I am not sure of my intent for this post. Maybe the recent election over politicized the way I think. Maybe I just want to shill for a product I enjoyed. Maybe I am just bored. Perhaps all of that and more. What I do know is that I had a decent experience recently in a new game called Realpolitiks.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/553260/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFdtXZ4hkXk
[tube]DFdtXZ4hkXk[/tube]
Become the leader of any contemporary country in this streamlined real-time grand strategy game. Use diplomacy, espionage, military and economic power to deal with other nations, while tackling issues such as terrorism, financial crises and medical epidemics, all in an effort to achieve global domination!
I have only played through one time. I cannot speak for the game itself and its systems nor compare them to alternative options in its own genre. i dd get a vibe similar to that of the game "East India Company"- another relatively unknown game I enjoyed. I am unsure if every game works out the way mine did. Some things about the game: Its definitely not an action/fps type game. this thing is all about simulation and strategy, clicking buttons and making decisions. The game i played, i chose to start as america. I have to admit, this was most likely motivated by the lovely loading screens this game has, of which there was no shortage through out the moderately effective tutorial. Here is an example of one of the many loading screens i was surprised to see upon initial gameplay:
http://i.imgur.com/ffS2Iyq.jpg
So in the mode i selected, with america as my starting country, i set out on the goal of making america great again. Freedom, rights, and good intentions were the foundation of my country. Over a period of years, and through various global events, i guided america from being one of the global powers, a peer on even ground, to being the most profitable and free country in the world. However, i found this success to come at a cost: my success was another countries failure. As the conditions in my country improved, my relations with suffering neighbors, who through no fault of my own reached the state they were in, became threatened by my success. Russia, Canada, and Mexico were very quick to turn on me. I wanted nothing to do with war and even initially lost a few battles due to inexperience and agenda. after being forced to learn how war works, i found that i was a much more capable combatant than my opposition. My country had started with a pretty strong investment in military and i helped progress that along. in reality my military outclassed everyone. after successfully defending myself from my first of many canadian attacks, I learned i could ANNEX provinces through peace. I got ownership of a pair of large canadian provinces and chose to unite alaska with the contiguous united states.
Despite my actions being wholly defensive, it appeared the world was not very fond of what i had done. with my already suffering global relations now smeared by my "aggression" and the accumulation of what are called "warmonger points" i was sanctioned and ostracized in the global community. My attempts to save face and protect my country, and legislation passed following this, pushed my country from being a democracy to an authoritarian state. I just wanted to protect my people's interests. generate revenue. green numbers instead of red. Now i am a authoritarian warmonger. The global powers of the world, through the jurisdiction of the United Nations, implement "anti Warmonger Policy" that gives them the right to attack me without fulfilling the requirements to initiate an attack. Russia and mexico attempt to grab a piece of my now weakened and disliked country. NOPE.
Having become an authoritarian government, the rules have changed. in order for me to launch nukes, as a democratic nation, i needed to not only be defending but need to have both a certain number of war losses and be losing the war it self by a significant margin. but as an authoritarian, i just need to be defending. I proceed to eliminate massive amounts of army from both russia and mexico, winning wars and claiming more provinces. my defensive nukes are not tolerated by the world, nor are my continued acquisitions. UN passes sanctions on nuclear arsenals, sanctions on authoritarian nations, and numerous other forms of oppression on my land. it is not long before the UN itself is attacking.
By this point i have acquired a majority of north america. canada is but a single capital province. I defeat the UN forces and the world becomes strangely peaceful in my hemisphere for some time. the result of my efforts had pushed my government into a full totalitarian regime. elections that might threaten my ability to defend myself from aggressive nations are declared invalid. political opposition in my country that could disturb the defensive efforts are eliminated without prejudice. i am forced to federalize schooling and health care, employment, and media. to protect my people from these threats and their reactions to my policy, they must be shaped like clay into the population i need to protect them. dissent is my biggest enemy.
At this stage in the game, i recognize that, coupled with global events, i simply am no longer capable of sustaining my society. the only solution, to continue progress, is to acquire other peoples resources. No longer will i wait for someone to attack me to acquire them, but now, as a totalitarian state, i can go to war with anyone at the drop of a dime and the UN can cry about it. i attack canada in a swift offensive that is accused of being riddled with war crimes. i assure the world that theyre wrong- so no investigation is necessary- much to their dismay. Canada has been eliminated. i then move into mexico, and take everything up to the panama canal. THE CANAL GENERATES REVENUE! Quickly i scan the map for other icons that might symbolize strategic areas that grant bonuses, and there are numerous. This begins the global blitzkreig.
All policy and decisions are now made based on what i want to acquire and what industries my country lacks. I proceed to engage in war 1-2 countries at a time, and eventually take over every single country except israel, the liberated "republic of palestine", and the also liberated "union of the jordan". with the threat of war AND economic depression now well behind me, i proceed to enact liberal and democratic doctrine. a number of years pass before the liberated middle eastern states begin engaging in wars with each other. i am unable to intervene due to the democratic nature of my government. this and global events lead to a full on depression in my country, with all relevant numbers now showing red losses. unable to do anything further, i redirect my policy once more back toward authoritarianism all the way to totalitarianism. over several decades, i engage in spy activities, reputation damaging actions, and political schemes designed to swing my country's alignment back toward one that gives me enough control to eliminate the final threats. I am forced to enact the most extreme of policies available, to push my government system into totalitarian just to give my self the legal recourse to actually attack these nations. I succeed in full totalitarianism, and instantly proceed to attack the remaining 3 middle eastern countries. The united states now controls all human life in and beyond earth. i fully demilitarize as much as i can. fully dismantle my nuclear and nuclear defense programs. but the cost of my totalitarian systems is astronomical. im still the most developed and rich country in the world, exponentially so, but i am hemorrhaging resources at completely unmaintainable rates. I attempt to revoke some of my totalitarian policy, and am shocked to find I CANNOT DISABLE IT. By going full on totalitarianism, i have installed in my government, bodies and systems that i am physically incapable of removing, ever. These policies cost more resources than i will ever be able to produce. all i can do is watch as my beautiful united world of america goes broke due to super liberal left wing policy.
i attempted to remedy this by releasing held provinces. i created 8 other independent nations and allowed them to participate in my stock market in hopes it would help to restore the economy. they all went bankrupt, as did I. at this point i saved and quit. it seems like you can just go bankrupt infinitely. it decreases your standing but i dont know if that hinders your gameplay at all. I will probably go back in some day to try to normalize the economy and reach a sustainable state, but for now i think ill have to try other campaigns as well as other starting nations to get a better grasp on the game. If i had known i would be unable to disable the most expensive and extreme of totalitarian policies, i would not have activated those policies