Empire: Wargame Of The Century
| Developer: N/A | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Interstel | Sound: |
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| Year: 1988 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Strategy | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 3 alternating | Rating: |
6/10 | |
An adaptation of one of the earliest computer wargames, developed in the 1970s on a PDP-10 (a six-ton laboratory computer). The first version dates from 1977, with no graphical interface, only text (map represented by typeface characters). Its success (academic first, then commercial, after publication on PC-DOS in 1984) generated several variants and ports.
The game’s objective is to expand your territory within a vast archipelago by capturing cities, producing tanks, and organising their transport by boat (and subsequently defending these boats with larger vessels). Simultaneously, aeroplanes help you conduct reconnaissance, though their range is limited without an anchor point (allied city or aircraft carrier).
Be aware that a game can last very long (from several hours to several days) as the map is immense and units move turn-by-turn, hop by hop, square by square. Obviously, time increases as you acquire more units. Therefore, it’s crucial to learn to use the “survey” mode to set units on autopilot and avoid endlessly reviewing them. You can also programme movements across multiple turns (grouped if desired), plan air routes to automatically transfer newly produced aeroplanes to the front, and order ships to serve as escorts, leaving you to manage only the lead vessel. Fortunately, all these functions are accessible through readable and limited menus, without needing to consult the manual.
Several maps are provided, but you can also generate random ones or design your own using the editor. Given their extreme simplicity (green squares for land, blue squares for water), this doesn’t strike me as particularly compelling. Let’s nonetheless acknowledge the ergonomic care that gives the title a certain appeal despite its age.
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