original Grand Theft Auto games. The controls are very simple; just point where you want to go on the screen and click the right mouse button. Moving the cursor over non-player characters will indicate whether you can talk to them, flirt with them, or shoot them. You can crouch behind objects for cover, and there are different types of ammunition that you can choose from, but that's about as realistic as the combat mechanics get. The combat is heavily influenced by arcade games. Each character has a health bar that diminishes each time he or she takes damage. It's not unusual to have to shoot your enemies 10 or 12 times in a row before they go down.

When making an offer someone can't refuse, it's usually best to bring some muscle along.

There are usually different approaches you can take in a mission. The most obvious is the confrontational method, but that yields dangers. Noncombatants can easily get caught in the crossfire, and policemen will stumble on a gunfight and complicate matters. In that case, you'll have to run and find a safe house to hide in until things cool down. Or there's usually a stealthier option; you can sneak behind targets lurking in alleyways or stalk victims until they walk into a building and out of public view.