Crime Boss: Rockay Metropolis is an efficient start line for gamers new to the heist style
Main as much as its launch final yr I used to be intrigued by Crime Boss: Rockay Metropolis, primarily as a result of it’s full of so many recognizable faces and it seemed like goofy enjoyable. I did not get round to enjoying it in the long run, and as soon as the opinions arrived with less-than-appealing write-ups, it dropped to the underside of my checklist. Nevertheless, after greater than a yr of updates, I’ve now shot my means by Rockay Metropolis and really feel prefer it’s a good sufficient entry level for gamers seeking to attempt the heisting style with out committing to a multiplayer-focused recreation like Payday.
Though designed as a Payday competitor with its multiplayer modes, I’ve discovered that Crime Boss is simply as pleasurable when enjoying solo as a result of its somewhat-okay AI. The AI is not excellent (when is it ever), however it helps out sufficient for you to have the ability to benefit from the single-player rogue-like mode on its regular issue, in addition to the co-op enabled Missions and City Legends by yourself. No matter you resolve to play, you achieve expertise in the direction of your participant degree, unlocking weapons, gear, teammates, and cosmetics throughout the marketing campaign and multiplayer modes, which is a specific spotlight. There’s a first rate number of weapons on supply, in addition to a perk system for creating your personal builds, however the lack of weapon customization is disappointing. Proper now, the fundamental development system does little to make me wish to grind out the Missions.
The Missions play equally to Payday, with financial institution heists, jewellery retailer robberies, money truck robberies, and extra on supply, in addition to bigger gigs that have you ever opening underground vaults or heading off waves of police robots as you rob a prepare. When you’ve performed heist video games earlier than, you may acknowledge acquainted mechanics reminiscent of knocking out digicam methods, controlling civilians, drilling into vaults, and whatnot, though Crime Boss does not supply deeper mechanics like guard radios needing to be answered or hostage swapping. NPC teammates appear to get the job finished, and heists usually really feel a bit easier right here, which is why I might advocate it for gamers seeking to dip their toes into the style. Whereas there’s loads to unlock alongside the way in which, and Ingame has extra content material deliberate for the approaching months, the multiplayer aspect of the sport hasn’t me as a lot because the solo marketing campaign.
The primary marketing campaign options all the missions discovered within the multiplayer mode and wraps it in a roguelike expertise with storylines that includes a number of celebrities, for higher or for worse. Whereas Ingame has fought to improve Crime Boss’ gameplay during the last yr, or so there is no such thing as a serving to the lackluster writing discovered within the cutscenes, and the poorly-voiced dialogue. For these of us sufficiently old to have often seen the likes of Michael Madsen, Kim Basinger, Danny Trejo, Danny Glover, and Chuck Norris solid in motion films all through the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, it is a enjoyable solid that units the scene for Rockay Metropolis’s setting. Nevertheless, their recognizable faces do not boring the ache you’re feeling from their half-baked voiceovers — Damien Poitier (who additionally voices Chains in Payday) as Nasara is a saving grace, nevertheless. Listening to Madsen name somebody a “sh*theel” for the tenth time throughout a mission will get very tiresome — I did not even know what that meant till I seemed it up on Uban Dictionary, which presents the next analogy: “He is an actual sh*theel; as in, he is so low that he is just like the heel of a shoe dragging in canine sh*t.” There are many moments which have induced chuckle, nevertheless, reminiscent of Michael Rooker’s stream of nonsense when battling for turf, so it isn’t all unhealthy.
Trying previous that, I’ve discovered the single-player mode, Baker’s Dream, loads of enjoyable. It performs very similar to a rogue-like recreation of Danger and places you accountable for Baker’s rising prison empire after the town’s former head honcho peacefully passes away throughout a big explosion. Every run begins with every district within the metropolis cut up between 5 crime bosses: Baker (Michael Madsen), Greenback Dragon (Trejo), Hielo (Vanilla Ice), Khan, and Cagnali. Your job is to destroy everybody and declare your crown because the king of Rockay Metropolis.
The goal is to wipe out your opponents and management each district in Rockay Metropolis earlier than Sherrif Norris’s investigation has concluded and he brings the hammer down. Norris’ investigation progresses every in-game day, and as soon as he makes a transfer on you, your run ends — that is if Baker did not die throughout a mission earlier than then, which additionally ends your run. Every day you need to use your military to assault and defend your turf (led by the pretty amusing Michael Rooker), tackle varied one-shot and multi-story missions to make the money wanted to develop your empire, assassinate opposing gangs’ captains, and run by randomized story content material with the varied teammates you unlock alongside the way in which. This mode additionally has a Boss Stage, which is separate out of your total participant degree and unlocks upgrades for the marketing campaign just like different roguelikes.
I’ve loved the single-player mode a good bit not too long ago, which makes Crime Boss: Rockay Metropolis stand out amongst different video games within the style. Its mixture of heists, assassinations, attrition-style turf wars, and the like have been entertaining, and I am positive it’s going to solely get higher as extra missions are added to the pool within the coming months. With a good quantity of enjoyable, and a price ticket of $19.99 / £15.99 / €19.99, I believe it is protected to say you get your cash’s value right here.
I might actually prefer to see a extra fleshed-out customization system sooner or later because it’s at the moment a bit too primary for my tastes. Whereas the cutscenes cannot be helped at this level, the repetitive in-mission dialogue may use some extra assist — shouting “there is a digicam right here” when standing in the midst of a financial institution is not suspicious in any respect, so maybe firming it down could be finest. Ingame Studios’ dedication is evident as day, nevertheless, so I sit up for seeing the workforce proceed to enhance the gunplay and the general Crime Boss expertise within the coming months.
General, I am pleasantly stunned and happy I lastly gave this shooter a shot, and it has exceeded the expectations I had. With a couple of extra updates, Ingame Studios may have an actual gem on their arms, though deeper customization choices with a development system could be wanted if Crime Boss hopes to tackle Payday as a multiplayer co-op shooter. It is a straightforward suggestion as a single-player shooter, nevertheless, because the marketing campaign options the identical missions because the multiplayer mode together with different actions, providing an entertaining and easy-going heisting expertise as you juggle your empire’s growth with an ever-growing police presence.
