Omerta: City of Gangsters

InsideGamer (7 out of 10)

Kortom, de game weet op veel punten niet mee te komen met de echte top, maar is zeker geen slechte game. Ik heb mezelf best goed vermaakt met het uitbouwen van mijn imperium. Aan de ene kant gaat het langzaam, aan de andere kant kun je het ook rustgevend noemen. Het RTS-gedeelte zit redelijk in elkaar, maar weet niet zo te boeien als XCOM. In het kort is Omerta: City of Gangsters een game die niets echt fout doet, maar ook nergens in excelleert.

Jeuxvideo.com (13 out of 20)

Malgré un concept intéressant et original plongeant le joueur dans une époque passionnante, Omerta : City of Gangsters peine à convaincre sur le long terme et finit donc par devenir lassant. Venant d'un développeur connu et reconnu en matière de jeux de gestion, il est par exemple surprenant que le temps ne puisse être accéléré. Il paraît donc évident qu'il s'agit d'un de ces titres qui va diviser les joueurs, mais l'expérience n'en reste pas moins globalement sympathique.

Game Critics (6.5 out of 10)

With all that said, it can't be a good sign for Omerta: City of Gangsters that I'm recommending it primarily to people who are unfamiliar with its genre. There isn't enough depth to the main game to attract anyone with a yen for crime management games, and while I did enjoy the combat, there's not enough of it to justify the game's purchase as a turn-based-strategy title. With an interesting and underused setting and good production values, it's certainly worth a look, but the hardcore need not apply. In the world of Omerta crime pays plenty, but its virtues aren't substantial enough to sink teeth into.

XGN (6 out of 10)

Als we Omerta als een geheel bekijken, voelt het een beetje alsof de game nog niet helemaal af was toen hij de deur uit ging. Zo is er voice-acting in de game, maar alleen voor de eerste twee zinnen van iedere lap tekst, en is de achtergrondmuziek op sommige punten zo slecht geknipt dat je hem hoort 'loopen'. Toch weet de game een overtuigend gangstersfeertje over te brengen met de zwart wit foto's van je manschappen en de eerder genoemde achtergrondmuziek. Aan de hoeveelheid content ligt het in ieder geval niet, er zijn talloze missies om je doorheen te managen en schieten, en de verschillende moeilijkheidsgraden en andere modi zorgen voor genoeg herspeelbaarheid. De vraag is alleen of je na één tripje naar Atlantic City nog een keer terug wilt.

Gamereactor (Sweden) (5 out of 10)

Okej, så alltså, bra grejer? Jo, bra grejer... Hehe. Det finns faktiskt en del bra grejer. Karaktärsskapandet är unikt och kul. Röstskådisarna duktiga och grundkonceptet är som sagt riktigt smart. Det är inte det att Omerta: City of Gangsters är ett vidare dåligt spel egentligen, bara det att det inte är ett vidare bra heller. Det liknar nästan sonen Sonny i filmen Gudfadern, vars stora potential rann ur honom för varje nytt kulhål som slet sönder honom.

GameWatcher / Strategy Informer (4.7 out of 10)

Omerta: City of Gangsters should have been an offer that I couldn’t refuse - but in the end, it’s just damp. It sits in the impressive shadow Tropico casts looking rather forelorn, and fails to really capitalize on its brilliant setting. I can only truly recommend this if you’re a particular fan of the genre, the setting, or Haemimont’s work.

4Players.de (46 out of 100)

Die Tropico-Macher arbeiten an einem Gangsterspiel? Mit rundenbasierten Kämpfen à la XCOM? Cool! Doch meine Freude währte nicht lang. Was anfänglich nach einer todsicheren und gewinnbringenden Kombination aussah, wird schnell zu einem redundanten und langweiligen Anhäufen von Geld im Wirtschaftsteil auf der einen sowie leidlich spannenden Rundenkämpfen mit einem vollkommen inkonsequenten Deckungssystem auf der anderen Seite. Zwar spielt die Technik bei Titeln dieser Art nur eine untergeordnete Rolle, doch die Oberflächlichkeit, die sich durch das komplette Spieldesign zieht, findet sich auch in der Kulisse: Nicht wirklich hässlich, aber auch weit davon entfernt, Titeln wie Anno 2070 oder XCOM auch nur ansatzweise gefährlich werden zu können, wirken die kleinen Abschnitte austauschbar und verströmen nur in Ansätzen die Atmosphäre, die Atlantic City als Schauplatz potenziell zur Verfügung steht.

MondoXbox (4.5 out of 10)

Tirando le somme non posso che ritenermi insoddisfatto da quanto gli sviluppatori offrono con Omerta: City of Gangsters. Un’idea alla radice estremamente interessante è stata purtroppo sviluppata in una direzione che porta il titolo a mostrare più difetti che pregi. Un titolo che non mi sento di consigliare nemmeno agli amanti del genere per via dei problemi citati. Se proprio volete dargli una chance, provatelo prima di acquistarlo.

Cheat Code Central (2.2 out of 5)

Omerta: City of Gangsters has a few things going for it: The soundtrack is pleasantly jazzy, the graphics aren’t the worst (even if they are boringly brown), the voice acting is actually well done and fun to listen to, and the backstory-driven character generation has lots of potential. However, the story of the character creation system is a good metaphor for the game as a whole: It’s a great idea that failed to capitalize on the potential it had. Omerta isn’t Haemimont’s best, and it certainly isn’t Tropico. It’s fun at times, but it drags too often and gives little reward. Perhaps this is some sort of insightful moral commentary on the criminal lifestyle, but even then it doesn’t make the game any more fun.

Gaming Age (C-)

Omerta: City of Gangsters feels like a game that’s half way there in execution. The empire building aspect is a whole lot of fun, and seems to be more thought out than the combat. It doesn’t help that the combat is similar to XCOM, and that XCOM did it way better. But the empire building half of the gameplay is really promising, and something that deserves to be expanded on more. I don’t know if Omerta really has a sequel in it, but I think it would be worth revisiting down the line if someone can make it a more well-rounded experience.

GamesRadar ( )

So the mechanics, narrative, and modes are poorly executed, but the very concept of a mobster strategy/tactics game can’t be denied. It’s a fantastic idea, and the novelty of feeling sort-of-almost-not-really like a mob boss will make the game enjoyable on occasion. Unfortunately, there’s not much here beyond a concept that you can only hope someone, someday will make a great game out of.

Official Xbox Magazine (UK) (4 out of 10)

The paper-thin strategy, piss-weak story, and miserable appearance are compounded by an insulting lack of polish. After an hour's play, the audio regularly starts skipping, and menus mysteriously deselect themselves. Night maps are far too dark, and high buildings block your view. Simple problems haven't been fixed, suggesting real issues with QA.

ZTGameDomain (4 out of 10)

Omerta is the kind of game I came into wanting to love. Unfortunately, Omerta falls short in every category that counts, and even the parts it manages to get right fall flat long before they become interesting. I really wanted Omerta to be a better game; I really wanted it to be the mob simulation we have all wanted, even if we didn’t know we did. Instead, we got a disappointing shell of what might have been.

Worth Playing (4 out of 10)

Unfortunately, Omerta: City of Gangsters isn't worth playing. The concept is solid, as is the decision to split the game into two distinct game types, but the execution of both game types is subpar. The simulation aspects don't feel very fleshed out, and the combat system is very clunky. Couple that with an autosave system that is more detrimental than helpful, and you have an experience that is less fun and more frustrating. The console port may be well executed, but the game core isn't, making it a title that's very hard to recommend on any platform.

Official XBox Magazine (4 out of 10)

The occasional turn-based tactical shootout could’ve injected some much-needed verve, but the arbitrarily frugal placement of cover points too often forces your thugs to stand out in the open, and questionable line-of-sight will make you curse the inability to save in the middle of an engagement. Those frustrations are also present in simple online multiplayer shenanigans — where two pals work together to rob banks and free incarcerated allies, or murder one another in gang wars and warehouse cash grabs — and they remain just as aggravating. But at least you’ll get to feast your eyes on something more enticing than barely populated streets and fluctuating bank balances. In Omerta, they’re an unfortunate fact of life.

Games TM (3 out of 10)

Omerta will certainly keep you occupied for long periods of time, but only if you're punishing your attention span. The world itself is quick to drop you into the Twenties experience, but never amounts to more than a lifeless shell. Factor in some embarrassing voice acting, painful writing and a reluctance for Omerta to ever truly let itself go wild with its concepts, and all you'll be left with is a hollow and time-consuming experience.

Eurogamer.net (UK) (3 out of 10)

I'd gladly suffer through Omerta's jittery animations, its frankly bizarre accents and its crudely looped music cues if there was an actual game inside. There isn't. There's a wisp of a resource management sim that crumbles to dust long before the elongated story mode grinds to a halt, and turn-based combat that ranks among the worst the genre has ever seen. Sorry, Haemimont. On this one, you sleep with the fishes.

Console Monster (20 out of 100)

In recap, Omerta is a poor attempt at making a turn based mafia game and this is truly a shame, it looked like it could have been so much more. The idea is quite novel, Omerta though was poorly executed and has left the door open for someone else to come along, use the same idea, refine it and produce a much better product. It’s visually bland and lacks any atmosphere, has no multiplayer to speak of, there is little to do in game and the combat mode is terrible on so many levels. It’s been a while since I’ve played such a terrible game, but alas Omerta is one that I wouldn’t dare to recommend to anyone, the best thing this game could do is end quickly and gracefully with a fade to black…..

Diehard GameFan N/A

Omerta: City of Gangsters is the sort of game manages to take the fun concepts of city simulation and turn-based combat, cross them with the promising concept of Prohibition era mafia concepts, and turn all of this into a bland, uninteresting mess.