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General discussion (archive)Release: Imperialism(42 posts)(42 posts)
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Posted November 20, 2012
The fate of the world is not in your hands. Yet.

Imperialism, the famous turn-based strategy that makes you reach for the world domination via economy, diplomacy, and war, is now available on GOG.com, for only $5.99.

It has ever been so, that the Great Powers rule the world. Any world - imaginary or real. At first, you don't even know what is that strange craving in your gut. Then you go and try to satisfy it. Once you take a bite, you never stop craving for more. Such enthralling is the taste of power. Then you become larger, and larger. Those around you start to fear you and respect you. You gain more influence. It becomes easier for you to manipulate others--by promises, threats, or simply by making them dependant of you. You can force them into helping you to increase your dominion even further. Then one day you wake up and discover, that the world trembles at your feet. Good times.

Imperialism gives you the ability to conquer the world by any means you see fit. The turn-based gameplay starts in the year 1825 (which is considered to be the actual beginning of the XIX century), and takes you through the age of technological and economical advancement, as you struggle for dominion with other Great Powers. There's no one key to success here. You'll have to remember all the factors that a leader must take into account: economy, diplomacy, warfare, research, and resource management. Whether you choose to play a random or a historical scenario, remember that it's a cutthroat world out there.

Ever wanted to become the leader of us all? Real power is never given. It's taken, so grab Imperialism now, for only $5.99.

Oh, and by the way--remember how we teased you an upcoming release in the last This Week on GOG? The hint was: “Grow your spheres of influence through guile, trading, or just exploiting those who don’t know any better.“ The game we teased was Imperialism, which was known under the working title Sphere of Influence.
Posted November 20, 2012
Great game, with a lot of 19th Century Victorian flavor.
Posted November 20, 2012
Excellent! This game was my favorite for many years.

Now if only buying it didn't involve giving money to that wretched Ubisoft...
Posted November 21, 2012
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ne_zavarj: ...Never heard about it .
No wonder. Each of the Imperialism games sold some hundred thousand units in total during a time (1995-2000) where many strategy games come out and afterwards the game soon became abandonware. Still fans played it for long hours and rated it quite high. So I would call it a hidden gem and underrated classic.
Post edited November 21, 2012 by Trilarion
Posted November 21, 2012
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Trilarion: No wonder. Each of the Imperialism games sold some hundred thousand units in total during a time (1995-2000) where many strategy games come out and afterwards the game soon became abandonware. Still fans played it for long hours and rated it quite high. So I would call it a hidden gem and underrated classic.
Added it to my quite long wishlist .
Posted November 21, 2012
Will wait for second game. This is one of those games that should be bundled together with later game(s) as second iteration dublicated almost all first one's features and then some. Don't actually remember if first one had any signifficant features second one did not have...
Posted November 21, 2012
They are both different enough and both good, I play them equally often. The first one is more about securing steel and markets while the second one is more about plundering the new world for resources and cash. The first has better interaction with the minor powers, while the second one has the better food/cash system.
Posted November 21, 2012
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Petrell: Will wait for second game. This is one of those games that should be bundled together with later game(s) as second iteration dublicated almost all first one's features and then some. Don't actually remember if first one had any signifficant features second one did not have...
Imperialism II gets mixed reviews from the community. First off, it was the only one that featured stable enough multiplayer to actually play. It took place in the Age of Exploration, and implemented a variety of new mechanics (road/rail upgrades, fog of war exploration, new world provinces that had to be conquered instead of drawn into the empire diplomatically). The industry and transport mechanics were overhauled. It has far more changes than your average sequel. Also, they added a stationary defending artillery, which completely changed the way tactical battles were fought.

That said, I think Imp2 was a good game but a poor sequel. The watercolor and pencil graphics used in Imp1 to reflect 19th century art styling was replaced with a much more bright and almost cartoony computerized graphics. While the music was period accurate, it wasn't background music and I found it clashed with whatever immersion the game offered. Also, it's painfully obvious that the music had a budget or deadline issue that resulted in live instruments being mixed with bad 90's synth/sample instruments.

The reality is that Imp2 was released in 1999, and even though the ideas were solid it was just too late for the 4X genre to hold on. Starcraft had come out the year before, and games like Age of Empires and Total Annihilation were proving that RTS was going to be the profitable strategy genre moving forward. SSI would go on to release only a few more games before Ubisoft threw SSI and it's properties on the shelf.

So by all means wait to get the bundle, because both are worth playing (Imp1 is my favorite game, and Imp2 got 80-90/100 in most reviews). Without nostalgia goggles though, I think Imp1 holds up better.
Post edited November 21, 2012 by Veneteaou
Posted November 23, 2012
Can someone look at the 7th screenshot for Imperialism and tell me... what's the point of the "Imperial Times" newspaper? There appears to be zero information related to the game at hand, and not really any historical information that I can see. Although the "Large Orange Deposit..." and "Atomic Theory Explained" articles are somewhat amusing.

I think some of the Microprose games like (the original) Railroad Tycoon used to do this kind of thing, like at the beginning of every year to mark the new year, but usually there's some information that is helpful, such as to announce the first time certain locomotives are available, etc. Maybe this is the same thing, only less... helpful?
Posted November 23, 2012
Sometimes there is information relating to the game. New technologies, new alliances, other diplomatic changes, war and peace, commodity shortages.
Posted November 23, 2012
Another good release.
Posted November 23, 2012
Awesome release! Sadly, I have to add to my wishlist for now. Thank you GOG.
Posted December 05, 2012
Any news if they are releasing the second one? they said that the first one is better but I saw the second one and the graphics looks more tolerable
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Community
General discussion (archive)Release: Imperialism(42 posts)(42 posts)
(42 posts)