Espiocracy
Disclaimer: Trailer & screenshots are early work in progress
GRAND ESPIONAGE STRATEGY
Choose one of 102 countries and guide character-driven national intelligence agency through rough seas of the Cold War. From Soviet KGB and American CIA, up to Israeli Mossad and British MI6, expect different approaches to grand strategy gameplay.
INNOVATIVE MECHANICS
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Espionage finally made as it should be
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Precise modelling of views & ideologies
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Direct links between causes and effects
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System of geopolitically active actors
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Emergent multipolar simulation
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Operation plans, campaigns, and opportunities
MEANINGFUL DECISIONS
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Prioritize grand scale and leave micro to your operatives
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Establish contacts, threaten, exploit, and trade
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Manipulate public opinion, support and establish political factions
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Launch coups and proxy wars, falsify casus belli
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Hunt spies and terrorists, protect internal stability
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Form alliances, prepare all-out attacks, break rules
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Advise country leader on critical decisions such as military interventions
DANGEROUS TIDES OF HISTORY
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Nuclear race: first atom bombs, thermonuclear revolution, mutually assured destruction
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Huge progress in technology, simulated in the game with Kuhn’s paradigm shifts
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After-war poverty, civil wars, controversial past
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Configurable balance between alternate history and determinism
Read More: Best Cold War Management Games.
Radio Commander
Overview
Set during the Vietnam War, Radio Commander is a realtime strategy game in which the player assumes the role of a company commander known by the radio handle of Papa Bear who has to accomplish military objectives by ordering two platoons via radio. Alpha Platoon is lead by a proud Texan named Kovacs and Bravo Platoon is lead by a black officer named Coleman with some prior combat experience. Unlike any other military strategy game, Radio Commander expects the player to keep track of platoons and enemy units by marking them on a map and radioing (frequently if desired) to the platoons to pinpoint their coordinates on the map in addition to locations of enemy units in which the platoons may be engaged in battle with.
– Real player with 32.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Cold War Singleplayer Games.
After roughly 20 hours and earning all the achievements, I feel it’s time to put my look on this game into perspective.
The game is fun if you’re into pseudo-realistic military strategy games, in saying that it’s probably not for everyone, but it is fun.
Imagine a Vietnam era Tom Clancy’s Endwar, with a twist, you can’t see your units.
The three difficulty settings in the game are Story, Commander, and Veteran. The first 2 are fairly easy with the amount of micro and enemy difficulty, and the third kicks it up a notch, which is a very good thing for a game like this. It increases the difficulty to the point where you can’t just skip through radio communications all willy nilly. The combat your troops will get into is much more difficult for them to win on this difficulty mode, and you’re more likely to suffer casualties. Your troops can get lost if you keep them in a sticky situation too long before they pull out of combat. You have to keep your choppers and vehicles fueled up, or risk them crashing and losing the valuable crew they have, and the valuable asset they provide.
– Real player with 20.7 hrs in game
China: Mao’s legacy
I would definitely recommend this game probably the best Kremlin Games has out insofar as the whole political dynamics are concerned (you are able to fully shape your country' s policies and the factions are much more ‘real’). The economy however could have been dealt with better and have a proper blend between it and Ostaglie (placing individual buildings alongside the investment).
Alike Ostaglie, relations with individual western European Countries are generalised as NATO and it would be better to not have done it in this way so we can see how the worldwide socialist movement is doing at the time, which in turn, could affect individual countries rather than having it all generalised as ‘NATO’. This would have been much better as China often had more interaction with Western Europe (with the initial funding of left-wing guerrilla groups then to investments) as the WPO did (which mainly tilted towards its own bloc, which China interreacted less with whereas the game sometimes focuses too much on Chinese-Soviet or Chinese-Middle Eastern Relations, whilst relevant it mises opportunities with Western Europe) as well as making the international playing field (which takes up a large bulk of the game) more active, especially seeing how the Years of Lead, the Spanish Transition, the German RAF and the French Maoists pan out with China still being a beacon of Maoism. Or it could show how China has been integrating more with the west and encouraging the growth of the EEC or NATO (if not becoming a member then associating maybe if you take a hard anti-Soviet line).
– Real player with 131.3 hrs in game
Read More: Best Cold War Indie Games.
I write this as a gamer who has played Kremlingames previous simulations, Crisis in the Kremlin, and Ostalgie: The Berlin Wall. As such, I can’t write this from the perspective of a person who will be exposed to this type of gameplay and Kremlingames' unique idiosyncrasies for the first time. I can only write subjectively from the viewpoint of someone who has played both games already.
First impression: it uses the same map as Ostalgie, with some haphazard modification to add Malaysia, Indonesia, Rhodesia, and the USA to the nations you can interact with. It’s better than the huge scrolling map of Crisis in the Kremlin, so I suppose I can’t complain too much. Go with what works.
– Real player with 76.8 hrs in game
Jey’s Empire
Great game! Very complex, tons of weird ways to get from A to B, and very funny under the very serious veneer. I saved America from the Red Menace by making a child cry. The only Steam achievement I’ve ever been proud of!
– Real player with 75.5 hrs in game
The dev is a really cool dude, I’ve helped him out with a few projects. The Discord server is also good and I’d recommend his other games like Cold War 2, Cauldrons of War - Barbarossa, and Cat Fu MI.
– Real player with 25.1 hrs in game
Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager
I almost let the most prominent Steam review here dissuade me from buying this game. It’s a shame that one so well written review completely misrepresents what this game accomplished and what game it really is. The reviewer really missed the point, or else it was before some updates and long since invalid. The game and its developers deserve better.
Puzzles just have one solution. This isn’t a puzzle. But it is much like chess, and there’s lots of ways to lose at chess when your opponent wants to win. Learning chess is fun, even if you never ascend to learning what the masters tell us: the number of openings with which you can plausibly win against a competent opponent is rather finite. Is chess still fun to play even when I don’t know the game that well? Yes it is. And if chess is a deal breaker for you, should you really be reviewing strategy games?
– Real player with 146.2 hrs in game
This isn’t a game for everyone, but it certainly is the one for me.
In Buzz Aldrin’s Space Program Manager, the player takes on the role of the administration of a space agency. Either NASA or the Soviet Space Agency, usually in competition with each other, or a fictional conglomeration of the two as the Global Space Agency (GSA). The goal, of course, is to land on the moon before your competitor, if playing NASA or as the Soviets–if you’re playing as the GSA the goal is simply to land on the moon by the end of 1973. Playing as the GSA replaces interagency competition with short term objectives set by political higher-ups, with give a small boost if achieved, but a moderate penalty if ignored. If a sandbox is desired with no pressure or competition, that is available too for all three agencies.
– Real player with 121.3 hrs in game
Ostalgie: The Berlin Wall
It’s hard to really describe what makes this game so much fun.
Is it the ability to save the Warsaw Pact? Maybe, but that’s not quite it.
Is it the possibility of reforming the Eastern Bloc? Hm, perhaps…oh, no, got it!
It’s the ability to do both those things, while building an excessive number of TV towers and imagining that you’re broadcasting the amazing in-game soundtrack to every citizen of Europe, constantly, at 100 decibels, forever.
Seriously though, this is one of the best ‘small’ games I’ve played in a while now. It’s fairly short, spanning three ingame years, and although you can go longer, not much really happens after 1992, but what happens in those years is enthralling.
– Real player with 258.0 hrs in game
Reminds me of the old-school Paradox Interactive games. You want tooltips? Clear explanations of what is what? Too bad. Stare at a statistics screen for a while, you’ll figure it out.
There is a neat game here, but good luck surviving for even a year. It is very hard.
edit: Okay, I have played enough I can write a little more.
Did you play Crisis in the Kremlin? It was about leading the USSR through the time of political turmoil and reform when there were many factors that would eventually bring the country to its collapse into many autonomous states. In the game you had a lot of freedom to pursue your goal. You could become a liberal reformer, play as a hardline-communist or somewhere in-between with many other variations. However, you were the main actor. You could decide how you would play. The only real condition of the game was “don’t let the USSR collapse outright.”
– Real player with 250.2 hrs in game
Crisis in the Kremlin
Well I’m a Chinese and it’s my first time to write a comment on steam, so if I say something wrong or something you don’t like please forgive me.
For me I want to recommend you to use Romanov or Gromyko. Actually all 4 characters in 1985 have chance to win including Gorbachev, yesterday I play as him and it’s not impossible to save the country but use him will have two problems. One is reformer look like too strong to resist in the CPSU, other one is you cannot extract resources in Africa because you need to make conservative and Stalinism majority to open the mutual-aid in foreign policy part, but you can’t legalize Stalinism when you play as Gorbachev. For Grishin, a conservative, well I think is no problem to use him but I’m Deng supporter. And maybe it’s not a good news that Gromyko died in 1988 though he is really, really good man. So personally I choose Romanov. Year 1985 or 1986 is a better choice because you can change the country more easier.
– Real player with 266.2 hrs in game
It’s incredible really for a game to be so vague in how the mechanics work, so rough in design, so lacking in proper translation (seriously, the translation is a real problem here), and yet, I’d still definitely recommend it to any modern history buff or, of course, any aspiring Red with a taste for revisionism, and what Red doesn’t like a bit of Revisionism? I know I do.
Graphics: Nothing too much to mention here, they’re largely functional, and while many of the event pictures are nice Soviet posters or photographs, beyond that it’s very much just a text adventure with a red border. Not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, but don’t expect a 3D sprite of Yeltsin to go stumbling across the top of the screen in his signature drunken fashion. (Hm, suddenly I feel a real sense of loss)
– Real player with 264.5 hrs in game
Radio Commander VR
Radio Commander now in VR! Experience one of the most innovative strategy games of 2019 in a virtual reality. Be there, right next to the battlefield, in a commander’s tent in the middle of a Vietnamese jungle. Step into the shoes of an experienced leader and lead your soldiers to victory… or at least give them a chance to survive the Vietnam hell.
In Radio Commander VR you are playing as an American military commander serving in US Army during the Vietnam War. You will be carrying a heavy burden as
your mission is to coordinate military operations taking place between 1965 and 1968.
WHY VR?
Since day one we dreamt about VR version of Radio Commander. Our goal was to offer players the most realistic and immersive Vietnam War experience on the market. VR technology gave us the chance to transfer the player in the heart of the action – right to the center of the South Vietnam of the ‘60, into a commander’s tent, where he can control US troops fighting with the enemy. Look around the tent and the base. Lean over the map. Move your tokens manually and operate the radio. Become true Radio Commander.
But this is not just another RTS, in which you are an invisible being hovering over the battlefield. In Radio Commander VR situation reports are given to you in form of dramatic radio statements sent by troops fighting on the ground. And your only accessory is a strategic map, on which you can place tokens and notes.
UNIQUE VIEW ON REALISM
Radio Commander VR offers an unique experience very different from classic real time strategy games. It’s a bold try to redefine the genre, as the player will be involved in a decision-making process much more realistic than those pictured by casual RTS titles. Ask for situation reports. Listen what your men have to tell you. Send evac choppers and nape drops. Defeat the invisible enemy.
DIVE INTO THE STORY
Experience the story of soldiers and their commander, trapped in the middle of bloody, chaotic, morally ambiguous Vietnam conflict. Let yourself sink into a Vietnamese jungle – thanks to the VR technology now more realistic and immersive than ever before! Dive into a scenario that doesn’t avoid the difficult issues of civilians trapped in the theater of action, shady CIA operations, and cynical political pressures. Discover those uneasy situations, presented in such cult classics as Platoon, Full Metal Jacket or Apocalypse Now, which were happening on a daily basis for those serving in Vietnam. See for yourself how hard it is to make the right choices in the middle of a fire exchange with Vietcong.
DECIDE WHO LIVES AND DIES
Decide the fate of your soldiers. The choices you face will have a direct impact on the course of the game. They will also define views of your hero. Or maybe those are your views? Playing Radio Commander VR you must be prepared to answer tough questions about the righteousness of your actions, the price of a human life, and the toxic power of propaganda and stereotypes.
USE YOUR IMAGINATION
Radio Commander VR is not another empty action game. Thanks to the VR glasses you will be right there, operating from a commander’s tent, using only a radio and a map. You will be staring at the map for hours, listening carefully to the reports. Your decisions will affect lives of many people. Just like in real life, there are no fancy graphics and animations to help you imagine what’s happening on battlefield. Only you, your map, and skills. You have to listen and be smart. Thanks to this and your fancy VR set, level of immersion is much greater than in normal real time strategy games.
CHOOSE BETWEEN VARIOUS MEANS
You will take under your command not only units of infantry, air cavalry or field artillery, but also powerful units of air support. It’s in your will to order the jungle-burning nape drops, or devastating bombings. Are you ready to bring the rain of fire and burn the enemy positions to the ground? Are you sure that your soldiers are far enough and won’t take damages? And do the ends always justify the means?
EXPERIENCE DEEP IN-GAME SYSTEMS
Beneath the narrative layer, hidden from your eyes, a deep and complex simulation is taking place. In Radio Commander VR every unit is described by unique set of statistics. You will have to worry about your platoons’ morale, supplies, and even their stamina. All those factors will be important during your soldiers’ confrontations with enemy, unfriendly terrain and extreme Vietnamese climate. What will you do, when your choppers report, that they are out of fuel and forced to land in the middle of the jungle? Will you send the rescue mission risking the life of even more soldiers?
BOND WITH YOUR BROTHERS IN ARMS
Troops under your command are not just pawns on the map. They are complicated, multi-layered human beings, with their own voices, problems, strengths and weaknesses. Mutual trust is essential. They depend on your judgment and cool decisions, while you are hoping they’re giving their best. Discover hundreds of original dialogues and scenarios. Replay previously completed missions and alter the course of events by making different decisions and encountering different events.
HOURS OF GAME EXPERIENCE
Radio Commander VR includes:
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9 main campaign missions (every mission is possible to complete in several different ways),
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9 animated briefings,
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15 unit types, including: infantry, evac choppers, gunships, field artillery, aerial reconnaissance, M113 armored personnel carriers, and napalm-carrying F4 Phantom jets (every unit is described by a unique set of statistics and communicates with commander using a different voice),
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full voice over,
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over 200 dialogue blocks, used to construct radio messages,
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over 600 story dialogues between units and the commander.
CHECK OUT MORE FROM GAMES OPERATORS!
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Xenonauts 2
XENONAUTS-2 is a vast single player strategy game in which you control a multi-national military organisation defending our planet from alien invasion.
Battle the extraterrestrials in tense, complex turn-based combat across a variety of maps and missions, recovering and researching their technology to unlock new weapons and equipment!
Take a global view with the real-time strategic management layer: you must establish and develop your bases, conduct research, battle for air supremacy and try to keep the panic level in your funding regions under control.
The strategic and tactical layers of the game are directly related, with ground missions affecting the overall balance of the Geoscape and your research efforts on the recovered items unlocking new equipment for your squads and aircraft. Every management decision you make filters down to the troops you control in battle; every shot you fire could change the balance of strategic power.
Can you hold off the invasion long enough to discover a way to defeat the alien forces?
No knowledge of the previous game is required to play - XENONAUTS-2 is a standalone title with its own setting and narrative.
Key Features
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Ground Combat: The highly-detailed turn-based combat system gives you fine control over your soldiers as they battle the aliens across multiple different mission types and numerous varied environments. The day / night cycle and destructible battlefields open up endless tactical possibilities to defeat your enemies, and your soldiers will grow stronger as they gain combat experience - provided you can keep them alive!
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Strategic Management: A complex strategic layer allows you to coordinate the defence of our planet. Establish bases to extend your reach and use customisable interceptors to shoot down attacking UFOs, then deploy your soldiers to secure resources. Capturing crash sites can secure alien technology and live specimens for research, whereas protecting regions from alien activity and terror attacks will protect your funding and prevent them surrendering to the aliens.
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In-depth Simulation: The structure of Xenonauts-2 is not linear; no two campaigns unfold in exactly the same way. Every element of this complex interlocking simulation has been designed to create maximum coherence between the strategic and tactical layers: small decisions can have an impact across the entire game.
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Extensive Tech Tree: XENONAUTS-2 contains a vast variety of aircraft, vehicles, weapons, armour, and battlefield equipment for you to experiment with. and a deep research tree with over a hundred projects to unlock. Play the game the way you want to play, devising your own tactics and strategies to defeat the extraterrestrial threat!
Key Improvements from XENONAUTS-1
In addition to the new modular upgrade systems mentioned previously, here is a very small selection of key changes and enhancements:
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Improved visuals across all parts of the game, including full 3D tactical environments with a rotatable camera!
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A more detailed and immersive Geoscape simulation incorporating greater player choice and stronger elements of territory control!
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More environments and maps to fight in - including our new Jungle and Boreal biomes!
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New aliens have been added and many existing ones have been redesigned, all of which will benefit from our new and improved AI system!
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A larger research tree with more lore and an expanded variety of equipment for your soldiers to use in battle!
Wolfstride
Wolfstride is a refreshing and unique blend of style, coolness and madness. The graphics and music are just sooo good. The swift animations fit perfectly and just make it so natural and yet at times so suddenly… “POoW!”. All the Art in this game is very well achieved, genuine and inspired, but the SOUL of it all, it’s the story… It’s a ShatTered Soul, and when looking back into this experience it may feel like a story of random unrelated episodes that are hammered together into one shape/Shade using the power of craziness. Should this even work!? It does, because it achieves those levels of funny and extroversion we got used to watching and loving on very famous and successful animes.
– Real player with 135.9 hrs in game
Finished it and wow what a great game.
Pros:
everything, this game is truly a storytelling masterpiece
with its great humor, game-play, drama and over-all mechanics.
Plenty of customization to play your way but there’s hardly any
at the beginning and end
Cons:
found 3 misspelled words.
there are some tedious mini-games and even the main game-play
is a little repetitive after a while.
some of the storytelling is a little drawn out but it usually never leaves
you without an option to skip it if it’s getting boring for you.
– Real player with 47.3 hrs in game