Credit where it's due: I was mistaken about Empire of Sin. Doubts festered during the game's preview stages, as while Brenda Romero is fascinating to talk to and has assembled a knowledgeable team at Romero Games, I struggled to escape the impression that they just wanted to make a game about gangsters with some strategy parts tacked on at the end.
I was wrong; Empire of Sin is a pretty fascinating sandbox game about running a crime syndicate in Chicago. The tactical layer is smart and satisfying (up to a point), and the strategic layer features a living world that can be quite fun to watch unfold (again, up to a point). And yeah, it's a game about gangsters: you can tell a lot of love was spent bringing the theme to life in all areas.
While my fears about the game's design were unfounded, there are other flaws beneath Empire of Sin's legitimate façade. An underbelly of bugs, odd behaviour, and gameplay loops that don't quite scale with time prevent it from fully living up to its potential. This is a good game, but it could use a little more love still.
RELATED LINKS:
Empire of Sin developer says bug fixes and DLC are on the way
Empire of Sin reviews - our roundup of the scores
XCOM-like strategy game Empire of Sin delayed