Company of Crime

Company of Crime sets itself apart from other tactical turn-based games with a focus on melee combat. Offering the option to play on both sides of the law is a great feature that also helps this title stand apart. The combat mechanics provide a deep, rewarding strategy that makes each mission feel different and fresh. Facing up against the law is intense and challenging, but if your heat builds up too much early on, it may be tough to reduce, which could be troublesome. Altogether Company of Crime offers just enough to differentiate from similar games but doesn't break ground on anything we haven't seen. Despite that, it's still a fun, intense, and strategic title for turn-based combat fans.

Fans of the genre should definitely play Company of Crime for its novel setting of London criminal underworld and rich melee combat, but it’s probably too low-budget to please your average gamer. [Issue#248, p.62]

So is Company of Crime worth playing? I’d say definitely. The worst of it is pretty uninspired, but inoffensive. But the best of it is superlatively good. I hope this game gets a lot of circulation just so developers can learn from its greatest strengths. But that’s about design, and not about players. If this were just one part great game and one part mediocre game, I’d say that averages to good. But what nudges it a little farther towards greatness is the presentation. The music, the clothes, the art style all create a sense of atmosphere. There are more polished games out there, but few do as good a job at transporting you to their setting. There’s a universe out there where Company of Crime totally changed the genre forever. We live in the universe where it’s just a really cool game that fans of the genre shouldn’t miss!

Company of Crime is a good tactical game with a fascinating setting and some new mechanics marred by the usual rush to release. AI and balancing issues ruin the experience making this game one to revisit after some patches.

Repetition, bugs and poor AI make Company of Crime feel like less than the sum of its parts.

While deserving accolades for trying something different and having two separate campaigns, ultimately they both end up feeling repetitive. Melee-focused combat is a fun idea, but there are too many problems and glitches. Though there are different classes, the combat is too repetitive and too much of the same thing to be fun for long. Something new was tried here, and that's commendable - it just did not hit the mark.

Some inspired ideas and a great sense of style, but repetition, bugs, and poor AI prevent Company of Crime from really coming at the king.