This game is a lot better than the score would suggest..
User Rating: 7.2 | Republic: The Revolution PC
Republic: The Revolution, is in that category of games that you really struggle to put in, well, a category. It's truly a stand-alone game. First off, this is NOT a game for everyone. If you like DEEP political strategizing and chess on about 20 different boards, you're going to love this game. This may be the best political strategy game out there. There's been a lot of complaints about this game's controls, and i'll tell ya, they're really confusing at first. The missions aren't exactly straight forward, so you also spend a lot of time dinking around aimlessly. However, I almost wonder if it was MEANT to be that way. The deeper you go without following the missions, the more difficult the missions become. That's almost when the real fun begins. Once you get in a groove with this game, it's an absolute gas, especially if you are a strategy wonk or political junkie. You need to master local and national level strategies to do well in this game. From beating your opposition silly with a massive PR campaign, to helping local busniesses that are friendly to your cause stay open, to creating new members and brokering deals, it's all here. Even the nastiness of politics are in there with all the fun of knee breaking and bribery. You really need to be able to think about 20 things at once and even the menial decisions can end up being colossal in the end. Plan too far in advance or fail to plan for the present, you get caught behind the eight ball and scrambling to regroup is difficult, if in some situations, impossible. DIstricts change in their idealogical swings, operatives turn on you, there's a lot all happening at once. It's awesome in that respect.
Those that pick this game as of this review (2007), won't be blown away in the slightest with the graphics. They're adequete. The musical score is excellent and adds to the mystique of the game as well. The lay out and game play are a lot to overcome at first, but once you get used to things, you do alright for yourself. This game is truly unique and in it's own world. Much like other games like Killer 7, you really need to pick it up and try it yourself. You'll love it, or you'll hate it. Plain and simple. If you're a politico like myself, you'll get a stiffy for this one in a hurry. If not, the learning curve can be quite steep. The value of games like this are immeasureable in terms of the educational value. You really get an idea of how difficult things can be for the suits! This is a fun game once you teach yourself how to play and get used to it. Give yourself an hour or two, and you'll find it hard to put down. Right now, this is going for around $5. You can't go wrong.
