Global Power (PC)

• Platform:   Windows Me / 2000 / 98 / NT
• ELSPA Minimum Age: 15
• Media: Video Game

The premise behind Global Power is a simple one: take any nation of the world and make it great. Armed with massive amounts of information from the CIA's (in)famous World Fact Book, budding premiers are ready to take their country to the height of economic success or plunge the world into a state of global warfare.

From the off it's important to get a sense of what this game is all about. Action fans should look elsewhere as this is an in-depth and very detailed game that eschews any kind of action in favour of tabulated data that can be modified and amended during the game's turn-based play. Be warned: it can be very slow going. But slow is not necessarily a bad thing here--without plenty of careful thought and planning, just keeping things ticking over can be a major task in its own right.

Graphically there's nothing to write home about. The screen displays are functional with no real frills and there's little in the way of animation. Sound too is very disappointing, though a built-in music player allows you to fire up your own tunes while plotting to take over the world.

The sheer depth and detail of Global Power is going to put many people off. The initial learning curve is quite steep and finding the information you need to make the right decision can be more than a little frustrating. Those who stick with it will get out what they put in and it's fascinating to watch the AI for the world nations set about its task with a vengeance--though it does have to be said it occasionally makes some very odd decisions.

The bottom line is that you'll either love it or hate it--there's no middle ground here and those looking for something with more immediate feedback would do better plumping for Command and Conquer Generals. --Chris Russel

Manufacturer's Description
Global Power fills the void for realistic world strategy games. A truly unique military and geo political simulator which allows the player the ability to decide on how they want to play the game. Built using recent UN and CIA data the player can play as any 1 of 140 nations and strive to solve the real world economic, social and political problems facing that country. From a military standpoint there are up to 4000 unique deployable units which can be used to fight strategic battles anywhere around the world.

The EHE, a revolutionary approach to artificial intelligence. Combats even take place in real world locations generated from the complete topographical map of the globe included in the game. When you fight to conquer a city, the landscape you see is real.

To challenge you, we have designed the EHE (Evolutive Human Emulator). It's a revolutionary approach to artificial intelligence, combining both neural networks and expert systems. Computer-controlled countries are independent entities that actually learn. They learn how to solve their problems, how to play against each other and how to play against YOU!

Every gamer will encounter a different opponent tailored to its own playing style.

The largest database ever assembled for a strategy game. Global Power comes equipped with the largest database ever assembled for a strategy game. You will find every military unit (more than 4000 different designs), every relationship, every significant statistic published about the 140 most important countries of the world. "Computer-controlled countries are independent entities that actually learn from their actions".

• PC & Video Games > Games > Strategy > Military