14 DAY TRIAL // 
Crime Boss: Rockay City is probably one of the few games that has so many iconic actors on its cast list. It’s hard to believe that someone managed to bring together so many B-movie actors on the cast list of a game, not a movie. Names like Kim Basinger, Danny Trejo, Michael Madsen, Danny Glover, Damion Potier, Vanilla Ice, Michael Booker, and Chuck Norris have their roles to play in Crime Boss: Rockay City.
Developed by INGAME STUDIO and published by 505 Games, Crime Boss: Rockay City draws inspiration from many genres and iconic games. While not running a mission, it plays like a typical management game where soldiers and money are your main resources. Once you deploy on the field either to attack a turf or rob a bank, the most obvious inspirations for Crime Boss: Rockay City feels like playing Payday or GTA V.
The single-player campaign focuses on the up-and-coming Travis Baker, played by Michael Madsen, who’s trying to take over Rockay City after its ruler’s untimely demise. Split between several factions, your job is to try to conquer every turf by smartly using forced takeovers and bribes. Stepping into the shoes of Travis Baker, aka The Candy Man, puts you in command of not only a small army, but also teammates that will accompany you whenever you’re running a heist or just want to remove a target.
Gameplay-wise, Crime Boss: Rockay City combines management and first-person shooter actions. It’s a rather strange combination that only fits in few case, one of those being an “organized crime” type of game. The game also has a very important roguelike aspect since the solo campaign features permadeath, so whenever Travis is downed during a mission, it’s game over. However, thanks to the roguelike mechanics, you get to keep your progress, but have to start over from Day 1.
It's an interesting take that can become tiresome if you die too many times. Luckily, you can skip all the cutscenes in the game if you already went through them once or you just want to focus on the management and action aspects of the game.
The heists and turf take overs play just like a generic shooter. There are absolutely no innovations added, but at least everything works just like it’s supposed to. The missions alternate between robbing a bank, a jewelry shop/mall or an armored truck. None of these require any strategy or tactical approach, you can just shoot your way through the enemies to achieve your goal and then simply run to the getaway car.
It’s just one of that tasks that quickly becomes repetitive, even when you switch between them. Your teammates that accompany you in these missions gain levels just like your character and can become more powerful thanks to newly acquired abilities. You can also fit them with better weapons as you find them completing turf attacks missions or heists.
Although the loop is quite enjoyable at the beginning, it quickly becomes boring as no new mechanics are introduced. Thankfully, Crime Boss: Rockay City is not a long or hard game, so once you get the gist of it, it’s very hard to fail.
The Good
- Solid gunplay
- Decent presentation
- Multiplayer is fun
The Bad
- Plays like a generic shooter
- It becomes repetitive quite fast
- One-dimensional characters
- Cheesy dialogs, subpar writing
Conclusion
The mix of resource management and first-person shooter mechanics is interesting but doesn’t save the game from mediocrity. Everything about Crime Boss: Rockay City screams “obsolete,” but the co-op mode might offer players some fun, even if it’s just for a limited time. This isn’t a bad game, just one that feels like it traveled forward in time from the 90s.
Review key was provided by the publisher.
