Set in a real-world scenario, SuperPower is a vastly complex PC strategy game that contains the largest military database ever assembled in a strategy game, providing every significant statistic published about 140 of the most important countries around the world and includes more than 4000 different military unit designs. In SuperPower, players can lead nations to ultimate worldwide dominance (or ruin) by directing the country's political, military, economic and secret service organizations.
"SuperPower is a highly sophisticated strategic experience. This game will attract a new audience for DreamCatcher and we are happy to be including it in our 2002 line-up," said Richard Wah Kan, CEO of DreamCatcher Interactive.
"We wanted to make a game that played differently than any other current RTS title," said Jean-Rene Couture, President of Golem Labs. "Sure, in SuperPower you're competing for world domination-but the world in which you're fighting is late 1990's Earth. And our game isn't about building lots of tanks and rumbling into your enemy's city. You have to use demography, politics, economics, and covert action as well as military might to achieve your goals, which makes SuperPower especially cool," Couture explained, "because all of the countries' economic and other data is taken from declassified CIA world fact book and the USNI (periscope database). In fact the gameplay in SuperPower is so realistic, various military personnel have actually contacted us to say that the game is something they might use for their own strategic action and defense training." "When DreamCatcher approached us to publish this product," Couture concluded, "it just seemed like the right publisher/developer match."
Good decision-making skills make or break nations in real life and in this game, where there are lots of choices and decisions to be made. SuperPower has four main goals: remain in power, balance national resources, rid the nation of domestic rebels and terrorists, or world domination. Luckily, players have numerous actions that they can deploy to reach their chosen goal, everything from spying to assassination, rigging elections to terrorist actions, and more.
The political features of SuperPower put the player in the all-powerful driving seat. As the leader of a nation, players will need to negotiate treaties and build relationships with other countries. They can also decide to use secret service organizations, which can also turn against you. But sometimes, unfortunately, countries need to go to war. SuperPower's WarArt system gives players the power to be the ultimate armchair general. Design the battle, instruct the troops with a plan, then the troops need to be left alone to execute. Players don't control every individual unit. Instead, the player places their troops and supplies them with their orders. Hopefully, these troops have enough training, morale, experience and firepower to perform their orders and come back alive. Combat takes place in real world locations generated from the game's complete topographical map.
Players shouldn't get too cocky in this game, as SuperPower's AI supplies a revolutionary approach by combining both neural networks and expert systems. Computer-controlled countries are independent entities that actually learn using the game's problem-solving model. These countries learn how to solve their problems, play against each other and even the player. Players will also need to decide how much time it will take them to make their mark - one year, five years, ten years, or an unlimited time frame. The game ends when the player has accomplished their chosen goal, reached their time limit, or is overthrown or assassinated.
