SuperPower 2 E3 2004 Preshow Impressions

SuperPower was an ambitious geopolitical strategy game that gave you control over the military, political, and economic fate of an entire nation on the modern-world stage. And though it sold well for publisher DreamCatcher Interactive, developer GolemLabs recognized that there was a lot of room for improvement, which is where SuperPower 2 comes in.

The sequel will attempt to streamline the complex gameplay from the original and make it easy to play. The game has been redesigned so that you have all the critical information you need in a few interface screens; you'll no longer have to wade through window after window in order to adjust how many widgets your nation produces each year. However, GolemLabs is leaving that option in for fans of micromanagement. The artificial intelligence is also getting a boost, and the AI will behave more realistically than it did in the original. And you'll be able to task the AI to handle your military, economic, and political portions of the game.

SuperPower 2 also features improved graphics; the game now takes place on a beautiful 3D globe, complete with clouds and a day/night cycle. All 193 nations of the world are now included, and all appropriate political divisions are modeled, so the US has 50 states, and so on. The map zooms down to a 200-meter scale (smaller than the original), and it will have terrain features such as rivers, roads, and mountains, which will play an important part in the military portion of the game.

You'll be able to design your units by mixing and matching various components. Once you're satisfied, you can mass-produce them and then dispatch them to the battlefield. Combat is modeled on the "macrolevel," so you won't command forces on the battlefield, but you will have some operational control; for instance, you can direct divisions to engage in frontal or flanking assaults. When you become embroiled in a war, it can affect your international standing and domestic tranquility; a really unpopular war could lead to the opposition party gaining power in the next election.

Multiplayer will support up to 32 players in games such as world domination and economic master. GolemLabs and DreamCatcher hope to get the sequel out by late fall or early winter of this year.