Life of a Mobster
By Mike Walter
☆☆☆ (7/10)
I feel like I say this a lot, but I was very pleasantly surprised by Life of a Mobster! Written by Mike Walter, this is one of the earliest Hosted Games, all the way back in the ye olden days of 2014. As you might cleverly guess, you play as a mobster. The store description doesn’t do it justice, I think. For one, the game follows your whole life, starting as a kid to an adult. Second, it’s quite stat/mechanic/choices heavy. While I don’t know a whole lot (read: anything) about coding, it seems like the author must have a good grasp on coding. Third, the story is surprisingly gripping. My only complaints are the length and character development. All in all, though, a solid work, especially in 2014. (And thank you to the staff for giving me a free copy!)
Pros:
Story. Who doesn’t want to be a mobster? Walter puts his own twist on the genre, though: the game follows your whole life and the rise and fall of being a mobster. The breadth is insane, and there’s so many scenes about (what I imagine to be) the nitty gritty. Sure, you choose who to kill (or not!) but there’s also scenes where you debate about who to promote or where you want your HQ to be. You can choose to be a hitman or decide to be a pacifist. You can end up as the top dog by the end or get silenced. You can even be a turncoat and side with the FBI as an informant.
Choices that matter. There’s real reactivity to this game. Choose to have a wealthy upbringing; you won’t get in trouble with the police because you’re “one of the good kids.” Choose to major in law; use your knowledge to help you with your criminal endeavors. Be a loyal soldier; your boss will remember that. Adopt a child; you’ll have an event where they’re kidnapped later. So many little and big choices!
I love the mechanics. First, there’s criminal rackets: extortion, drugs, gambling, loan sharking. You can have multiple rackets and multiple types or put all your efforts into just one type. These bring a certain amount of money. Then there’s 13 skills, and I think 9 or so reputation bars. But there’s also a fantastic inventory/management aspect. You’ll have a certain amount of money, and you get to decide what you spend your money on. And again, the choices matter, even the little things! For example, I bought a bright yellow car. A couple characters riffed on how ugly and unsuitable it was for a tough gangster. How did the author know to include that? There’s guns to buy, police to bribe, vehicles to repair, so much stuff. I could spend a whole ‘nother book on just this inventory system.
There’s also a prison mechanic, which involves molding your reputation and money as you see fit. Of course, you have to start from zero, but I was impressed by how there’s a new yet similar mechanic halfway through the game.
I really like how when you choose an option, the game tells you which stat goes up and by how much. I also appreciated knowing the greyed out options that were unavailable to me.
I was also surprised by how many romance options you could have. There’s … five, I think! And a couple flings, as well.
I’m a fast reader, and even though Mobster only lasted an hour, it felt longer than I expected.
Cons:
After reading, I think it’s pretty clear Walter is a story/choice writer, rather than a character-focused writer. Of course, it’s best to be both, but these are indie writers after all. There’s a noticeable lack of character development or character anything, to be honest. You barely have the time to get to know the protagonist, side characters, and especially the romance. There’s no talking, no bonding with any character, but especially the romance. For example, I chose to get married to a celebrity and adopted three kids. I had a short proposal scene and a short marriage scene, but I had no dates, no domesticity, no actual romance? Just “click this button” and you’re together now. Same thing with kids. I had three scenes with my children, but there was nothing about them growing up! Or their school life, or how they acted as a teenager, or you know, parenting scenes. Because parenting is kinda a big deal. The characters, in general, felt very bland; it was hard to tell people apart.
Quite sudden ending. All of a sudden, the game announces this big event is happening, no lead up or anything. I didn’t solve the crisis, sadly, but I got an okay ending. That ending is a short paragraph talking about my life, but no mention of my family or friends.
I feel like skills are a bit too harsh. There were quite a lot I had 0% in, and in a lot of checks, I was always 5 or 10% short. There were also a lot of skill checks at the end that were 95% needed.
No consequences to poor relationship with your mob crew. I had a 0% relationship with someone, but I don’t think anything happened.