Overlord

I love this classic. Before I ever played Sim City, before the first of the Civ’s were made, there was Supremacy. The idea is simple. Two rulers and one solar system resulting in a fight for the Supremacy!

Every so often a game will come along that will knock spots off the competition; it will be an absolute corker, a true thoroughbred that takes a particular genre by the scruff of the neck, ignores convention and routine, and comes up with a radically different game destined to become a classic. Supremacy, from Virgin Mastertronic, is just such a game and looks set to storm the charts.

Supremacy is as good a game as Electronic Art's Imperium - for exactly the opposite reasons! It is very easy to get into and play and recommended to beginner and experienced strategists alike. The presentation is glossy and entertaining, the challenge is high and tactical thought is necessary. In fact, any game that can keep me up till five o'clock in the morning has to have something going for it!

Nations have always fought for a place in the sun and, equally, for the ‘glory of empire’. Unfortunately, these imperialistic tendencies are not limited to man: inhabitants of other star systems, supposedly more advanced, also crave the soil of other races and galactic supremacy.

Admittedly, there's not really anything in Supremacy that hasn't been done long before, but it's never been done quite so attractively or with so much thought devoted to user friendliness. Like Populous, it opens up this style of game to those who perhaps wouldn't normally consider it, and offers lots of long lasting entertainment into the bargain.

Daß Supremacy knapp an einem Hit vorbeigeschrammt ist, liegt vorwiegend daran, daß keine Zwei-Spieler-Option eingebaut wurde - auch wenn die Spielstärken der 4 Digi-Gegner sehr gut gestaffelt ist, bringt so ein "Human" einfach mehr Pep in eine Simulation dieser Art. Aber ansonsten wird auch der anspruchsvollste Großimperator zufriedengestellt: Von der realistischen Gestaltung (z.B. läuft das Game in Echtzeit ab) bis zur wunderschönen "Verpackung" stimmt hier eigentlich alles!

Strategiespiele sind oft kompliziert, staubtrocken und wenig ansehnlich - drei Eigenschaften, die viele Durchschnittsspieler verständlicherweise gründlich abschrecken. Die Macher von Supremacy waren sichtlich bemüht, just diesen Grundübeln beizukommen: Die Bedienung ihres Programms ist einfach, der Spielablauf leicht nachvollziehbar und schicke Bilder machen Lust aufs Spielen. Die enorme Komplexität von echten Strategie-Wuchtbrummen wie "Imperium" wird nicht erreicht. Supremacy ist aber gut spielbar und bietet immer noch genug Freiraum für strategische Varianten, um Euch ernsthaft zu fordern.

Galactic empire-building with some smart graphics. The number-based gameplay renders it all completely uninteresting. For accountants and gullible people only.