Crime Boss: Rockay City

Crime Boss: Rockay City is an overly ambitious air ball on all fronts, from its sloppy moment-to-moment gameplay to its largely abysmal voice acting – the worst of which sound like single takes spliced in with mistakes intact. There’s an earnestness with which Crime Boss has been put together that I do admire – as a kind of direct-to-VHS knockoff of Payday on a promising ’90s backdrop – and there is an inescapable novelty in seeing these de-aged Hollywood stars steering the story here. Unfortunately, the hokey charm on display is nowhere near strong enough to offset the repetitive and regularly frustrating mission design, its roguelike single-player rapidly becomes a total chore, and its co-op juice just isn’t worth the squeeze. Sadly, Crime Boss: Rockay City’s coked-up ego has been writing cheques its budget-priced body couldn’t cash.

Crime Boss: Rockay City is proof that star power isn’t everything. In fact, it’s a reminder that a celebrity cast does nothing for a game when it’s void of anything interesting or fun to support it. When run-ending bugs appear, Crime Boss is miserable, but even when I’m running a mission bug-free, I lay witness to a painfully dull take on organized crime. At its best, Crime Boss functions – I can shoot weapons at enemies, empty bank vaults and warehouses for loot, watch cutscenes with recognizable faces and voices, and grow my empire – but it never captures my attention in a meaningful or memorable way. Instead, it pushes me further and further away, leaving me with no desire to ever return to Rockay City.

A sloppy, buggy Payday pretender whose USP of using 90s movie stars is probably the worst thing about it.

It’s a massive swing and a big miss, with enough force to crack the sound barrier while the ball stays in the catcher’s mitt. It’s neither a cynical corporate cringe like Sharknado, nor is it a low-budget dud you’d expect to see a crew of robot puppets heckle. It’s weird, loud and uncanny. Frankly I’m surprised Christopher Walken didn’t show up.

INGAME STUDIOS should be commended for trying something different as they've previously worked on the Mafia series amongst other titles.

Crime Boss: Rockay City offers a high-quality experience with cooperative elements that will delight fans of Payday-style heist games. The game lets you play as a gangster in a richly detailed world full of action and strategic territory conquest, which is particularly appealing to multiplayer fans. Although the single-player content is somewhat limited, the variety of game modes and missions provides plenty of entertainment. Higher-quality character models and better use of the star-studded cast would enhance the overall experience, but it’s still a solid title that will delight fans of crime-themed action games.

There is a good amount of content to be found in its story DLCs, and if you are lucky enough to find matches with good ping, then there is some fun to be had here and there, but maybe it wasn’t the best idea to spend your budget on actors instead of tightening up the game.

A kick-ass cast in a game that once got its ass kicked

Crime Boss: Rockay City didn't get off to the best of starts. The lack of content and many bugs sank the game and not even the stellar cast saved it at the time. However, the developers didn't give up and kept working on the game, and the current marketing strategy coupled with a price cut and promises for the future might attract new players.

Crime Boss makes a very compelling argument in its favor. Is the game perfect now? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. The single player may as well not even exist and is good for maybe a brief look out of morbid curiosity. The online multiplayer, on the other hand, is very fun.