This is a goodie even though it's an oldie. It is a humorous and fun game that plays out somewhat like a digital board game. The game board in this case is a city, and you are out to gain as much money through committing crimes as possible. The graphics are simply, and the lack of mouse support can get annoying. Some of the minigames are unnecessarily difficult due to wonky controls, but for the most part, it's a good time waster.
If you are a fan of games like Gangsters, or even the older Grand Theft Auto games, then you may enjoy it.
The major gripe with the game is that like many DOS strategy games of the time, it can be very confusing to play. There aren’t really any useful tutorials or help text to get you through, and most of learning the game is simply trial and error. And when the game is about managing money and outfitting gangsters much like an RPG, it is very frustrating to realize that your blind decisions weren't the best, and it leads to you losing the game.
Another gripe is that once you become the master of Crime Fighter, and learn all the ins and outs
and tricks to play, then you will learn the exploits and simple tricks that make the game no longer fun and challenging. When you realize how to get more money than you will ever know what to do with then you will find that the interesting challenge goes out the window, and you are simply buffing up characters and winning quickly.
My final verdict is to download it and play it. It's free and doesn't take up much space, so there is really no reason not to give it a try. It will also give you some twangs of nostalgia as you play if you've ever played those text-based calculator games where you sell drugs, rob stores, shoot cops, and otherwise cause mayhem in a well designed text-based adventure game. This game is very much like those except with clean -although simple- graphics.
I like that the developer released the game as shareware that means you can easily download and play it without risk of legal trouble, or having to download cracks. In fact, although this game is designed for DOS, it runs easily through Windows, so it doesn't required you to download DosBox for those who have trouble running DosBox.
