Sigma Theory: Global Cold War
Sigma Theory is a good niche product that was incorrectly exposed to the public. Yes indeed, it is a turn-based strategy game about spies, but it is far from Phantom Doctrine or any other action-packed tactical title. Jeez, in the very old “Spy vs Spy” game was much more direct action! Sigma Theory is text-based. It is a board game by the set of rules and overall dynamics. Think of Battlestar Galactica, think of Monopoly. In the realm of video games, think of The Witcher Adventure Game or maybe Plague Inc: Evolved , in a way.
– Real player with 94.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Political Sim Sandbox Games.
This game is a dream come true for me. I’ve always been a fan of the spy genre (video games, tabletop games, tv shows, movies, board games, card games), I think Sid Meyers Cover Action is one of the best espionage games ever made; with Invisible Inc and Phantom Doctrine coming in at close second; totally different games but they mange to make you feel like you’re a real intelligence officer on the job. Now there is a new spy game in town and I have to say this game is the type of spy game I’ve been looking for, for years! Ever since I played Streets of Chaos (it’s a game where you run a criminal origination. You send out gang members to do crime all over a fictional city) and another hidden gem called Black Closet (in the game you’re like the president of boarding school, and you send out your team to investigate students; to avoid scandals from destroying the school). I thought to myself, both of these games have great micromanagement mechanics and they’re not very graphic heavy, it would be great to have a spy game that played a lot like those 2 games, and now that game is here!
– Real player with 55.0 hrs in game
Power & Revolution
I wanted to and tried to like this game and I found much to like. Firstly it is probably my favourite genre (modern geo-politics) and there is alot unique and cool about it. That said there is just too many things that are either tedious, too ill-explained (even with the GodsNspy addon) or just don’t work like they should either by design or not. Lastly there are some things that just should be available to everyone and not as DLC. The modding tool paid DLC is inadequete considering it cost money. Furthermore, given the inept explanitions of game mechanics, the GodNspy addon should also be part of the package, aswell as offer more information.
– Real player with 243.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Political Sim Simulation Games.
This is a very difficult game to evaluate. First - it’s very deep and complex. They aren’t kidding when they say “Geo-Political Simulator”. It goes much deeper into politics and economic simulation than even paradox games. This game will only be of interest to you if you’re interested in politics, and know at least a little bit about macroeconomics. This isn’t Tropico, Democracy or Hearts of Iron. All of those games are great, but they simply don’t compare to this by sheer depth.
This game doesn’t pussy-foot around, it treats you like an adult. There are hundreds of different laws and taxes you can change, thosuands of characters you can interact with, and enough graphs to satisfy even the stingiest statistics professor. You can play as any nation in the world (besides a handful of micronations like the Vatican), as opposition political parties, or even as an illegal groupр, such as the Kurds in Syria or the rebels in Donbass (although the meat of the game is when you play as a head of state). Your actions affect not just your popularity and budget, but also many macroeconomic factors. Factors such as inflation, unemployment and crime are all inter-related, and you’ll often times find yourself trying to reach a happy compromise. There really isn’t any other game like this. This is due to the fact that Eversim is a company that creates simulation games for intl' organizations and their mindset is very clear with even their consumer-level products, such as P&R.
– Real player with 167.8 hrs in game
Government Simulator
Okay, so I decided to write up my general thoughts of this game and why I don’t necessarily believe it’s a bad game, but a game that has potential and needs a lot of work to get to a point where it can be considered realistic and fun to play.
Economy
I enjoy the main concept behind the economy; managing your taxes and spending to meet every growing demand of the nation. However, there seems to be a great deal of rebalancing of the economics that needs to go on before this side can be considered final.
– Real player with 17.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best Political Sim Simulation Games.
Sooo.. Now I finally played this wonderful game (I was hyped since the announcement). It is very similiar to Democracy 3. Actually there are so many negative reviews.. I understand why, but not every review is justified in my opinion, because this game isn’t for the popular mass, it’s genre is a niche. I play games like these a lot, even if there are just a few (Democracy 3, Political Simulator, …).
I like how the game looks and feels. It feels very professional and it shows a bunch of statistics. The animations and graphs have very smooth animations and overall the game feels very great.
– Real player with 13.3 hrs in game
Arms Race - TCWE
Arms Race - The Cold War Era is pretty promising with the way game mechanics work and the AI is good. The recommended strategy in the guide section doesn’t work reliably for me and I ended up using a different strategy. The AI is also pretty good at adapting to what you are doing. The limited 3 budget changes ends up meaning every decision has long term implications.
Most games turn out slightly differently due to the AI choosing different tactics and the randomness of global crisis events.
The game isn’t as full fleshed as say Hearts of Iron but I feel like the mechanics are well thought out and the AI provides a challenge even on easy. It does a good job of abtracting the cold war and reducing decisions to the macro level (‘meaningful decisions’) compared to HoI3/4 which features considerable micromanagement. I personally prefer macro level games (less micromanagement) but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. If you prefer to play M&T in EU4 vs base EU4 or if you prefer to play Darkest Hour/HoI2 vs HoI4 then this is the game for you.
– Real player with 17.2 hrs in game
This is a fun little game which plays a complete run in about 2-3 hours.
It runs through the whole of the cold war and includes extensive historical detail and research - history geerks will enjoy looking through the tech trees and space race just reading some of the interesting commentary.
The game itself is primarily about resource allocation - the resources being influence (generated by diplomats) spies, and military. These three resources allow you to control the board through a variety of diplomatic coups and military intervention.
– Real player with 14.9 hrs in game
Masters of the World - Geopolitical Simulator 3
I highly recommend this game for anyone who is a political geek.
The game is extremely in-depth. It goes from well-known laws like freedom of speech/demonstration/religion to tiny aspects you’d never see in a geopolitical simulator; blood toxicity level, driving age, maximum age for school, and speed limits on trunk roads, city roads, and highways. It also has a very realistic atmosphere to it. Setting aside the fact the map and characters look like 90s era games, it gives the game a feel no other geopolitical simulator has given me; realism. It goes from setting meetings with political figures and world leaders, to having small talk and influencing well-known figures in your country to vote for you or support your bill publicly. When a law doesn’t pass through, a reform can be made. Adding laws into this reform that is bipartisan will increase the chances of it being passed. More features include asking nations for authorization to build a pipeline through their territory, building pipelines for oil or gas, detailed trade agreements that allow you to set the price, quantity, and duration of the agreement (Example: Russia’s Natural Gas Agreement with China that will last for 20 years), the game also allows the construction of various buildings or transportations like oil and gas pipelines, high-speed trains, nuclear power plants, oil rigs, gas and oil fields, and even increasing the number of hospitals, homes, schools, or solar fields. The game also has a very complicated economic system. I have been having trouble with it, but I did have some success as Jordan earlier. Continuing on, the game is very recent. It isn’t like SuperPower 2 where it was created just before the NATO expansion or the break-up of Serbia and Montenegro, but it was released in 2013, meaning it has the world’s youngest country, South Sudan. The game features terrorist groups in every country, ranging from the Mafia to Total Jihad groups (Al-Quaeda). You have the options to infiltrate the groups if they live in your territory, to funding them with weapons, money, and 2 semi-trucks with rockets and explosives if they are in other countries to help them take down that country’s government. But if you do this, you have the chance to be caught red-handed. And this will transfer into the news, and Parliment will impeach you. I suffered that while playing as Russia and funding New Zealand terrorists. The game offers so much detail to their options, like adding more medical staff and adding more police staff. You can also investigate politicians and well-known citizens to reveal a scandal to use against them, to spying on heads-of-state or countries to find evidence that will gain the approval of the United Nations Security Council and allow military action against the country. Which brings me to the Organizations of the game.
– Real player with 385.6 hrs in game
Despite of a few bugs Geopolitical Simulator 3 is an exceptionally clever and entertaining game! Of course strategic gaming must be your thing in order to fully appreciate MOW. It has more body than for example Civilization (which in itself is also a good game). It is very interesting to see what influence your various decisions have in the field of domestic or foreign policy, financial health, economic growth or social aspects. Also the causal relations between investing/cutting in a particular sector, creating contracts, growth, unemployment, production, trade balance, budget deficit, privitization etc..etc.. is very realistic, interesting and entertaining. Fun to read the newspaper on which impact your various decisions have, how it is presented and how well it is received by public opinion. One of the things I have learned is that you certainly can’t satisfy all of the people and organizations in a country. And most of the time it is a real challenge just to keep your head above the water. But all the more satisfying it is when you do manage to create a contract, see that the invested tax payer dollars create economic growth an jobs etc..etc..
– Real player with 150.2 hrs in game
Power & Revolution 2019 Edition
The Game Works, For a While, Then it Just Doesn’t
I’ve been playing the game for a couple of months, and I have also been making a few mods. Recently, I’ve noticed that the game now freezes around June of 2020. I’ve only been playing mods recently, but I don’t think that’s an excuse for this. I think I’ll simply stop playing until this issue is fixed. It’s just not fun anymore when the game irredeemably freezes on me every ten minutes
UPDATE
This Game is STILL Broken!!!
I’m really getting sick of the broken state of this game. I mostly play mods, but they either glitch to the point of being broken to not even loading correctly. I cannot create custom characters or groups because if I do, they won’t render in the game anyway. Or if they do, they’ll have the wrong voice. A male character with a female voice and visa versa. Another issue I’m having is that I’ll play a game for one day, and the next day, the space research section completely disappears!!! If I change a nation’s regime type, say for example, make Somalia a Federal Republic with a Presidential government type, it’ll show up in mod creation and in mod editing, but if I try to play this mod, it’ll still be an Authoritarian Military regime in the new game menu! I downloaded the game’s recent update, and it worked for one day! I DO NOT recommend this game due to these very frustrating glitches! I’m losing faith in this company’s ability to fix this game.
– Real player with 727.9 hrs in game
If this game went for U$D 20 and it was the studio’s first foray into the genre, it’d be acceptable. Not good, but understandably troubled.
For a $50 DLC (That was released as a standalone) by a studio that has been making this very same game for years, it’s unacceptable.
It is not buggy: It is a writhing, cynical mess of broken mechanics that push against one another to see which will break your game first. The developers don’t care as long as their 17 cultists buy their game anew. I am in the Power and Revolutions Discord server. The crowd has a powerful blend of cultist vibe and “Pol Pot just needed more time” delirium.
– Real player with 201.0 hrs in game
No Place for the Dissident
While I am recommending this, I would highly suggest you wait for a sale or until the price lowers. It’s not a bad game and has some cool mechanics, but it isn’t something that’s worth $20 unless you really think It’ll scratch a niche you have. While sometimes fun, it needs more polish to be worth the price it’s asking for, at least in my opinion. Here’s a bullet point review:
The Good:
- Ideology spreads through points on the map that interact with each other instead of having each country just be a tap made up of abstract numbers. They even have different population densities. Looking at waves of orange overflow a country is somewhat neat to look at.
– Real player with 17.0 hrs in game
It’s okay. It will be better if they add more features and streamline the actions for smaller countries. Otherwise it will remain more tedious than fun.
It could be really cool if they keep updating it.
– Real player with 5.5 hrs in game
Rogue State
This is by far one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played in a while. You’re the chosen leader of an intermediary government attempting to rebuild the country of Basenji after the overthrow of a monarch. As you rebuild your infastructure and balance relations between the various factions of your society, you must keep an eye out on foreign leaders looking to exploit your vulnerable country. On top of all this, your brother is constantly seeking an opportunity to plot a coup deta against you. You have to keep a healthy relationship with the armed forces and your cabinet if you plan to keep your power in office.
– Real player with 40.3 hrs in game
Rogue State is a government management role playing game set after an Arab Spring type event. Each year is divided into several turns. Given the topical nature of the game and limited but repayable scenario I recommend it for those who want to experience a fairly standard government game with unique flavor. The graphics and sound are functional and some of the touches, like having the U.S. ambassador answer the phone and meet you, are cute touches but one wonders if the time would have been better spent elsewhere.
– Real player with 35.4 hrs in game
SuperPower 2 Steam Edition
The Year is 2015.
I am the new Prince of Monaco.
Little do they know that I am a semi-GOD who has the gift of Immortality.
From day one I start my rule by granting all rights like Poligamy, Same Sex Marriage and Legalising Drugs; soon, hedonistic parties and drug filled orgies would be a common thing to find in the streets of Larvotto and in the high-rises of Fontvieille.
I banned all the heretic foreign languages and forced everyone to speak the divine Monegasque.
But it wasn’t enough, I needed to expand my faith despite having only 30000 loyal servants to my cause.
– Real player with 935.7 hrs in game
This game is fun. HOWEVER it’s got issues that become hard to ignore the more you play. Especailly if you know anything about developmental economics.
1. The vanilla game doesn’t handle population very well. The population of any country will continue to grow untill the game crashes. Some mods (Human develoment for example) try to address this issue but end up with the opposite problem where countries will decrease in population untill their economy breaks down and they fall into anarchy. There’s basically nothing you can do to prevent either of these fates.
– Real player with 866.8 hrs in game
Zenith Frontier
Zenith Frontier is an interstellar strategy simulation game. Explore and colonise hostile exoplanets and help humanity survive the struggles of 2040 and beyond.
Zenith Frontier features several novel mechanics in the context of traditional 4X and grand strategy gameplay elements. Experience visionary strategic gameplay set in an evolving procedural galaxy populated by billions ot autonomous citizens and private companies. Build a faction with a rich background and strong identity, then oversee their interstellar efforts to advance their position within the precarious New Space Age.
New Gameplay Features:
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A Shared Origin: Factions start in the same overpopulated, suffering home system and compete to expand outwards in the year 2040. This is made possible by the recent discovery of –REDACTED– which allows high-tech spacecraft to slip into subspace.
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Volatile Subspace: Exploration of this newly accessible subspace is incredibly dangerous. This chaotic region is thick with dark matter and swirling dark energy fields, but the ability to travel interstellar distances in considerably shorter timeframes may be worth the risk. Known safe routes will become critical to sustaining your remote holdings, but beware - subspace is neither static or stable and these routes may change!
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Information is Essential: Unshielded signals will be destroyed in subspace and must be carried through by comm drones. News that arrives at your capital from a distant colony will be out-of-date - the situation will have evolved and you will have to consider this when planning your response. Additionally, perhaps the illegal hijacking of another’s comm drones will glean some strategic information - and prevent it from arriving at its intended destination!
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Special Relativity: Spacecraft travelling at incredible speeds and colonies established within deep gravity wells will experience first-hand the effects of special relativity and time dilation. Time will progress more quickly for the crew of your –REDACTED– spacecraft making a long journey at high speeds than the colony they are destined for.
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Geospatial Resource Pricing: A supply and demand model for price determination within a dynamic economic system that includes taxes, import/export fees and transportation costs mean that resource prices will vary throughout the galaxy. Plan your economic developments accordingly - or invest in this interstellar network infrastructure to take a slice of your rival’s operations.
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Top Level Direction: Shape your faction from the top down by issuing orders, directives, and edicts to your military staff, governors, and private sector. These are executed autonomously, which can lead to surprising outcomes. This indirect control poses interesting strategic challenges.
Traditional Gameplay Features:
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Diplomacy and Politics
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Research and Technology
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Military Conflict
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Management and Governance
Zenith Frontier’s Design Pillars:
Zenith Frontier is being designed and developed in line with these pillars.
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Emergence - A rich, living world that generates unique emergent scenarios.
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Strategic Depth - A semantic network of interconnect systems.
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Gameplay Over Graphics - A high quality interactive system that priotises gameplay.
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Self-Directed - The player is primarily working towards self-selected goals in open gameplay.
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Top Level Decisions - The player provides direction from the top-down to autonomous agents.