Chaos Overlords

Chaos Overlords is an excellent board-game style game with a novel premise: lead your gang to victory in a post-apocalyptic city.

The game is structured like a card game, with different cards representing your gang members, buildings, and weapons you can equip. The turn-based gameplay is fun, with many commands you can issue per turn (research, control, hide, etc.) and you have to watch your back for police as well as other gangs. Research plays an important part in the game, as a weak gang equipped with powerful weapons can easily beat a stronger one that is armed with only a level 1 laser.

One of the most fun aspects of the game is recruiting new vigilantes to your gang: each turn, random gangs show up at your doorstep, waiting to be hired if the price is right. Aside from amusing names (and often equally amusing mugs), each team has its own expertise, weaknesses, and maintenance costs. Choosing who to hire is as important as when to hire them-- since if you don't earn enough from your controlled turfs to pay their upkeep, the gangsters will desert you in a hurry.

Another very fun part of the game is the variety of buildings you can control: each building has its own advantages -- casinos yield money each turn, hospitals can heal your wounded gangsters, and so on-- and again, timing when to take control is crucial. You can also set both the goal (money, power, etc.) and the length of the game to suit your gaming preferences.

With a unique and well-balanced gameplay, great atmosphere, and a competent AI, Chaos Overlords is a great game for all fans of turn-based strategy games. A word of warning though: this game is NOT for the impatient -- the screens are basically static pictures, and if you set the victory goals too high, the middle portion of the game gets boring quickly as it degenerates into a game of protecting-my-turfs hide-and-seek. Highly recommended!

Review By HOTUD