Empire - Wargame of the Century
Platform: Commodore 64
Gametype: Undefined
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Follow up to 'Starfleet 1 : The battle Begins'.

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The object of the game is simple - gain control of the entire world by using your armies to crush your opponents. You'll start off with a city, which must then produce armies, that are used to conquer more cities. The array of unit types is limited to eight, including various ships, fighter planes, ground units and a submarine. This is more than made up for by the significantly different abilities each of the units possess, and the game will mostly likely appeal to the Chess and Risk player's of the world.

Trivia

Empire was named #8 overall among the “150 Best Games of All Time” by Computer Gaming World Magazine (15th Anniversary Issue--November 1996)

Many regard this turn-based militaristic strategy game the most influential strategy title ever released. The original was created in 1978 by Walter Bright and though he repeatedly tried to sell it to publishers, he didn't succeed until 1985, when Interstel accepted the game, and hired Mark Baldwin to create a graphical user interface (not a graphics artist at heart, Bright had been using various letters and ascii characters to represent units and cities)

Walter Bright has updated the game to work like a charm under Windows 95/98, and has released it as freeware - you can find the game and various information and historical facts at www.classicempire.com.

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Description from the packaging:

Empire "Wargame of the Century" Version 2.0 by Walter Bright and Mark Baldwin.
Once again, the vast interplanetary space under the Alliance's sovereign jurisdiction is being attacked by the tyrannical Krellan Empire. Even the hapless neutral planets that reside in the Krellan designated war-ways are being scattered like cosmic dust.

In a well-known sector of Alliance controlled space, Krellan-induced hostilities threaten to eliminate the very life of small but significant civilized planets. Alliance leaders, recently apprised of the Krellan's "Operation Big Brother," are readying a special task force to try and unite each planet by forming a counter-empire.

Your level of experience and performance as an Alliance Commander has earned the respect of not only Alliance leaders, but also that of the Alliance's armed forces. Their survival has often depended on your strategic expertise, skill and cunning in several of your past missions. This unique level of experience has earned you the offer of Generalship of the Special Task Force. As an emissary emperor on the planet you will have locally produced armies, fighters, destroyers, submarines, troop transports, cruisers, aircraft carriers, and battleships at your command in a full-scale planetary state of war.

Empire "Wargame of the Century" is a game of strategy conquest and empire building. Starting with only a single city, you set out on your quest to explore and conquer a vast uncharted world. As your armies encounter and subdue hostile cities, your production capacity increases. You must decide what each city should produce to best aid your war effort. You will soon have at your command armies, fighters, and a powerful navy. However, your aspirations to be emperor are not achieved easily. Opponents are also attempting to build empires. There can only be one winner in this war, and only through exceptional strategic and logistic skills will final victory be yours!

Empire features:

Real strategy game.

One to three human or computer players.

Computer players use artificial intelligence (choice of standard or expert levels).
Land, air, and sea combat.

Unit types include armies, fighters, submarines, destroyers, aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, troop transports (you can even name your ships!).

Supports color and black & white displays using full windowing.

Mouse or keyboard control.

Save and resume game in progress.

Multiple difficulty levels.

Hidden movement- you never quite know what your opponents are up to!

Over 30 commands available.

Advanced player interface and command features.

Millions of different worlds to conquer.

Unique world building feature- the computer can build a world, or design your own.

A permanent battle record is kept for each player.

Unique play-by-mail feature.

http://www.mobygames.com/game/c64/empire-wargame-of-the-century
