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The latest Cinemaware release King Of Chicago has just landed on our desks, thrown through a second storey window attached to a fizzing bomb... ooops! The game takes you back to the ganglang era of the 30s; October 24th 1931 to be precise.

Al Capone has just started an eleven year stretch in Alcatraz for tax evasion, leaving his Southside gang in the evil and dangerous hands of Tony Santucci. As Pink Callahan, an aspiring hood in the opposing Northside gang, it has long been your dream to unit the two sides of Chicago to produce a single, all-powerful gang... with you as head man of course!

Now, with Capone languishing in jail, you see your chance. But first you must establish yourself as number one on the Northside. At the start of the game you are only third in the pecking order behind 'The Old Man' and Ben, his advisor.

You figure The Old Man is ready for the drop anyway, and Ben should step aside, given the right 'incentive'. That still leaves the others in the gang; you'll need to earn their respect, and then keep it, otherwise you'll wake up dead one morning.

The action starts in 1931 and ends in 1934 when all the leaders of organised crime held a meeting in New York to establish Murder Inc. a national crime syndicate that considered Chicago too barbaric too be included amongst their ranks.

King gives you a chance to change the course of history by turning the shambles that is the Chicago gangland scene, into a cohesive, profitable concern and earn an invitation to join the syndicate. Only then will the full weight of organised crime secure your position as King of Chicago.

Just as in the movies, the game features a number of characters that will be involved in the game. But, unlike the movies, the characters in Kind sometimes start a new game with a different role to play in the story or a changed reputation.

Take Pinky, your own character, for instance. At the start of some games, he has the reputation for being tough. In other games, he is a wimp. By reacting in varying ways to different characters, you can change the way Pinky is perceived by others. If, for example, you give in too often, to the wishes of Lola, your girlfriend, the gang may decide to elect a leader with more backbone. Conversely, by being cool to Lola you will earn respect from your subordinates, and threats will suddenly become more effective. But, if you ignore her too much she may go over to Tony Santucci which would severely dent your credibility rating with the rest of the gang.

Once the game has loaded, and the game's title screen has been peppered with machine gun bullets, the superb sound track opens with some typically laid back 30s jazz. If you do nothing at this point, the game will make a movie without you, making all the decisions for Pinky, although he may react differently under computer control.

As mentioned above, the game starts just after Capone's imprisonment.

As the game progresses, you will gradually build up a picture of who is with you and who isn't, who you can trust a little, and who you can't trust at all. You will need to keep those who matter sweet, and dispose with the dead wood. And, while all this is going on, you've still got to find time to make the gang strong and successful.

On your desk is a map of Chicago, divided into four sections: the Northside (your patch), the Westside, the Loop and the Southside (Santucci's domain). By clicking on the relevant area, you can initiate an attack on that part of the city. Sometimes Beb will advise you against being too hasty, either because you haven't got enough men. Sometimes he will suggest you buy a politician or two before going in with all barrels firing.

Also on your desk are a picture of Lola, some keys and your ledger book. You can visit Lola by clicking her picture. The keys are used to continue the movie, sometimes introducing new sub-plots along the way. Perhaps some dames have been kidnapped from one of your speakeasies, or you might get the chance to curtail Santucci's gin operation with a threatening phonecall to his supplier.

Opening the ledger allows you to make decisions as to your activities in Gaming, the Rackets, and Speakeasies. Should they remain the same or be increased or cut back? Then there's the wage bill to consider. Should you give any of the boys a rise, and do you need any more men on the payroll, and, more importantly, can you afford them?

As your ambitions grow you'll also need to cultivate friends in city hall. What better way than to 'buy' the next mayor of Chicago. But for that you'll need men and plenty of cash for bribes and vote-buying. And even if you do succeed in getting Alderman Burke into city hall, he'll still expect you to continue lining his pocket or, when the crunch comes, Burke won't feel he's got any moral obligation to keep you out of jail.

Tony Santucci's not about to sit back and watch you eat away his Southside empire. If you're playing Bull and Peepers enough dosh they'll catch Santucci's henchman, Guido snooping around waiting to knock you off as soon as you set foot outside your office. Do you kill him there and then, get Bull to rough him up a bit, or just send him back to his boss with a message?

What makes King Of Chicago a good game, rather than just a showpiece for stunning graphics and music, is the variety of different movies this type of game structure allows you to make.

I've played a number of games of King Of Chicago, each one completely different. The last time, I succeeded in owning three quarters of the windy city, the dosh was rolling in, and I had more than fifty men on the payroll. Then I shot an innocent girl by mistake, while trying to rescue her from Lucky's. I was arrested by my goody, goody childhood pal Tom Malone, and was subsequently killed on the electric chair, and all because I was scimping on my bribes! Oh well, I'll know not to be so cheap next time.

King Of Chicago is the first so-called computer movie to live up to the name. It is as huge as it is flexible. The graphics, stereo sounds, and musical score fit the game perfectly. This is bound to rocket straight to the top of the 16-bit charts. Justifiably so!