Republic: The Revolution (Mac)

Rating:
Summary: a new kind of gameplay
Review: I just bought Republic:Revolution yesterday, I have by no means gotten far enough in the game to explain it in great detail. I can say that I can tell if a game will be good, and this game like the editor's review pointed out, is very different then other games. This game is very real, the object of the gameplay is to overtake the president of a new free Russian state after the collapse of the soviet union, i have never seen a game so intense and real, the game is not action packed but it is more psychological and the game seems to have a mind of it's own.
If you are a person looking for a challenge in computer gaming i highly recomend this game.
I dont know where this game is headed, but if it lives up to the potential that I think it posseses, it will be a masterpiece.
In this game you actually feel like you are alive and lost in the game ready to defend yourself, ready to start a REVOLUTION!

Rating:
Summary: Let's start a revolution
Review: Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to take power by any means necessary. Recruit supporters, inspire resistance and remove the President. The stage is set in the ruins of the fallen Soviet Union, the Republic of Novistrana to be exact. You will start as a single person with a small following and it is your job to build up a following of support to remove the President and take over the country.

Sounds like fun. Sure why not.

Installation is easy, standard. But playing is little more complicated. A tutorial is included and I would highly recommend taking some time to use it. Of course I ignored it at first and spent several hours doing, well, nothing. I spent half my time trying to read the book and trying to figure out what the heck I was suppose to be doing. Take my advice use the tutorial. Reading the instruction book first never hurts either.

After the tutorial the game asks you some really cool questions that help determine your characters disposition. This is where you can step out of reality and become any type of person you choose to be.

Now you're off. Start the revolution.

The games interface is somewhat complicated at first. But once you take your time you will find it's fairly easy to use and very helpful. There are 3 viewing levels (satellite, rooftop, and action).

On the screen you will notice a clock, a minimap, an inner circle panel, an action tracker and a support level indicator.

The clock of course keeps track of time. Each day represents 12 minutes of real time (morning, afternoon, and evening each last 4 minutes). The clock houses three other screens, a resource page, faction screen, and a diary screen.

The Minimap houses the field of view, information level that indicates the level of information you have accumulated in a particular area, a show or hide faction actions, a show or hide enemy actions, and a show or hide support level.

The inner circle panel shows you and your top five faction members.

The action tracker keeps tabs on any actions that are currently being executed either by yourself or by members of your faction.

Lastly the support level indicator is represented by a pie chart that depicts the level of support of each faction in a given district.

The game is centered around political ideology. Meaning every faction, district and action is associated with an ideology (force, wealth, and influence). Action taken against a faction that has a lower ideology than you will be to your advantage.

The controls are straightforward. No need for an advance mouse or joystick.

Overall I enjoyed playing this game. My reaction at first was, "when do we get to shoot something." But after spending a couple hours of playing I became heavily involved in plotting a revolution. I would recommend this game to any avid gamer.