Republic: The Revolution

by Eidos

Product Features

• Rise to power through the use of military force, crime, business, politics or religion
• Persuade key public figures to do your bidding using influence, wealth or force
• Use propaganda to generate rabid supporters and influence the general populace
• Manipulate the masses or silence the opposition through rallies, riots, crime syndicates, and more
• Whether you lead by compassion or ruthless aggression, every action can have untold repercussions

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00009B5AZ
• Item Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,279 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

The moment has come to seize power and spark arevolutionProduct InformationRepublic: The Revolution is set in Novistrana an ex-Soviet state ruled by a corrupt and brutal dictator. With a personal vendetta against the President and discontent spreading throughout the nation now is the moment to seize power. Time to start a revolution - will it be to liberate the masses or to become their new oppressor?Starting with a single loyal supporter create a powerful nationwide faction strong enough to oust the President and take control. Using either your Influence Wealth or Force gain the allegiance of prominent public figures including members of the Secret PoliceCouncilors Celebrities Priests and Criminals. Hundreds of diverse actions enable you to order and manipulate the masses from rallies and riots to constructing crime syndicates holding charity galasorganizing secret police 'hits' or broadcasting news propaganda.Threats come from seven other factions all vying for supreme control. Over-shadowing everything is the President who will do anything to hold onto power. Be as ruthless or as compassionate as you want but beware as every action can have untold repercussions and consequences on the future of your Republic.Product HighlightsRepublic The Revolution....The StoryRepublic: The Revolution begins many years ago in Novistrana a former state of the Soviet Union where you as the Avatar witness the violent arrest of your parents by the Secret Police. Some weeks later news arrives that both parents have died in custody. From that moment you vow revenge on the man who caused this the local head of the Secret Police Vasily Karasov.Over the years sweeping changes occur to Novistrana. As the Soviet Union and communism collapse Novistrana gains its independence and to your horror Vasily Karasov experiences a meteoric rise in power to eventually become the President. Soon after taking control Karasov's motives for power bec

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good game, but over-hyped, September 23, 2003

By 

Mr. Timothy Johnson (DICKSON, ACT Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Republic: The Revolution (CD-ROM)

This may go down as one of the most over-hyped computer games in history. Don't get me wrong, the game is pretty good, but it has been touted for so long, and delayed so many times; various reviewers over the last few years have carried on about its remarkable flexibility and wonderful graphics and game engine. In the end, it's good, but doesn't quite live up to the hype.

The game is intended to be a political simulator. You play an insurgent or visionary in an Eastern European country, part of the former USSR. The aim is to overthrow the President and become president yourself. You do this by recruiting helpers with various skills and abilities, and putting them to use in turning the population of various cities to support you. Amongst other things, you can leaflet a district, arrange for the bashing of a rival to weaken their resolve, vandalise an opposing factions' district to weaken their support, and hold public rallies to build up popular support. In this way, it is quite flexible.

However, this is essentially a turn-based game; the ever-running clock merely limits the time you have to decide on your actions in each turn. Also, the manual and `tutorial' in the game are not well written and therefore not very helpful. As such, you'll find yourself learning as you play and it will probably take some time before you find all the commands and options you have access to.

Perhaps my biggest gripe is that the ideology model is quite one dimensional, with anti capitalism/pro-union on the left, freedom/democracy in the centre, and capitalism/free-market on the right. Then again, while real world politics has many more dimensions, this is probably a relatively accurate portrayal of major parties in many countries.

Overall, if you are interested in politics and want to try a very different sort of game from your average first person shooter or RTS, I'd heartily recommend it, but don't be fooled by all the hype from the last few years.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Game, September 13, 2003

By 

J. Vidal (APO, AE United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Republic: The Revolution (CD-ROM)

I never believed a computer game could realistically cover the complex maneuverings that is an urban insurgency. I still don't (laugh). But this game comes the closest. As a revolutionary, you start with only yourself and through the course of three cities and your choice of path, you rise to overthrow the President of your country, Novistrana. The game is sufficiently complex, but easy with a good inner circle. I got it two weeks ago (it came out earlier in England) and am still playing it, although on my third game. There is of course, a downside. The manual is not good, without a real Help service within the game. This means you really have to learn On The Job, which while realistic can be very frustrating. The game is also really tedious, requires constant attention to detail. This is also realistic, and good in it's way, but it can lead to quite some frustration. Overall, I recommend it highly for anyone interested in strategy games (though if your the StarCraft type, it takes until the third city before you can actually order someone's death).

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the game I fell in love with, but still decent., September 27, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Republic: The Revolution (CD-ROM)

Three and a half years ago, I read the announcement of Republic's development with great joy. Unlinear gameplay, multiple approaches, interaction which every individual citizen in the game... Ah, the joy I felt when I read those previews. Screenshot after screenshot came... delay after delay... and then we ended up with this.

We were promised the moon and the stars and we ended up on the sidewalk with mediocre gameplay, a rather-linear storyline (although the methods to accomplish the objectives are yours to choose, the results are always the same), and an AI that makes you question whether or not they are actually your opponents.

However, when you forget what you were promised, and look at what you have, it really isn't that bad. It accomplished quite a bit, the engine is definitely worth looking for in future titles, and the gameplay can be fun when you surrender yourself to the fact that you will be spending 95% of the game-time either looking at a 2D map of the city with pie charts and avatars, or playing the conversation minigame (perhaps the single feature that embodies the shortcomings of this game).

My advice: read the reviews on gamesites before you buy this one. I am TOLD the learning curve is steep, but I had no trouble whatsoever- I think such people are used to mindless games like Grand Theft Auto 3.