Company of Crime is a turn-based tactical strategy game inspired by the XCOM franchise. But instead of being a Sci-Fi based game, Company of Crime is based on the crime scène in the 1960s London.
Company of Crime is the first game developed by Resistance Games, an independent studio based in Finland, and published by 1C Entertainment who has released plenty of games before.
Think before you act
The game consists of two campaigns: Criminals & Police. The Police campaign is unlocked after playing the criminals campaign. The game has 3 difficulty settings: Easy Peasy, Bog Standard, and Bloody Hell.
Put together a gang based on different classes to tackle different missions or to fit your preferred playstyle. Choose from classes like bouncer, brain, smuggler, torturer, and many more. Each class has their own stats and fighting style. They can also each be equipped with a ranged or melee weapon and a utility item. Your gang also gains experience which makes their stats increase and unlocks new skills for them to use.
The game has you build-up an entire criminal empire to fund your criminal needs. The money earned is needed to hire your crew. But the specific types of locations owned also grant different perks. For instance, owning a pub and upgrading it will increase the amount of gang members you can have, while owning a laundry or barbershop will reduce heat from your units.
Turn down the heat?
Heat is gained by things like shooting enemies & loud gunfire. Heat is a mechanic similar to the Wanted level in GTA. The more heat, the more the police are after you. So it is in your best interest to avoid getting too much heat otherwise your criminal empire will be exposed. The mission objectives encourage stealth instead of killing everyone.
When either taking over a location or opposing gang, reconnaissance is done first, after this choose which side is the best suited. Depending on the place your character is standing, different moves can be performed. Some moves only can be performed only from the front or back. The opponent and your crew can be thrown against the walls, smacked against tables, and throw objects when these are in reach. This makes the position of your gang members crucial.
Each attack has a chance of success, so your actions are not always guaranteed to work, which makes you think twice about the best action to perform. Each gang member has both a stamina bar and a health bar. Once the stamina bar is completely depleted you or the enemy is knocked out, once the health bar reaches zero, you or the enemy die.
Presentation
In terms of presentation, the game has a nice old school style, but I can’t help it to feel more like a high-end mobile game without the microtransactions. The animations are basic and inside the buildings, it is sometimes hard to see when you are exposed to the enemies.
Characters also clip through objects and walls, which ruins the immersion and makes the game feel less polished. The game lacks a real story and character development. This together with the fact that the game lacks in-game cutscenes makes you don’t attach to your gang all that much.
Conclusion
The concept of the game is amazing and clever. The game feels like a high-end mobile game. The gameplay is pretty good, if you are really into the turn-based strategy genre of games, you should definitely give this game a try.
