Republic Preview
We take a good look at Elixir's game of conspiracy and strategy, which has been in development for four years and is now nearly in beta.
Contract hits, backroom payoffs, and populist demonstrations are some of the events that may punctuate your quest to topple the president and take control of the republic of Novistrana. Republic is a game of conspiracy, double-dealings, and lofty promises that will take you deep into the shady side of politics in a fictional former Soviet republic. The debut effort of Elixir Studios has been in development for four years, and while it's looked promising every year we've seen it at E3, the game is just now coming together. Elixir's Demis Hassabis recently told us that Republic is just weeks away from beta, when it will be fully playable, and he showed us an alpha version of the game that gave us a good indication of what's in store.
The first time we saw Republic was three years ago; specifically, we watched a demonstration of its powerful graphics engine zooming in from a photo-realistic aerial shot to a close-up of a leaf on a rose bush. This technology is at the heart of what gives Republic such potentially broad appeal for a game of deep strategy: not only does it look stunningly realistic, but it also will use its visuals to convey a tremendous amount of personality. A game of Republic involves assigning orders to an inner circle of associates ready to play their part in your grand scheme, but it also gives you the opportunity to watch the action and tweak the tone and technique of the proceedings. Although there are traditional types of resources as well, the most important commodities are knowing the right people and knowing how to influence them during these 3D vignettes.
Republic is designed with a number of distinct strategies in mind, and your selections during the initial character and faction creation process will determine which approaches are most open to you. The first screen you'll see when starting a new game has you set the initial numerical attributes for your faction's leader, which will determine the sort of actions he's proficient in. Power represents important connections and the ability to project the gravitas appropriate for a great leader. Presence is physical prowess. Control determines how coolly he can manipulate people and crowds. Charisma indicates how convincing he is. There's a pool of initial points to use to boost ratings above their initial 25, and advancing in level (from one to 10) will provide additional points for improving attributes. This sort of character development carries over to every person you can interact with in the game, including your main henchmen.
Your career in Novistrana will start out in a modest regional town called Ekaterine, which has a population of about 10,000. The few lieutenants and meager bunch of supporters you'll start out with won't take you far on their own, so the first order of business will be to send a research character out on reconnaissance missions to find out what's going on in the town's 15 districts. You'll likely learn about some of the prominent figures, as well as which factions hold sway over the populace in particular areas. At that point, you might send a lieutenant to organize a leaflet campaign and distribute propaganda sheets that focuses on your message--peace, freedom, or justice--and is tailored to gain the support of varying constituencies. You'll also need to recruit key figures to your faction--there are slots for up to six characters in your inner circle--so you can add new talents to your repertoire and get more done during each real-time turn.
Republic: The Revolution Quick Links
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- Eidos Interactive
- Elixir Studios
- Real-Time Strategy
- Release: Aug 27, 2003 »
- ESRB: Teen
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