The Wargamer

BACKGROUND TO THE STRUGGLE

Supreme Ruler 2010 takes place in a future Earth (very near future, obviously) that has dissolved into many autonomous countries thanks to a severe worldwide economic depression and the general anarchy that follows. The breakdown of international law is furthered by the dissolution of the United Nations and the rise of old grudges and border skirmishes; nations engage once again in minor yet brutal wars to satisfy these longings of power. The entire story is interesting (albeit a stretch of sorts, but who knows, anything can happen I suppose) and can be read at Battlegoat Studio's website. The end result is a vast number of feuding little countries vying for regional, continental, and (they hope), world dominance. Hooray for despotism!

Players can enjoy taking control of a small corner of the globe and trying to expand their power base to the surrounding countries. There's a LOT to it; being a benevolent dictator for life doesn't mean one merely enjoys the spoils of war. Instead, there are several levels of detail that can be delved into. This includes several different Departments, including Operations, Defense, State, Treasury, Commerce, and Social Services. Each has its own unique demands and production capabilities. For example, by accessing the State Department tab, the gamer can view diplomatic relations with any of the other powers in the game. Also, relation levels, current treaties, and information (including population, debt, and such) can all be viewed and manipulated.

Each Department has its own Minister, whom the player may gleefully fire on a whim. These folks are rated for many abilities, including each of the Departments (so a Minister could technically be fired from one Department and rehired in another), their popularity among the unwashed masses, and several other factors. Even more importantly, if the player doesn't want to deal with the myriad bureaucratic tasks at hand (such as micromanaging Social Spending and defining each level for education, welfare, and everything else under the sun in a burgeoning yet fledgling nation), these tasks can be assigned to the Minister. However, the player can set priorities for that Minister so they at least follow some kind of game plan. For example, the Defense Minister can be instructed to increase military training, while the Interior Minister can be instructed to raise the approval ratings. These choices are not without consequences to go along with the benefits, however, and each of these possibilities is listed with each choice. It is guaranteed to make anyone think twice about instituting any policy, no matter how non-draconian they are. Welcome to politics in the 21st century.

ALL I WANT IS PEACE…A LITTLE PIECE OF POLAND, A LITTLE PIECE OF FRANCE…

The object of the game, one would think, is to conquer everything in sight. Sometimes there's more to it than that, depending on the game mode selected. There are three modes of play – Scenario, Mission, and Campaign, each of which will vary in victory levels to one extent or another (except for the Campaign selection, which has its own assigned victory conditions that cannot be changed). The method of victory can actually be chosen by the player, and there are several different types. Each game, therefore, has many different strategy possibilities.

Scenarios take place within a Region (e.g., the southwestern United States) which is made up of a number of different countries. The Missions are specific goal-oriented scenarios that involve a very specific task (such as conquering Taiwan). Campaigns, on the other hand, start with a scenario where the player is running a small slice of the world, and attempts to expand their influence to the far corners of the planet. Every ambition from planetary conquest to feeding some inner diabolical number fetish to manipulate the economy of the region can be satisfied here.

The fascinating aspect of Supreme Ruler 2010 is the sheer amount of micromanagement one can indulge in…or, by contrast, how much one can actually relegate to the AI. For gamers not quite up on allowing the computer to run aspects of the empire, it's possible to lock certain decisions within each department to ensure that selected policies are adhered to. This can become something of a pain in the headquarters, since the gamer has to remember to do that. This function applies also to deploying troops; selecting a designated area for them to move to will quite often see their paths changed to return to where they came from or to move somewhere else because the Defense Minister AI has other ideas on their deployment. Locking troops will ensure they listen to only one person, for better or for worse.