Empire of Sin - Review @ Shacknews

Shacknews has reviewed the Strategy-RPG Empire of Sin:

Empire of Sin review: A strategy you can't refuse

Romero Games and Paradox Interactive's new strategy game takes players inside the criminal underbelly of Prohibition-era Chicago as a gang leader looking to take over the city.

Strategy games have run a gamut of topics over the years between fantasy, sci-fi, historic civilizations, and ancient and modern wars to name a few. There have been quite a few subject matters tread and retread in real-time, turn-based, and/or 4X strategy, but Romero Games and Paradox Interactive are using a very particular setting in their latest endeavor. Empire of Sin is a strategy-RPG hybrid that focuses in on the 1920s era of Prohibition in Chicago, when alcohol was illegal and criminal organizations were looking to build underground empires under the nose of federal law enforcement. Your role? An up-and-coming gang leader looking to create your own empire and take all of Chicago as your own. More than just adding another unique backdrop to the strategy genre, Empire of Sin brings tycoon and tactics gameplay to being a 1920s Chicago gangster in very fun and interesting ways.

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There’s a lot going on in Empire of Sin. Romero Games and Paradox Interactive build quite a hybrid of business management, character growth, and turn-based combat, and the 1920s Prohibition-era backdrop makes for an interesting story. The gang leaders are varied in so many ways between their business, combat specialties, and personal stories. Meanwhile, the overall flow of business expansion, hostile takeovers, and diplomacy or confrontation with other gangs also makes for a mostly engaging gameplay loop. Empire of Sin doesn’t always keep it riveting. There are sometimes lengthy stretches of repetition in combat and business between the highs of the game and the stiff acting and character interactions are extremely noticeable. Even so, overall, Empire of Sin is a racket I’ll easily go back to over and over again as I figure out each particular crime lord’s path to an undisputed throne of 1920 Chicago’s booze biz.

Score: 8/10

Pros

• Great variety of gang leaders & factions
• Good mix of tycoon, turn-based combat, & RPG elements
• Unique story questlines for each faction leader
• Variety of gameplay styles and progression to pursue
• Major confrontations with rival factions are intense
• Plenty of non-faction missions to explore alongside business

Cons

• Non-major combat can get repetitive
• Mid-to-late game business can also be repetitive
• Voice acting and character model interactions are stiff
• Some faction questlines are very short