Omerta – City of Gangsters

tl;dr version:
PROS:
+ Easy to learn, not that hard to master
+ Authentic language, music and scenery
+ Functionally combines Economy Sim and Round-Based Combat
+ "Sandbox" Mode where you can check out tactics you didn't try in the campaign
+ Fine-tune your henchmen and their weaponry by leveling them up and finding new firearms
+ All weapon classes (Revolver, Pistol, Knife, Baseball Bat,...) have their own playstyle and useful
+ All STATS (Strength, Endurance,...) are useful and you can reset PERKS for your player/henchmen easily
+ All characters unlock widely varied combat-specific SKILLS which if properly used give a BIG advantage in combat
+ Multi-Player with Henchman Level Progression
+ Skills, STATS and Perks and the ability to switch out your gang on the fly helps to vary gameplay
CONS:
- Average economy system will be too easy and simple for above average sim fans
- Turn based combat can be a bit infurating (Hit chances, friendly fire, damage stats,..)
- Playing too many hours in a row will show how repetetive the gameplay can get
- Co-Operative Mode is restricted to 2 modes of the Turn Based Combat, no co-op campaign with economy map!!
- After 10 hours you have may have heard and seen everything that exists in the game
- You might think that some henchmen are better than others
DLC WORTH IT?
Yes if you get it all cheap at once, each DLC (not counting ADDON!) adds 1 mission and 1 henchman but on their own not worth 5 bucks.
SUMMARY: Definitely buy if you want a fun and not too deep eco-sim/turnbased hybrid and feel a bit like "Boardwalk Empire" or other Prohibition-related media. Great game, just not perfect but one can forgive the weak spots.
Long Text:
A fun little niché title that combines economy simulation with round-based combat in a meaningful way. By no means the most deep and realistic simulation of the Prohibition Era but it manages to capture the atmosphere through authentic, if sometimes comical, voice bits, great and fitting music and general flair.
Neither combat nor economy sections of the game work perfectly but work seamlessly together but it can get repetetive.
Multi-Player is PvP (vs other players and their gangsters) and 2 Co-operative missions. You can only play the turn-based combat but you can build your gang out of the game's henchman list, level and equip them according to your preferences (and what you can afford).
It IS a fun game that draws you in with its charm, easy to use and understand controls and mechanics, quick action and original maps based on Atlantic City.
It is NOT a hardcore economy sim with deep layers of mechanics nor a high-tech combat simulator.
You are limited to the ingame ressources and will most likely figure out the most efficient way to play about midway through the 10-15 hour campaign and slight repetivity might sour your experience.

Actually, that is very controversial game to be recommended...
On the one hand, it's a quite attractive mix of city management game (like Tropico series) and tactical combat game (like XCOM or Silent Storm).
On the other hand attempt to mix these two features can't be called successfull because:
- management part much easier than in Tropico and not so absorbing:
- tactical combat part can entertain you but it's far-far behind XCOM or Silent Storm:
In other words, if you have an opportunity to buy it on sale for 5-10 USD (with all DLC) then do it - worths it completely. If it's much more expensive, it's simply waste of time and money.

"REAL BOSS AIN'T SCARED OF DIRTY JOB"
I can't help myself but when I'm looking at Omerta - City of Gangsters I see that legendary game called Chicago 1930. Is it atmosphere? Top-down camera? Visuals? Gameplay experience? Most probably one of each. Anyway, Omerta is coming from creators of popular series Tropico and yes, we can feel their signature over here.
It's been said many times and I have to say it too. This game features two basic elements which aren't near their maximum potential. One is combat system and second is economy and managment. Both of them are important part of game. Thing is, or let's say speculation, that if Omerta's main element was either combat or economy & managment made to its maximum it'd be truly awesome creation. But it is what it is. We have two features that are not reaching their top and they're not created the best way they could be.
I've liked that turn-based combat system I must admit, it was more gripping than I've expected. Fights are mediocre, sometimes too easy and sometimes pain in the butt. However fact is that AI is terrible. Rival gangs in combat and outside are really bad. Some just run straight to you where you have 4 of your soldiers so you can kill them with ease. Every member of your team have its own bonus, and each is good at something so you can plan out some strategy or think in advance. You can upgrade them, deploy them, release them, they're all yours.
The economy & managment will be kinda average for players that came here from Tropico series. It's like its weaker brother. But it's fun for a while. Building your imperium and taking over cities of America, starting from scratch and reach the top. You can set up different buildings to work for you, you can upgrade them, raise their efficiency, you can buy out joints, frame other gangs, heist their warehouses, bribe officials, steal cars, and much much more and it might be pleasurable for few hours.
Game will last you around 20 hours and less, MP or CO-OP is not helping that much. Every DLC except Japanese Incentive will give you just one level so it's not really great deal as you can imagine. But Japanese Incentive will give you 12 so it can boost up your gameplay time by 8/9 hours easily, but in the end it's just how you play it, fast or enjoyable. Hours may vary.
Game can run pretty smooth even on old machines, it doesn't really look that well and sound is not great too either. It all depends on how you feel with the game, but chances are it will get repetetive after 3/4 levels. When you upgrade your mansion to the max, and go to new level, guess what, your mansion is gone. So as I said you're starting from scratch. Both combat and economy is not deep at all, half of potential for both is used.
It's not that bad and it's not really good either. Solid average maybe little bit above. With the Demo available you can try it out yourself before spending money.
/Short bullsh*t talk (I don't even want to call it review) about Japanese Incentive DLC is here:
Bonus Point: Demo Available
Rating: 6/10

I bought this game for a quick weekend play, thinking it would be an interesting pastime that I'd binge-play once or twice and then never touch again. Boy was I wrong: Omerta sucked me in with its huge campaign, awesome mechanics, cool characters and absolutely amazing soundtrack. Seriously, the soundtrack is among the greatest Jazz/Swing stuff I have ever heard, and I listen to that type of music regularly. If you like the idea of being a prohibition-era gangster and don't mind not having Mass Effect-level cutscenes (this game does not have ANY real cutscenes, just quick montages) and buy and sell on a city-spanning market of beer, liquor and guns, this game is absolutely for you.
Also, it has a DLC-campaign that is roughly the same length as the original one, and I have not even played through half of it. So buy this game, especially if it is on sale, because it really is worth your hard earned clean money.

Great atmosphere game, which transports you into the 1920's Atlantic City and lets you climb the crime ladder in the turbulent times of the Prohibition.
Always start with the positive:
+ Graphics are neat, even on my laptop I can run high end settings.
+ Pictures and 2D art are amazing
+ Decoration and attention to detail bring this world to life.
+ Great jazz music form the era
+ Superb voice acting
+ Turn-based combat (think the 90's Fallout 1&2)
+ Jobs are varied and dynamic, some provoke armed confrontations.
+ Useful skills and perks.
+ Character creation based on background, can make interesting bosses.
+ Because your gang members are such memorable characters you can get an emotional attachment to them like in X-Com or Darkest Dungeon (with much lower mortality rates than those two games).
Although:
- Missions require you to restart building your empire in each neighborhood.
- Story can be completed rather quickly once you get the hang of the game.
- Because it is all scripted, there is little replayability value (even though I still did a second playthrough and some free-mode as well).
- Leveling up is scripted.
Overall, the game is really fun for awhile and if you love the era it's a must have. Otherwise pick this up on sale (reg. price is only 20$, 10 makes it a steal)
Thumbs up!

I bought this game after binge watching Boardwalk Empire and suffering from withdrawl. It immediately made me feel better. Omerta captures the atmosphere with the music, maps and characters perfectly.
The henchmen and NPC contacts have distinct personalities, despite (mostly) only having a few voiced catchphrases. There is a good selection of henchmen with different talents and abilities; some vastly better than others. There is also weapon variety, from brass knuckles to sniper rifles, and a cheap respec option that makes new builds and switching to new weapons easy. The story is engaging and most henchmen are introduced through it. When they are not and just unlock silently after completing a map, it does feel a bit disappointing though.
Though the basics to get the business running on a new map are a bit repetitive, it doesn't bore me to tears. Neither does the tactical combat, in which skills and team composition matter a lot. It is true that you start out as the world's worst gunman, but as you level and gain new abilities, that can change. I say "can" because the popular approach of just giving everyone a tommygun and thinking it's the pinnacle of strategy won't work. It may not be the deepest combat system, but it does require some thought to get a capable gang running.
The DLC adds new missions and henchmen, some of which belong to the best you can hire (specifically Jan Koloff from Bulgarian Colossus, who can become a near immortal marathon running tank), so I definitely recommend picking up the Gold Edition.
I have nothing but praise for the single player mission, but the multiplayer component is a massive let down. You do not get to play on the strategic city map and take on a rival player's gang. All you get is the tactical combat, where you have to unlock and level henchmen and weapons, painfully, one by one, and the co-op mode has no in-game chat to coordinate with the other player either. The entire multiplayer option feels tacked on and unfinished. If you are looking for a fun single player experience, I can't recommend this enough. But if you are looking for something to play against friends, look elsewhere.

A Pleasant Surprise
I saw the mixed reviews and wasn't expecting much of the game, but was actually pleasantly surprised how good it is. I can see why it got the mixed reviews though, as it has shortcoming but it is still very much enjoyable if you know what you are getting yourself into.
Basically the game is divided into two parts: XCOM like tactical combat and business management sim. On its own these two parts are not very special but luckily the game is more that the sum of it parts.
Omerta was developed at the same time as Firaxes' first XCOM and as a result the combat feels a bit dated compared to what X-COM brought to the table. It may feel a bit simplistic at first but it gets the job done and improves as you unlock characters and abilities.
The business management part aged better and no wonders, as the devs also made Tropico 3 through 5, although it's not anything as complex as in these games, and for a good reason (there is enough complexity in the other mechanics). What's interesting about the business management part is that unlike other games in the genre, very few of the businesses you build have any upkeep/maintenance cost, meaning that once you establish them you just reap the rewards. The way it is balanced is with the police breathing down your neck. You can deal with the heat in several ways, but the most common one is by bribing them, with every consecutive bribe being more expensive. And here comes the biggest flaw of the game. You see, the game is most fun when things don't go your way... when you desperately need money and have to participated in bank heist, raids of independent businesses, have to rescue gang members from the prison and so on. The thing is that all these activities raise your heat level with the police, so you are incentivized to avoid them when possible. To put it bluntly, the game provides you with many fun opportunities but the most efficient way to play is by avoiding them. Well, this is reason enough not to recommend the game but the issue is fixed in “Japanese Incentive” DLC (which is a big improvement for the game in every way) as it introduce enemy gangs that attack your businesses and build ones of their own. These gangs are far bigger threat than the police and this puts you in constant pressure for money and provides the much-needed incentive to take part in the fun criminal activities.
I see in the other reviews, that there is a complaint that you do the same thing over and over again in the campaign. I actually find it well - balanced in that regard as it tries to steer you and introduce to different types of businesses. It is true however, that there are times when you are just waiting to accumulate the required money or other resources.
The biggest flaw for the campaign is that you gang member level up only on predetermined story points. Without the level up reward of combat that often leaves you in a situation where you are judging the risk of you gang members being injured and captured against the resources you will get and often it is not worth it. This problem is not present in sandbox mode as there you gang member level up after every battle.
To sum it up it is a game with nice atmosphere and variety of mechanics but with some obvious shortcomings as well.