Street Wars

The original title of this game is Street Wars: Constructor Underworld. Mob Rule was the US title. It is a sequel to 1997's Constructor, but with different game play. Some things (like the breeding of tenants) are rather odd unless you have played Constructor.

This could have been a very good game, whether you like the cartoony graphics or not, but it killed the opportunity with Bondage-and-Domination gameplay. You are not rewarded for playing well, you are rewarded for following orders to the letter. Now where's the fun in that?

Street Wars is a gangster game, and more business sim than RTS. You build up your economy and try to obstruct your opponent, but there is little open aggression. In fact, in the single player missions you are usually prohibited from attacking your opponent directly.

Revisited, 2004-12-08

After nearly two years, I decided to play it again. And while I still regret the design decision of not allowing free-form play against AI, I find that it nevertheless is a highly entertaining game if you accept its restrictions and play it the way you would an adventure or RPG.

Unlike many other games, it's a good idea to inform yourself beforehand, maybe read a walkthrough before you even start to play. The game will be more fun this way, not less. If you know that cousin Carlos will want to stay in a brothel in the next mission, you will make sure that you have one in the previous one. If you know you have to possess an enemy gangster in the next mission, you will make sure that you don't reduce the enemy to a gangster-less state before that (that happened to me when I played it the first time).

Hints

• To keep your buildings in shape, you need one fixer per block. That means larger blocks are cheaper to maintain. Mind that when businesses are located on enemy turf, the fixer might get attacked when doing his rounds and abandon the buildings. Check regularily.
• Your buildings should be close to the street, with external gadgets in the backyard, not the other way round. This will save time on gadget delivery, fixer rounds, and you will get more money from the wasters.
• Fixers, when attacked, run to your headquarters, but do not go inside (same goes for other units, but fixers run away most often). They stay outside in the yard where they do not get healed. You must send them inside (or better, to the hospital) yourself.
• If you have a business and a factory on the same block, the tenant will complain about the noise sooner or later. Install thick curtains.
• Any unit, even gangsters, will run away when attacked by a dog. You have to order them to fight back. Saboteurs and other undesirables cannot be told to fight the dog, so there is no way to prevent them from running away. A kennel is good for four dogs, when they are killed, it will collapse.
• An empty building will get infested even when properly maintained. Installing a cockroach trap prevents that.
• Workers can take over an enemy business just as well as fixers. Send as many people as possible, then the takeover is nearly impossible to prevent.

Gadgets

Most, possibly even all of the gadgets have some extra benefits besides being necessary for upgrades. Here's what I found out:

1. Evergreen Trees

   reduce stress of the tenant. They are especially useful for breeding businesses. They take up only one tile and can be placed right next to each other.

   Deciduous Trees

   reduce police interest. They take up more space, you can only place them on every other tile. You can have a maximum of 15 deciduous trees on one site.

   Subway

   works as a teleporter. You can have only one subway per block. Neutral subways can be used by all parties. Units carrying something (barrels, police beacons, dead bodies…) cannot use it, but the deliveryman can, so be sure to have one directly in front of your gadget factory.

   Oven, Still

   for upgrades only?

2. Thick Curtains

   block out noise. You need to install them if you have a factory and businesses on the same block. Residents demand them if a building has been blown up on the same block. This is one of the few gadgets that are used up over time.

   Medicine Cabinet

   If there's one installed in your HQ, units will heal faster there. It may work in other buildings too. Like thick curtains, it is used up over time.

   Lights, Generator, Printing Press

   for upgrades only?

3. Deluxe Bed

   increases breeding speed.

   Home Repair Shed

   equivalent to a fixer in the building. For businesses only, not for factories. Is used up with time. A fixer is better.

   Cockroach Trap

   prevents or cures infestation of building. Far cheaper than manual repair.

   Emergency Exit

   allows the tenant to escape enemy attack (hoodlums). It does not help with police raids.

   Ghost Gunk

   dispels ghosts. Cannot be installed in advance.

4. Telephone

   calls your strongest gangsters (or a worker, if there are no gangsters in the HQ) to the spot if an enemy fixer tries to take over the building. A dog kennel is more effective, especially if it is right by the entrance of the lot, because then it usually prevents the fixer from doing any damage at all. Besides, after killing or chasing away the fixer, your gangster will not return to the HQ, but just keep standing around. An advantage of the telephone is that it can be placed on any lot, the dog kennel needs some space.

   Steel Door, Safe, Burglar Alarm

   slow down or even completely deter priests trying to steal from you.

   Dog Kennel

   The dog will attack any enemy unit that enters the area of the building. Best placed near the entrance. Very effective, since by default all units including gangsters run home when attacked by a dog. A surefire way to fend off saboteurs.

Police Beacons can be obtained by bribing the police $2000, but only up to the number currently available. They can be placed on the sidewalks—a cop will then patrol the block—or within building areas, where they provide a very effective protection. Additionally to the bribe there is a monthly $200 fee per cop. Territorial Marker Barrels are issued by the city hall. Supposedly your gangsters are stronger in the area they cover.

Cheats

When selecting team color, type any of the following "Codes" and press Enter. You will hear a click. The cheat can then be toggled on and off in the game by hitting C. A plus sign will then be shown in the bottom message box. The cheats will be available during the whole game session, even when you load a previously saved game. I have tested the following cheats:

gadgets215

All gadgets are available. Relevant only in the Hick Town campaign, afterwards you have them anyway.

houses426

All buildings (in all categories) are available from the beginning.

maps029

This one is a bit complicated. First you have to start a game to be able to activate the cheat with C, then you have to quit it and go back to the Start Game screen. Now you will see "Hick Town" at the bottom. Click on it and you can click through all five missions and play the one you want.

pickup036

Allows you to pick up enemy items, like territorial marker barrels and police beacons. They don't become yours, but you can put them somewhere where the enemy can't retrieve them, like a factory lot that is protected with a dog kennel.

tenants458

You can select a tenant for a building any time, regardless whether or not there are any in your HQ.

weapons563

You can buy any weapon for any of your gangsters.

worker928

A new button will appear on your HQ screen, allowing you to buy a worker from city hall for $5000.

The first two cheats are a good combination. They allow you to play a full game with all features from the beginning. The following cheats are untested:

Code          Result
loans458      Borrow Any Amount from Bank
estates216    Buy an Estate Without Conditions
speed364      Speed Up Network Games
build830      Buildings Appear Directly
upgrade934    Work on House Immediately

Reviews and Links

• Mob Rule is more fun than a bathtub full of gin, but be prepared to be leaned on a little, Chad Eby warns, this title is no pushover:

  On one occasion I had a cousin in town needing R&R in a brothel. I didn’t have the dough or the manpower to provide, but if I didn’t come through, it was curtains for me. After scratching my head awhile, I pulled my fixer off his rounds and headed over to a rival gang’s peepshow in hopes of taking it over and upgrading it. While my fixer was out, the cement factory I needed to complete the upgrade caught fire. These are the kind of scrapes you are constantly in while playing MR, and they can be rather challenging to get out of.

• Mob Rule takes the fun out of being a gangster, Barry Brenesal thinks:

  Imagine Settlers III set in the Roaring Twenties, and you'll have some sense of what Mob Rule is all about. In this realtime strategy game, your Godfather provides you with a narrow set of goals through approximately thirty separate missions spread over five successively more difficult cities. But Settlers III was easy to learn and play. By contrast, Mob Rule is confusing to understand, and not really worth the effort.

• A cross between SimCity and Settlers, with a twist, is Wolf's description.

  Personally, I really enjoyed playing the game, despite all it's faults. After all, it's good to be bad. I can only recommend this title to real RTS nutcases though, as many other people will find the game a bit too complex (or just irritating) for their tastes. For anyone who does play, make sure you have plenty of time on your hands as finishing a city can take several hours.

• A law-breakin', leg-breakin' RTS that's sure to raise a tongue-in-cheek smile, was how Daniel Morris described it (review offline).

  Mob Rule may not be the slickest strategy game on the block, but its strong design and monstrous humor show us what Eidos' disappointingly dull Gangsters should have been, and make it one of the most fun RTSs in a good, long time. Maybe crime does pay after all.

• Official Street Wars Homepage