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 Economy 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
Lawgivers
A simple political simulator focusing on a gameplay element that was missing in Democracy 3 and not well developed in Urban Empire.
To keep it short: The game is fun, but somewhat lacking in depth and can be rather random at times. Better to watch gameplay videos to see if it is for you, unless you really love politics and want a parliament simulator badly.
To be more elaborate: The game offers a variety of policies that are unlocked through research. Policy effects are very clearcut and not as complicated and multi-layered as in Democracy 3. Also they tend to be rather simple. For instance there is a policy to establish a pension system, but it is not explained what kind of system it is, nor is it possible to have different types of systems (Democracy 3 at least distinguished between private and public pension schemes).
– Real player with 27.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Political Sim Simulation Games.
Mixed leaning negative, with lots of caveats
Firstly, I love the presentation, the UI design, the idea of the sim. It is nice to see so many countries represented, with an actual democratic method of passing or repealing laws and legislation, via voting done by members of the chamber. It is a solid base for the game to (hopefully) improve with in time.
But, sadly, I feel the overtly positive points halt here.
While many countries are represented each one works exactly the same, even if their constitutions and ideology differs. Each will start with the same rules and a empty parliamentary chamber. It is like establishing the very first government. And then the system does not emulate the country you are supposed to be. Every country gets the chamber filled, and then the “lawgivers” themselves pick a PM/President. Not the majority holder. Not public vote. Not the popular vote or the most weighted votes as seen in real systems across the world. Only through pushing new rules and laws can you actually get around to emulating your chosen countries real system.
– Real player with 14.3 hrs in game
Epic City Builder 4
I really do like this game. Its very easy to pick up and feels like the kind of game il be playing for a very long time.
Im 28 hours in at time of this review and im am very happy i brought this game. Its like city skyline….. but fun
– Real player with 63.7 hrs in game
Read More: Best Political Sim Base Building Games.
Had an issue with not be able to save my capital but the developer was on it and issued a fix. I have spent alot of time well spent.
– Real player with 25.4 hrs in game
Lawgivers II
The sequel to Lawgivers is in the works!! Join our communities and contribute to one of the most ambitious political simulation game!
Lawgivers II is a political sandbox game which offers multiple ways to experience the process of ruling and approving bills. Start your political adventure from the very bottom and perhaps lead your nation one day to become the most influential in the world.
World
The game comes with a world map featuring the most well-known nations and up to two levels of administrative subdivisions. Players will have comfortable filters to display population, relations, gdp growth, election outcomes by districs, etc.
Parliament
Enter the parliament/congress with your lawmakers to approve or abolish laws in a much expanded and realistic way. Elect the speaker of the house to watch over parliamentary democracy and set up committees for personalized laws. Request a secret vote, or ask for impeachment. Many graphs will assist players with their choice.
Government
Run for the highest seat in presidential and semi-presidential republics or become the prime minister in parliamentary republics. Form a government alone or with a coalition of party and try to survive motions of no confidence. Bypass the parliament if necessary to satisfy your needs but be prepared to face the consequences.
Laws
Personalize and approve laws like never before. With constitutional amendments you can control the workflow of the most important institutions of the country. Players will enjoy total freedom of choosing whether to insert a bill in constitution or just approve it as an ordinary law.
Lawmakers
In Lawgivers II all lawmakers will have their own opinion about laws and way to rule. If there are to many points of view in a party, some politicians might leave it or found another one. Check out their personal history and be sure to have their trust.
Organisations and Lobbies
Organisations and Lobbies might achieve a lot of influence in your country. Ask them for support by hiring one of their gentlemen or try to practice honest and clean politics.
War & Trade
Raise your influence over the world and secure important resources for your country. Corrupt other parties in poorer countries or organise “legal” referendums to annect other regions. Enter war with other nations in order to reach economic and political supremacy.
Multiplayer
Join with your friends in a coalition to form the government, rr simply stay in opposition and get ready for your first chance to grab power. (The multiplayer will be available at a later development stage)
Mods
The game will come with Steamworks support. Modders will be able to add new countries, laws, events, resources, ideologies and more content just with a simple text editor. The appearance of lawmakers will be completely cutomizable too so you can draw and import your favourite politicians.
Taurion
Welcome to Taurion. A Fully decentralized MMORTS.
A Fully persistent sandbox MMO that runs unstoppable and autonomous.
Prospect, Mine, Refine, Build, Fight, Craft, Trade and work with other players to build your empire.
Backstory:
Over the years the governments of the Earth became increasingly hostile and fractured. Alliances were formed and broken. Eventually 12 factions emerged in a semi-stable world order (or houses as they are now known). By this time the scale of weaponry available to the 12 factions was too powerful to use without exterminating all life on Earth. Consequently, when WWIII erupted, it wasn’t a kinetic war. It was an information and propaganda war that lasted well over a century. Intelligence agencies had taken over news and entertainment and shut down free speech entirely. Every piece of information, or rather disinformation, was curated. Nobody knew what was true or what was false.
The absence of a meaningfully informed population left the megacorporations free to do as they pleased. With regulatory capture, they simply pushed through laws and regulations that benefited them and their shareholders in the short term. The constant flux of “truth” in the disinformation campaigns made long term planning nearly moot, and also made it easy for the megacorporations to create and push their own narratives.
Environmental standards were dismantled, and all laws regarding genetic engineering were erased. Biotech companies produced ever more genetically modified plants and animals that required ever harsher pesticides, herbicides, and stronger antibiotics.
Slowly the Earth was poisoned. Superbugs became more common, wiping out millions of people, nevermind the costs to domestic animals and wildlife. GMO plants became invasive species, destroying pristine environments and disrupting ecosystems. People became sicker and sicker as agro chemicals poisoned their water supplies while fisheries suffered as the lakes, rivers, and oceans were poisoned. Species were going extinct at alarming rates.
Eventually there was a crack in the social world zeitgeist and people began to reject government and corporate narratives that were clearly the opposite of reality. Mass protests turned into riots that were mostly crushed by government forces and private security forces hired by corporations. But for every casualty, the movements attracted 10x more people.
Behind the scenes the intelligence agencies ramped up misinformation campaigns against each other, blaming other factions for domestic and international problems. Following suit, the megacorps began environmental campaigns to support protesters against their competition.
Social cohesion in large urban centres was breaking down. Logistics chains for food, fuel, and consumer goods were crumbling. Protests got bigger and bigger and spilled over into suburban areas as well and degenerated into city-wide riots and looting.
Peak violence happened when the Jodon faction launched a limited nuclear strike against the Tydroid corporation’s main production city, Berlin, in order to satisfy public outcry that was flamed by a disinformation campaign from the Yonic corporation, Tydroid’s largest competitor.
Rather than continue the violence on Earth, the various factions and megacorps launched strikes against each other’s satellites in order to disrupt communications and push their own narratives.
The situation had become desperate, and in 2247 the 12 factions formed a discussion group called “The Houses” to bring an end to the worldwide violence. For several years they debated and discussed, until in 2251 they arrived at the conclusion that they’d all failed humanity, and that the Earth was doomed, poisoned beyond the point of no return. They would need to head for the stars if mankind were to survive.
Building starships to transport colonists would take 20 intense years, but not everyone would get to go.
Selection of people who would go to the stars took place under the authority of the technetronic elite in the 12 Houses. Only the best and brightest would have a seat reserved for them and their families. Billions would be left behind on the poisoned, dying Earth.
As the selections progressed, it became increasingly apparent to those that would be left behind that they weren’t going to be chosen. Human rights protests across the planet turned into full scale riots with many casualties. The world was thrown into chaos and society began to break down (even more).
But for the colonists all that was left behind. They would drift into cryosleep for a seeming eternity only to wake up as if no time had passed. There would be weeping as some cryopods had failed during the long journey, leaving only crusty bones and ashes where a living human should have been.
Three of the 12 Houses, House Jodon, Reubo and Ephrati, would colonise planets in 3 nearby solar systems in a distant sector of the galaxy. The fates of the other 9 Houses are unknown.
THE PLANETS, THE SIGNAL, THE MISSION…
Three of the 12 Houses, House Jodon, Reubo and Ephrati, would colonise planets in 3 nearby solar systems in a distant sector of the galaxy. The fates of the other 9 Houses are unknown.
THE PLANETS
House Jodon landed on and colonised Lionis. This volcanic planet has 1 side perpetually facing its sun, making only a thin band around the planet habitable. Nevertheless, rich and fertile soil along that thin band would ensure their survival.
House Reubo landed on and colonised Aquarion. This planet is over 97% covered by water. Adapting to their new environment would require innovative solutions for land use and infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, science and innovation are highly valued by the Reubos who pride themselves on being rational and practical.
House Ephrati landed on and colonised Verdis. This lush and green planet is inhabited by many predatory animals and dangerous foliage.
THE SIGNAL
Several years ago a strange and indecipherable signal was received. It was clearly created by intelligent life and was traced back to a planet orbiting a nearby brown dwarf star. Speculation was rampant. What or who created it? What did it mean? What did it say?
Each House prepared small scouting missions to investigate. This was no mean feat as resources for interstellar travel were highly scarce. Expectations were similarly high.
THE INVESTIGATION
Initial reports from the missions were impressive. The planet was rich in natural resources beyond their most hopeful expectations. Mining operations would be wildly profitable and would alleviate strict resource rationing back home on Lionis, Aquarion and Verdis.
It was the Ephrati who first discovered an ancient tower, presumably built by the same intelligent life that sent the signal. The tower stood high, disappearing into the clouds above.
Venturing into the tower on foot, the Ephrati expedition team marveled at the architecture and strange symbols and pictures carved into the walls, floors and ceilings. But it was one in particular that caught their attention. It was written in an old Earth language. “Taurion.” Who could the beings that built this be? And why would an old Earth tongue be written in here? Speculation, conjecture, and wild conspiracy theories were rampant on the net.
Other ancient buildings would also be found scattered around the planet.
THE MISSION
Back home each House prepared to send people to Taurion. Excitement was high and people eagerly began training for the challenges that would await them on Taurion.
Europa Universalis III Complete
Whee. Europa 3, like its predecessors and its cousins Hearts of Iron and Victoria (Crusader Kings as well, but that isn’t as hard to learn), is an extremely complex game that is notoriously difficult to learn, not helped by crappy tutorials. I had an edge having been playing this series since its first installment, but it still took some time to get used to everything. So right from the start expect a significant time investment on learning how to play the game, and learning to do well at it. War, Diplomacy, Trade, Exploration, and more. It’s all here.
– Real player with 535.5 hrs in game
As far as I’m concerned, this is the best game ever - especially in this version with the first two additions to the game.
To a certain extent, it is comparable to the Total War games, if they only included the map mode, which would here be simplified to armies only being able to move from province to province and not within a province. However, you have a more complicated diplomacy and domestic policy to deal with.
Another thing that makes it different, and, for my taste, better than the Total War games, is the greater realism and historical accuracy - in this game you can’t just conquer everything, and it remains challenging for the more than four centuries that its timespan covers.
– Real player with 492.4 hrs in game
Fit For a King
Fit For a King is a relatively short game but is definitely an enjoyable experience. The whole game is centred around the summit that you will be throwing and your main goal is to outspend your rival.
Like the trailer says, you can pretty much do anything, from executing a foreign ambassador to marrying a literal piece of sh- ahem refuse.
At times it can seem a bit aimless and it can be hard to find the clues to get things you need but otherwise is quite fun and definitely worth a play.
– Real player with 15.8 hrs in game
The game has a weak and slow start, don’t let this dissuade you. The controls are dated and supposed to feel like a mid to late 80’s crpg, but are way more straight forward and easy to understand then those ever were back then without 200 page manuals. Once you can get a good grasp of the controls the game opens up and the gameplay starts. For the most part it’s a puzzle game with some loot hunting in it. The humor is pretty good and the mix of both serious and silly just strikes that perfect balance. It’s only really down fall and biggest selling point is that it’s short and sweet and complete. It left me wanting more, which is rare for most game these days. It made me want to give ultima another shot or some other Crpgs. I guess some minor things that made me sad was that while there was a ton of lines for the NPCs I wish there was more , and by extension more tasks or quests. (Spoiler) Another minor thing was that it’s never explained in game that some walls can be walked through as a sort of secret entrance.
– Real player with 8.3 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
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
Megacity Builder
like the older city building games but with a national twist. incorporates multiple little cities to run a country. can really get lost in the constructing and managing
– Real player with 42.3 hrs in game
Fantastic game! If you like lite sims, then this is your game.
It’s got a very detail orientated design for a game as lite as it is, its mechanics are nuanced and unique.
I strongly advise this game to anybody who is a fan of unique sims.
It has a bit of a learning curve, but never fear, its worth it!
– Real player with 18.7 hrs in game
Power & Revolution 2021 Edition
Do I recommend this game? Hell no.
There is no stability, there is very little realism, this game does most stuff very simplistically, the graphics are shitty, the combat system needs a MAJOR rework, essentially nothing has changed since the first iteration of this game came out.
Diplomacy needs an overhaul. Really? You have a game where debt is a huge factor but there’s no debt diplomacy? But you’ve released multiple versions and countless bug fixes and cant seem to add basic features like debt diplomacy? Thanks Eversim.
– Real player with 141.0 hrs in game
I will give you my insights of the first look while playing as Lithuania.
I like:
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EU financial involvement in mostly everything
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Debt tab changes
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Vaccination priorities and contracts
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Option for foreign exchange students
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Option for scientific cooperation between countries on a specific discovery
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Days of Culture to celebrate a foreign country traditions
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5G Internet
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Organisations' data (population & GDP)
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Cause of death tab
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Map changes
I dislike:
- No significant changes to migration system
– Real player with 87.9 hrs in game