Supreme Ruler 2010 Description:

Supreme Ruler 2010 review:
3 stars (MicroManager Should Buy This Game!) - If you really, really like micromanagement, skip the reviews and buy this game right now. You'll love it. If not, be warned, there are some good things about this game, but some not-so-good, too.



First the manual. Very small print on grey pages, some poor screen-shots, as usual. If you need reading glasses, read the manual outside in natural light. Otherwise, pretty routine "how to stuff." The good news: Hints sprinkled about, and appendices with good, helpful ideas on how to get started, how to run the economy, etc. Plus, a couple of read.me files on the disk to help with some of the missions. They call these "Walk-Throughs" but they are really "Things to do before you begin." Very useful, but not (IMHO) true step-by-step walk-throughs of the actual mission. Considering the poor quality of manuals elsewhere, I'd rate this one 4 stars.



Lots, and lots, and lots of detail in this game. Want to create a military vehicle? Within limits, you can build most anything! The amount of information and statictics available is almost overwhelming. The same applies to almost any facet of the game.



The interface is good (compared to some I've seen) and easy to use. There's just so much of it you'll spend loads of time learning. Being able to pause the game and give orders, make changes, etc. is a bonus. You'll need it.



The AI "Ministers" you appoint remind me of the Viceroy in Master of Orion 3, only there are six of them and I don't trust them any more than I trusted him. You can give them instructions, of course, but I wouldn't depend on them too much. I'm really not sure (at this point) if they actually help or hinder the game.



Another good thing, you can adjust mission and scenario rules, difficulty settings, time, and a lot of other things. I like that. But you are completely limited in the regions you can interact with; if you're playing in Adriatics, for example, the rest of Europe and the Near East simply don't exist.



Read the other reviews, too. They're accurate, in my estimation.

Overall, a good game - for some people. For me it suffers from a really severe case of TMI.
5 stars (Best Grand Strategy Game...But Not For The Casual Gamer.) - I'm an old-time PC gamer, and have been saying for years "god, I wish someone would release a solid, comprehensive hex-style/board-game style grande strategy game based on modern day military and politics rather than the same old WWII sims". I stumbled across this game quite by accident when reading over a review of the game on a popular game site. I was overjoyed! I downloaded the demo and was completely taken aback at the level of complexity (which I love), the volume of detail, and the smooth interface. I enjoyed my Arizona vs New Mexico game so much I ran out and bought the game.



Be warned: The game does have a steep learning curve. This is not for the casual RTS gamer. The few reviewers that have written negative reviews touched on this. So, if you are used to playing Grand Theft Auto, The Sims, or Command & Conquer, rather than Hearts of Iron and Operational Art of War, be prepared to invest considerable time learning the games economic, social, and policital models before jumping in an invading your neighboring countries. But, if you are persistent, the game really is not to hard to learn after a couple hours and the game developers are very helpful on their official game site forum. I spent about four hours with the demo and about two hours with the full game (after reading the great 155 page manual) to get the hang of the complexity of the game.



I've now completed three campaigns (lost two), and am having a great time. This is a serious, comprehensive wargame that sets out to model modern warfare, and does a top-notch job. I STRONGLY recommend this game to any serious wargamer. If you're not convinced, try the demo, and don't go by negative reviews.
2 stars ( Revised Review) - I had the highest of hopes for this game. I've been an avid wargamer for over 20 years and the initial press on this game had me salivating.



My first impressions of this game were mixed. On one hand I loved the military and supply aspect of the game on the other I felt and still feel that the economic model for this game is overly complex.



I feel some games this one included try to encompass too much in an effort to strive for realism. I think this game would have been better being modeled after a defense minister than a supreme ruler. Lets face it a true simulation would have very competent people in positions occuppied by the ministers in the game. There's no question how important production, finance, etc... are in any real world conflict but the supreme ruler would be getting good counsel on how to best maximize his efforts. He would not be micromanaging their every move.



If your looking for a truly grand scope strategy game this may be the answer. If you consider yourself more a wargamer than an economist you should probably pass.