Over 25 years after its first release, French software publisher Anuman Interactive has announced it is reissuing “Prohibition” – a game marketed under the Joystick Replay label for PC, Mac, iOS and Android.
When it was first released in 1987 for Amstrad CPCs, “Prohibition” won public acclaim for its superbly realistic graphics that were ahead of their time. With this reissue, gamers will discover or rediscover the all sensations and moods of the title as they plunge into the 1930s with all its corruption and bloody settling of scores.
William Hall is a tenacious, incorruptible police detective, a cop who puts his sense of justice above everything else. One day, Vincent Parrizi, a brutal, bloodthirsty godfather, makes the mistake of going for Hall’s family. You take the part of the cop fired by a desire for vengeance and are plunged into a veritable manhunt. The storyline, narrated in comic-strip-style cinematics, emphasizes the sense of drama and personally involves you in the war against the godfather of crime.
This remake is a rail shooter – i.e. a first person shooting gallery where your movements are automatic. You can, however, take cover from the enemy’s bullets before you’re hit. The adventure has a very arcade feel and unfolds through a series of tableaus in five different venues – downtown, a smugglers’ warehouse, and country road, to name three of them – where the godfather’s men attempt to stop William Hall. But don’t forget, he serves justice. So you must be careful not to shoot any civilians taken hostage by the gangsters. If you do, you are penalized.
To win your vendetta you use authentic period weaponry like the traditional Smith & Wesson six-shooter and tommy gun. You can also slow time to take aim more accurately and use different multiple weapon combinations. If you are a hot shot you can win up to 14 trophies for accuracy (scoring 20 headshots, for example) and skill (killing 50 enemies without getting hit). You are also rewarded for your detective work – i.e. for gathering proof against the mafia godfather. You can view a recap of your statistics when you complete a level. It allows you see how accurate you were, the number of headshots you managed, and the number of times you hit or missed your target.
You can gather 10 clues between shoot-outs in order to implicate the godfather in the murder of William Hall’s family. You can also choose to restart the game from one of the three levels of difficulty – Easy, Normal, Difficult – so as to collect all the clues and discover the alternative ending.
” Prohibition 1930 ” was commercially released on 12th September 2013 on PC, Mac, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad in French, English, Italian, German, and Spanish. Android version will be available soon.