Gangland (also known as Gangland: This Family May Just Be the Death of You) is a computer game created by the Danish developer Mediamobsters (later known as Sirius Games). It was released in February 2004. The game mixes real-time strategy with elements of simulation and roleplaying.
The plot follows Mario Mangano, second-oldest grandson of Don Mangano, head of a Sicilian family. Two years after the murder of youngest brother Chico, at the hands of the three remaining brothers, Grandpa Mangano receives a phone call from one of his sons, Vincenzo, who has been living in Paradise City for decades. He reports that Romano, Angelo and Sonny has been sighted there — And so, Grandpa Mangano dispatches Mario to hunt them down and avenge his brother.
Of course, things aren't always that easy. Mario ends up as Vincenzo's errand boy. After preforming several missions for his uncle, he is promoted to capo soto. As always when things are starting to look good, disaster strikes — Vincenzo is kidnapped, and his entire gang is vanquished. Now on his own, Mario begins to carve out an empire of his own. While, of course, killing a few of his brothers on the way. Oddly enough, before Angelo and Sonny dies, they both try to say that they're innocent..
Several brutal conflicts with other mobsters later, Mario is now a real kingpin. As he moves in on the Strip, the fanciest area of Paradise City, he is contacted by Vincenzo's kidnapper. A bloody rescue follows - Vincenzo is rescued. Within soon, however, tragedy strikes for the, like, fourth time. Mario's wife is found poisoned, and Vincenzo is gone yet again. Mario figures that it has to be Romano, the oldest brother.
He succedes in killing him, but victory decides to be even more bittersweet than usual — In his dying breath, Romano reveals that Vincenzo was the one who killed both Chico and Mario's wife. And so, Mario spends the rest of the game hunting his uncle.
A sequel called Escape from Paradise City was released in 2007, after a quite Troubled Production which included Mediamobsters going bankrupt and having to reform under the name Sirius Games. Not to be confused with the TV show of the same name.
Provides examples of:
- A-Team Firing: Even the best units suffer heavily from this.
- Badass Longcoat: Interestingly enough, Mario begin to wear one of these when he becomes the Don of a family of his own.
- Damn, It Feels Good to Be a Gangster!: The game feels a lot like this. Until the ending.
- Dirty Cop: The local chief of police comes around every now and then, casually asking for a bribe and insulting you and your mother.
- Downer Ending: The game, which up until now has been glorifying gangsters to hell and back, ends with Mario sitting in the street, thinking about the pointless deaths of his brothers and his wife. At least the constant bloodletting is still over - Oh, wait. It's not. Somewhere in the distance he hears guns being fired and realize that the battle never ends.
- Dysfunctional Family / Cain And Abel: Not only are they all mafiosos - They're cold-hearted murderers, too. Uncle Vincenzo killed his nephew Chico in order to get his cut of an operation they were running together, and then frames three of his other nephews. The fifth nephew does, of course, end up killing both the uncle and his runaway brothers. Also, Mario's children eventually becomes underbosses of the family.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Mario loved his brothers and his wife. They all die, of course.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: Wow. A lot of this. Most notably, the fact that your wife (Who's murder is very important to the story, and who Mario apparently loves to the extreme) is not only randomly generated, but she also actually survives being killed story-wise.
- Generic Ethnic Crime Gang: This game has just about every kind.
- The Mafia: The very basis of the game. There's both the generic Sicilian Mafia and the family which Mario is from.
- The Mafiya: They are featured somewhat prominently in the story, being one of Mario's early allies and later enemies.
- The Cartel: Colombian mafia, more precisely.
- Yakuza: One of these groups hold Vincenzo hostage. Or so it appears.
- The Triads and the Tongs: Vincenzo has a shitload of these as allies.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: The various kinds of bouncers use this. With great success.
- Guns Akimbo: Revolvers, pistols, tommy guns, uzis..
- Mafia Princess: One of the three different types of children you can have is this.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Mario has one of these when he realized that his three brothers, who he just killed, were innocent all along.
- Nominal Importance: The only named characters are Mario, Vincenzo, Romano, Angelo, Sonny and a few of the enemy bosses. Grandpa Mangano, your wife, your children? No name given.
- The Don: Grandpa Mangano is a major one in Palermo, Uncle Vincenzo is a minor one over in America and Mario eventually becomes one. Also, there's plenty of these as enemies.
- Time Bomb: One of the special units is a maddened Russian bomb expert, capable of planting these.
- Timed Mission: Every now and then, there's a timed challenge mission - Winning one of these unlocks the use of a special unit.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: You can run over/shoot civilians without any real penalty.
