Producer: CCS
Memory Required: 48K
Recommended Retail Price: £6.00
Language: BASIC
Author: P Boulton

As their name suggests, Cases Computer Simulations (CCS) specialise in simulation and strategy games. They had two hits with Dallas and Corn Cropper during 1983, and are now following up with a number of original ideas based around the notion of turning some money into lots of money. Gangsters! is set in the heyday of Al Capone, but the Windy City is now called Spectral City.

After a lively title page of splattered gunshots you are shown a grid of the city with the various joints of four rival gangs marked on it. The gangs, identified by the colours blue, red, magenta and green, each have a selection of Speakeasies, Distilleries, Casinos and Brothels. They also have gangsters in varying numbers, and the gang as a whole has a morale value which dips or rises, as the gang's fortunes go up and down.

After selecting a skill level (which dictates how much money you will be given at the start), you're shown the Gang Strengths Summary. This tells you how many joints they own and how much money they have banked. Depending on the level of play chosen, your money appears at the bottom. You may then buy up casinos, distilleries etc., followed by the number of gangsters you want and a personal protection factor to help prevent anyone bumping you off. It's worth setting this quite high!

Now the game really starts, following the customary pattern of strategy games, where you are offered a stream of unenviable decisions; there's The Thorny Question of Bribes, which lets you keep the risk of arrest to a minimum, or have a go at shopping a rival gang member; there's Raid Rivals assets in which you select the gang to be raided and then use the cursor keys on the map to select the gang to be raided and their particular joint, and the number of gangsters you are going to take. The report shows the percentage of damage done and the cost of the repairs to the rival gang. Of course if you do raid someone, they're as likely to raid back and cost you. You can also opt to murder a gang leader, in which case a menu of five killers and their rate for the job appear (avoid Bugsy Spitoone - he's expensive and incompetent!) Now and again the law has a goat you by arresting one of the gang. You can have a go at bribing the Attorney or the Jury if you have the money left.

In the end it's a question of taking over the other gangs by killing off their leaders, or one of them taking you out. Income is earned monthly from your various operations.

COMMENTS

Keyboard play: slow
Use of colour: good
Graphics: slow to build up but very clear
Sound: useful
Skill levels: 9

Gangsters! makes a nice change from lasering aliens, and it's the sort of game several people can join in. I had a go at shopping all my rival gang bosses but the trial results were all Innocent! The inlay suggests you should be ruthless - so perhaps it's no different from zapping aliens after all.

There seems to be more detail in this game than in their previous Dallas. The responses are quite fast too, although I can't help thinking that some machine code would speed up the city map. Interesting to play.

The Moral Majority are hardly likely to approve of this game what with teaching people how to run brothels and what else! Having said that, it is a pretty good family game, though I can't see these sort of strategies as very addictive.

Producer: CCS, 48K
£6.00 (1)
Author: P Boulton

The object of this amusing game is to become top dog of Spectral City. You're gang leader up against 4 other rival gangs trying to own the city through operating speakeasies, distilleries, casinos and brothels. This can be done by buying up various joints, raiding those of your rivals, bribing the appropriate authorities, assassinating your rival gang leaders and generally carrying on like an utter rotter. The success of your gang will rely heavily on their numbers, equipment and morale, all of which must be carefully regulated. The game follows the traditional strategy formula of option menus and results. The Moral Majority are unlikely to approve! Good value. Overall CRASH rating 59%. Offers 9 skill levels. BASIC.

Producer: CCS, 48K
£6.00 (1)
Author: P Boulton

The object of this amusing game is to become top dog of Spectral City. You're gang leader up against 4 other rival gangs trying to own the city through operating speakeasies, distilleries, casinos and brothels. This can be done by buying up various joints, raiding those of your rivals, bribing the appropriate authorities, assassinating your rival gang leaders and generally carrying on like an utter rotter. The success of your gang will rely heavily on their numbers, equipment and morale, all of which must be carefully regulated. The game follows the traditional strategy formula of option menus and results. The Moral Majority are unlikely to approve! Good value. Overall CRASH rating 59%. Offers 9 skill levels. BASIC

TAKE-OVER STRATEGY FOR CITY

Another recent offering from CCS is Gangsters, a strategy game for the 48K Spectrum. As the leader of a gang in the U.S. In the prohibition era, your objective is to take over a city from other gang leaders. You start with a certain amount of money and a certain number of gangsters, and can invest in assets such as speakeasies, distilleries and casinos.

You can also use your funds for your personal protection and the bribery of city officials and must cope as best you can with unforeseen events, such as raids from rival gangs or being arrested.

It is even possible to go into murder mode and hire a killer to wipe out your rivals and a sub-plot concerning the search for the other hidden arms of the gangs is an appealing twist to the story.

At the end of a round, your monthly position is shown and you go on to the next month's tribulations, attempting to move up the player league table by increasing your income.

Gangsters is very similar to a board game, with the computer throwing the dice and keeping track of assets, gang members killed, and so on. The graphics are simple but the game is carefully-presented and there is plenty of variety to keep you playing. You can also choose from nine levels of difficulty.

Gangsters is available from Cases Computer Simulations, 14 Langton Way, London SE3 7TL, and costs £6.

48K Spectrum
£5.95
Strategy Games

January 1920. This is Spectral City - your city. And you are a leading mobster in the days of American Prohibition, when the government made drinking alcoholic liquor illegal. You mean to take over the city from the other gang leaders and control it.

The relative strengths of the rival gangs of hoodlums are first presented on the screen in the form of a grid. You can see how many distilleries, speakeasies and houses of ill repute tile opposition have in their grip of vice. Next is raised the "thorny question of bribes". You must figure out how much a month you can afford to keep the precinct sweet. This is certainly worth doing as the police raid your distilleries with monotonous regularity.

There is an alternative: you can shop your rivals, but presumablydue to their own activities in the area of palm-greasing, they are sometimes found innocent - then they get real mad with you.

The distillery raids are graphically displayed on the Spectrum by three police cars rolling up to your warehouse door sirens and all. When I raided an opponent's brothel - this is done by moving a gunsight over a schematic map of the city and pressing S when you wont to move in - I discovered an arms cache. This boosted my gang's morale and another graphic showing the doors opening and the guns inside was displayed. Gang morale is key: it starts at 20, but changes depending upon the success.

Written for the 48K Spectrum, as the name implies, this is a game involving 1920's style gangsters, but this is where the obvious part ends. Surprisingly enough this is not a game of the shoot-em-up variety, has nothing to do with space, and does not use high speed hi-res graphics. Rather it is a game of strategy, thought and cunning. As with other CCS games, Gangsters! is based on your feeding the computer with various decisions on spending and deployment of non-capital resources ie manpower etc. With the computer returning facts and figures on your success or failure.

Gangsters! is set in the US during the 20's and is based around the legendary gangland activity of the time. The aim of the game is to take over the City from the other gang leaders. To do this you must take control of the assets, make raids, kill off the other gangsters and their leaders, whilst also managing to stay alive yourself.

There are nine levels of play - an advantageous factor for the beginner. You are given a certain amount of money depending upon level of play. With this money assets may be bought - Speakeasies, Distilleries, Casinos, Brothels, as well as gangsters. At all time you must have enough men to carry out raids, sufficient protection to safeguard yourself, as well as spare cash for bribery. The game is fully active hence the opposing gangsters are likely to raid your assets and hunt for your weapons.

Gangsters! has been well put together, nicely presented and the instructions are also well thought out. The scenario is original in many respects. It gives the idea of strategy games a new breath of life. Finally I have to say that it is excellent and well worth the money.