I know, scary isn't it? |
Like all previous AGEOD, hyper-simulation and realism is the name of the game. There's four main 'modes' to the game, Military, Economy, Colonial and Decision. The Decisions mode is fairly straight forward and only needs using every now and then to enact regional 'choices' that you can make, and the Colonial mode is only useful if you have colonies (or, in America's case, you're expanding out westward), but that has more for you to do, from sending out expeditions to bribing local chiefs. The Economic and Military modes however are the two you'll use more often.
The military tab is pretty straight forward - you can requisition new units in provinces that can support them, and this mode also highlights any existing armies on the screen so that you can issue orders. The economics tabs is slightly more complex, as there are a host of buildings you can build depending on the territory you want to build it in. Some provinces might have natural resources you'll want to exploit, whilst others may exist along a key boarder with a rival, which will mean you'll want to build forts and defensive fortifications.
The ultimate goal of Pride of Nations is, in a word, 'prestige'. Paradox veterans will be familiar with this concept. Basically, various actions and factors will give you points towards your 'prestige' value, and the goal is to have the highest prestige value (leader board style) by the end of the game, so in this case 1920. Each nation will have their own objectives and key locations to control, but in a general sense a strong economy, an empire, a large military, colonies etc... all contribute to your prestige, as does fighting and winning wars we imagine.
In terms of management, you have all of the usual suspects - research and development, diplomacy, government... plus several tables of just stats and information. There's a wealth of depth here, and a lot to try wrap your head round. Pride of Nations is Turn-base, with each turn lasting around fifteen days. So anyone thinking 70 years was a bit short, that's 70 years worth of two week slots you have to contend with, so nothing will happen that quickly.
Scenarios limit you to a small portion of the map |
On the one hand, this is a classic complex AGEOD game, however Paradox's increased influence has rubbed off well on the company we think. Everything seems that much more accessible - from a tutorial that actually acts as a tutorial, to the streamlined interfaces, even the better art assets make the game less intimidating... even though they do nothing to the gameplay. Make no mistake, this is a different breed of game to Victoria, so those worried about value for money will find plenty to get to grips with here.
Most Anticipated feature: There's no one thing that stands out, but over all this is looking to be a very polished and engaging game.