Republic: The Revolution is a Strategy game.

The Republic of Novistrana verges on collapse. Time to start a revolution – will it be to liberate the masses or to become their new oppressor?

Following the fall of the mighty Soviet Union, The Republic of Novistrana, an ex-Soviet state ruled by a corrupt and brutal dictator, verges on collapse. With a personal vendetta against the President and discontent spreading throughout the nation, now is the moment to seize power. Starting with nothing more than a small base of local support, you must build a nationwide faction powerful enough to start a revolution, and oust the president… by any means necessary. Time to start a revolution – will it be to liberate the masses or to become their new oppressor?

While computer games have attempted to simulate everything from theme parks and railway systems to futuristic cities and legendary fantasy realms, Republic: The Revolution may be the first that attempts to simulate an entire nation. The mythical country of Novistrana is like many other small, Eastern European nations. It is inhabited by nearly a million citizens, each with his or her own responsibilities, opinions, and desires. The recent fall of the U.S.S.R. has blown winds of change across Novistrana; some believe that a revolution brews just beneath the sunny surface of the small country's peaceful political landscape. A strong leader with a unifying cause could be all it takes to spark a revolt.

Republic: The Revolution is set in Novistrana. Karasov has declared himself President for life. He is very powerful and has the secret police, with no ethical or legal bounds, behind him. No man dares stand up to President Karasov, except one, you.

The core game is quite free-form and consists of winning grassroots support, gaining political capital, and undermining opposing factions, but there's no getting around having to do missions to advance the story and, eventually, decide the fate of Novistrana. A new game kicks off with a questionnaire to determine your character's base stats and political leanings and then drops you in the small provincial city of Ekaterine, where your budding faction has some clout in a single district.

The player begins as a barely noticeable speck on the nation's political landscape, running his or her faction's underground operations from a tiny headquarters in one of 30 small villages. The goal is to build a foundation for the player's political movement, gaining supporters through clever propaganda, political pandering, and even bribery and extortion, eventually winning enough followers to overthrow the government and instate the player as high ruler. Competition for this position exists at all levels, coming from the administration currently in power as well as from over a dozen other upstart factions vying for supremacy.

Many actions that your faction can perform may consist of bribing, intimidating, rioting, and rallying. Of course, to carry out the actions you need resources. Resources are gathered by the amount of Influence, Wealth, and Force that you have in districts. As it says on the Republic: The Revolution website, “you must decide, will you use the actions to Liberate, Manipulate, or Dictate?” Now, remember that while you are performing actions, so are the other factions.

Each of the Novistrana's citizens exists as a unique individual. Their behaviors are designed to realistically follow the flow of social and cultural factors in the game. Members of the population may celebrate, riot, or simply carry on the status quo, depending on how their ideologies coincide or conflict with the politics of their surroundings. Their support is the key to victory.

The game is viewed from both 3D and 2D. 3D view allows you to get a close up look at things. From the 2D view you will be able to see the support of you faction in each district, enemies, actions, and more. The districts will either be red, blue, or yellow, which represents force, influence, and wealth.

Most of the game takes place in an open-ended 3D environment, where you can walk (or drive) around. Everybody in the game, from the man in the store to the old lady in the walker, has a name and political alignment, and it's your job to make sure they see things your way. When push comes to shove, and the current president tries to get rid of you, you can initiate a peaceful protest and stand in front of tanks, blocking their path. Whether they stop or not is dependent on how the military likes you.

There are multiple ways to finish the game, guaranteeing a couple of replays. You can go through the game completely neutral, or you can go all out, committing terrorist acts and inciting national riots.

Victory means the presidency. You don't want to know what happens if you lose….

Republic: The Revolution Includes:

• Manipulate the masses or silence the opposition
• Explore living and breathing cities populated by thousands of citizens
• Thousands of variables allow for a new and different experience every time you play
• Rise to power through the use of military force, crime, business, politics, or religion
• Lead by compassion or ruthless aggression, the choice is yours

Note: The Download Now link will download a small installer file to your desktop. Remain online and double-click the installer to proceed with the actual download.

Following the fall of the mighty Soviet Union, The Republic of Novistrana, an ex-Soviet state ruled by a corrupt and brutal dictator, verges on collapse. With a personal vendetta against the President and discontent spreading throughout the nation, now is the moment to seize power. Starting with nothing more than a small base of local support, you must build a nationwide faction powerful enough to start a revolution, and oust the president… by any means necessary. Time to start a revolution – will it be to liberate the masses or to become their new oppressor?

Manipulate the masses or silence the opposition. Explore living and breathing cities populated by thousands of citizens. Thousands of variables allow for a new and different experience every time you play. Rise to power through the use of military force, crime, business, politics, or religion. Lead by compassion or ruthless aggression, the choice is yours

Best of E3 2002 for Strategy – GameSpy

Windows 98/98SE/2000/XP. Processor: PIII 800 MHz. DirectX 8.1. 512 MB RAM. Free hard drive space: 1 GB. Hardware T&L Video Card 32MB DirectX 8.1. DirectX-compliant Sound Card