I very much like this game. It’s a good mix between Sim Junta, Democracy 3 and Rulers of Nations. The simplicity and short gameplay like Sim Junta, the various policy selection and experimentation of Democracy 3 and the background complexity of Ruler of Nations.
The concept is simple, it is a turn-based geopolitical simulation game where you are the ruler of a newly established country called the People’s Republic of Basenji and you must strive against unhappy citizens, a power-hungry brother, an imperialistic UN/USA and the desires of your neighbors. You will have events that pop up where you must make hard choices that will determine the fate of Basenji and affect your popularity with the 5 groups of citizens (Capitalists, Patriots, Fundamentalists, Liberals and Qariffi (I think that’s spelled right). You also need to keep the loyalty of your own military or else your brother Farouk will swiftly eject you from power. You adjust policies that range from minimum wage requirements to your country’s alcohol tolerance laws which will affect your standing amongst the various groups and will change from turn to turn. You also have the ability to maintain a military and invade your neighbors or garner the affections and attentions of the UN and US, either to your benefit or detriment. From the time I’ve spent with the game so far, I don’t think you can win… you just do a little better each time and (like Plague Inc.) every time you complete a game, you’re able to unlock more special modifiers to change up the experience.
Artistically and musically, this game really excels. While neither are perfect, they really set the mood and help to immerse you in your new role as president of Basenji. I just love that everyone is voiced as well… it shows there is a lot of love and labor that has been put into the game.
All in all, I love this game. Simple yet addictive with a wealth of content for only 12.99, this is arguably one of the better low budget Geosims I’ve played in a long time. Highly recommended.
Gameplay Footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOuB2VdRX2E
Have only played several hours so far.
But very much enjoying the game.
It’s quite political, and really makes you feel like the leader of a middle eastern country.
I love the voice overs, for the most part, and the music of the game.
The graphics are nice (not beautiful but decent enough in my opinion) and animations are slow (in a good way) but solid.
It’s not perfect, and has some typo’s and minor bugs here and there, but nearly as fast as they are being reported, they are being fixed by the Devs.
Not sure what it is but the aesthetic and theme of the game just ‘grabs’ me.
I do like political stuff though, games like Democracy, but this being a little like Democracy but with ‘graphics’ and a colorful theme, is quite nice.
Sorry for the lax review, but really I just wanted to bump up the rating of this game, even if slightly, cause I feel it deserves it.