by Joseph Luster

First on our list is Suprreme Ruler: Cold War, which builds on Supreme Ruler 2010 and 2020 with the bubbling tension of the Cold War. Players take on the demanding role as leader of either the United States or the Soviet Union, and are tasked with making wise economic, diplomatic, domestic and military decisions on the path to victory.

Duking It Out With Post-WWII Nations in Supreme Ruler: Cold War

While Campaign Mode limits players to the U.S. and Soviet sides, Sandbox Mode offers the option of controlling any nation in the post-World War II era. What happens when striving for diplomacy ends up falling flat, though? It’s time to take control of your country’s military forces, of course! This aspect of Supreme Ruler comes in the form of real-time strategic and tactical control, so don’t count yourself out of the game just because you failed to properly influence the policies of another nation.

This week, Joseph Luster takes a look at some Cold War titles that explore what might have been in military history.

Multiplayer supports up to 16 players either online or over a local network. Whether mentally duking it out with the AI or with a fellow human, Cold War is definitely going to be a title that’s most attractive to more hardcore strategy players. For anyone who has experience with the Supreme Ruler series, you should know what to expect here, so it all boils down to how appealing the Cold War setting is.

Wargame: European Escalation

Wargame; European Escalation is most definitely a visually loaded real-time strategy title; skies are as full of choppers as they are criss-crossing, whizzing bullets, and tanks roar over the ground below.

Wargame-set in the period of 1975-1985-aims to explore the battles that could have been, dpening on which war-riddled alley history took a turn down next. This particular scenario finds NATO and the Warsaw Pact on the verge of war, both eventually pushed over the edge thanks to a patrol close to the East German border.

This week, Joseph Luster takes a look at some Cold War titles that explore what might have been in military history.

What started as a local skirmish quickly pushes the already edgy sides into total war, and that’s the conflict into which the player is suddenly thrust. Environment plays a huge role in Wargame. Cover of all types-from bushes to blocking lines-will make or break the life span of your units. A lot of aspects of Wargame will bring Eugen Systems’ own R.U.S.E. to mind, but it certainly looks like a more nuanced and pure PC real-time strategy game. It’s also looking darm pretty, so keep your eyes out for Wargame if you haven’t taken it for a spin already.

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