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Guess what? It's Chicago and you're in the 1930's. Life's just rolling along as usual: machine guns in violin cases, speakeasiers, prohibition, ragtime - you know the stuff.

Meanwhile, Al Capone's been a naughty boy. The government slaps a ban on alcohol, and what happens? He opens a chain of nightclubs and sells the stuff on the black market at ridiculous prices. Of course, the punters buy it, making Capone a rich man.

You play a streetwise undercover cop (you know, black hat, raincoat - the works). On the basis of information it's taken you months to collate, you've braved every possible danger and have finally managed to infiltrate uncle Capone's mob.

You're in there, so now what? Obvious really - you just deal out justice in the only way these thugs know how. In other words, you depend on your wit, charm, manners - and a loaded machine gun.

It's mostly footwork. On the other hand, being one of the city's finest, you also have access to a smart, unmarked police car, but only for short periods of time (smart, unmarked police cars tend to attract a lot of unwanted attention, you know!).

There's a lot of thuggery going on down here, bud. Can you restore peace to a city, choked with lawlessness? Can you make the streets a safer, cleaner place for babies to play in? Will you still be around for old grannies to thank and kiss at the end of the day?

Sure hope so, 'cos the house prices round here have really started to fall!

Well I'm not sure about the setting, but it feels like the *program* is about fifty years old!

Flickery sprites with about three frames of animation, totally unrealistic sound effects, and an awful ragtime tune droning on and on and on is just about the sum of it.

That, coupled with the most basic of shooting games, makes Chicago 30's a title that I wouldn't mind sending for a swim with concrete shoes on. But then I'm well hard, me.

I really like that Elliot Ness gadgi, so I was well chuffed when Chicago 30's dropped through the old letterbox. When I loaded it up, however, I wished it would pop right out again.

The gameplay's a lot like Robocop but that's just about where the resemblance ends. The whole procedure is ridiculously hard from the word go - primarily because bullets appear from absolutely nowhere to knock you off before you start.

Looks as though I'll have to wait for the official Untouchables conversion for a good gangster smash on the C64.

Presentation 65%
Atmospherically film-like, with an audience at the bottom, and a little man playing the piano.

Graphics 42%
Basic sprites with little animation. Bland, repetitive backdrops throughout.

Sound 39%
A droning ragtime tune and simple shooting effects.

Hookability 49%
Off-puttingly difficult from the start.

Lastability 39%
Very shallow gameplay and high difficulty setting quickly kill off any lasting interest.

Overall 42%
A bland and overly difficult gangster jaunt.