Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: BattleGoat Studios
Minimum requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista; Pentium III 800+Mhz; 512 MB RAM; 3D Graphics Card with 16MB+ Video RAM; DirectX 8.1 or Higher; DirectX Compatible Sound Card
Genre: Strategy
Release date: Available now
Review by: Andrew Clark

I’ll begin by saying this: The folks over at BattleGoat had better be wrong about the “near future” setting in which their games take place. Every passing day leans more and more to a potential world collapse…a “global crisis,” if you will. Tanking economy; budding, unfriendly nuclear powers—it’s all being thrown into a big steel bowl buttered with instability and corruption. So if the mixing blade drops, I guess it’s good to know that Supreme Ruler players will have the experience necessary to lead us back to normalcy.

In the summer of 2008 I did a series of articles on the geo-political sim sequel Supreme Ruler 2020, a gem of a niche title built with accuracy as its foundation. No sooner had my index finger lifted from the doomsday button when BattleGoat Studios unleashed its first expansion, entitled Global Crisis. This extension of the first game adds a little more time to the line and brings everything a little closer to the apocalypse.

It’s once again up to you to lead, follow or use political advisors to run the show in the hopes of reaching diplomatic common ground. BattleGoat has made sure that fans of the original have plenty to do while they rule, boosting the scenario count by 20 and adding graphics and gameplay enhancements to otherwise augment one of the more complex games I played last year.

The good news is that everything from the first game is still here, albeit a trifle smoother, a scooch more informative, and definitely fatter; thanks to an expanded scenario library. Don’t expect a layman’s guide to domination, by any means, but do expect more tips, tutorials and an improved ability to find and control your units. Multiplayer also gets a case of expansionitis with a bevy of new maps, should your lust for warfare be unsatisfied with the A.I. improvements in the single-player game.

However, the bad news is that you’re basically paying $20 for a map pack and an extra-large patch for the first game. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of game time included, but the rest of the package seems a little thin to warrant a whole Jackson. Nevertheless, if you have found the end of the line in SR 2020 (and if you did, I tip my hat to you), then insert the bill into the bill slot to continue.

I, for one, still have not even begun to fully grasp the original game. Prior to Global Crisis I’d occasionally boot up 2020 in my downtime and mess about to refresh myself in the ways of dominion. There’s no harm in keeping frosty should I be thrust into a position of leadership at a moment’s notice, right? Yet if you are one of the hardcore who have a dedicated PC set aside running a game, you’ll find satisfaction and money well-spent here.

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