In recent years I have gotten more into political simulators of all kinds, from Shadow President to Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator and so eventually I came to find Crisis in the Kremlin. For when it was made, the graphics are acceptable and it has some stability issues, but where this game really shines is in the game-play. There is also some ok artwork and low-tech video graphics to represent important events.
With a fairly intuitive interface, it guides you through several of the most interesting years of the Soviet Union, fitting, as they were its last.
In recent years I have gotten more into political simulators of all kinds, from Shadow President to Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator and so eventually I came to find Crisis in the Kremlin. For when it was made, the graphics are acceptable and it has some stability issues, but where this game really shines is in the game-play. There is also some ok artwork and low-tech video graphics to represent important events.
With a fairly intuitive interface, it guides you through several of the most interesting years of the Soviet Union, fitting, as they were its last. By taking on the role of the new leader of the Soviet Union, you can choose between the various factions, which set the conditions for the
rest of the game. You can choose among a myriad of policies, and there are even such intricacies as stated and observed position on a multitude of issues, and a complex budget and income system, even though often enough it doesn't make quite as much sense as it could.
You even get to respond to historical events as they happen, and they have noticeable effects depending upon how you react for the Union. In the later years, as the republics start to yearn for freedom, you must respond to that as well: Will you try to maintain a loose economic coalition with political autonomy? Or will you rule with an Iron Fist and try to use military force to maintain the Union?
Also, inevitably, you must deal with the military coup, and depending on your relative popularity, you can either maintain power because of popular support, or be sent into exile. If you choose well, and are lucky, than perhaps you will keep the Union together and bring them to a new age of economic prosperity. But if you choose poorly, than the Soviet Union will break and fall into even greater pits of economic despair than did in reality.
The one big problem is that the same crises occur every game, and after you've tried every choice, it becomes pretty predicable. Also, once you have figured out how to play, the game becomes pretty formulaic. Good for hours of fun, I recommend it for anybody who enjoys political simulators, and especially for anybody interested in this time of history.
