Imperium (1990 video game)
{{Short description|Strategy video game}}
{{For|the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game|Imperium (1992 video game)}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Imperium
| image = Imperium (1990 video game).jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| developer = Intelligent Games
| publisher = Electronic Arts
| producer = Joss Ellis
| designer = Matthew Stibbe
| programmer = Nicholas Wilson
| artist = Carl Cropley
| composer = Nicholas Wilson
| engine =
| platforms = DOS, Atari ST, Amiga
| released = 1990
| genre = Strategy
| modes = Single-player
}}
Imperium is a 4X strategy video game published by Electronic Arts in 1990 for the Amiga, Atari ST, and DOS.
Plot
Imperium is a space adventure video game in which the player can choose to either dominate the whole galaxy or survive to be 1,000 years of age. The player controls all political and military elements, and can spread the influence of the empire while stopping other empires from gaining influence over the area under control of the player. The player maintains invasion forces, the construction of fleets, and reinforcing the loyalty of subordinates, and can allow the computer to control the economics, defense, and diplomacy of the empire.
Gameplay
Imperium is driven by icon and windows. The player uses icons to save and load games, establish alliances with and embargoes against opponents, review the wealth level, deploy strategic forces and fight, view the maps, and gather information from news and other reports. The players can set windows all around the screen, which contain selection areas where the player can either type in data or click to retrieve more data. All of these icons and all but one of the windows, and all the information they provide, are displayed in monochrome.
Reception
The game was reviewed in 1991 in Dragon #165 by Hartley, Patricia, and Kirk Lesser in "The Role of Computers" column. The reviewers gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.{{cite magazine
|title=The Role of Computers
|last1=Lesser|last2=Lesser|last3=Lesser|first1=Hartley|first2=Patricia|first3=Kirk
|magazine=Dragon
|issue=165
|date=January 1991
|pages=47–55}} Computer Gaming World in 1991 criticized Imperium{{'}}s production values as "not what would be expected in an American game", but praised the gameplay and the computer opponent. The magazine concluded that "due to its strategic complexity and depth of play, it is certain to give any strategic gamer plenty of hours of enjoyment".{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1991&pub=2&id=80 | title=Megalomaniacs Welcome | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=March 1991 | accessdate=17 November 2013 | author=Battles, Hosea Jr. | pages=27 |issue=80}} In a 1992 survey of science fiction games the magazine gave the title four of five stars, stating that the game "seemed to quickly disappear from the market. Yet its rich texture and gameplay deserve a second look".{{cite magazine | url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=100 | title=Strategy & Wargames: The Future (2000-....) | magazine=Computer Gaming World | date=November 1992 | accessdate=4 July 2014 | author=Brooks, M. Evan | pages=99}} A 1994 survey of strategic space games set in the year 2000 and later gave the game three-plus stars.{{Cite magazine
|last=Brooks
|first=M. Evan
|author=
|last2=
|first2=
|date=May 1994
|title=Never Trust A Gazfluvian Flingschnogger!
|department=
|url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1994&pub=2&id=118
|magazine=Computer Gaming World
|pages=42–58}}
Reviews
- ST Format - Jul, 1990{{Cite web|url=http://www.stformat.com/stf12/index.html|title = ST Format - Issue 12}}
- Computer Gaming World - Nov, 1992
- Tilt - Sep, 1990{{Cite web|url=http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Tilt/tilt_numero081/TILT%20-%20n081%20-%20septembre%201990%20-%20page094%20et%20095.jpg|title=Tilt numero 081|website=abandonware-magazines.org|access-date=2021-12-20|archive-date=2021-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211220054026/http://download.abandonware.org/magazines/Tilt/tilt_numero081/TILT%20-%20n081%20-%20septembre%201990%20-%20page094%20et%20095.jpg|url-status=dead}}
- ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) - Feb, 1991
- ASM (Aktueller Software Markt) - Jul, 1990
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{MobyGames|id=/imperium}}
- {{abime|id=2619}}
- [https://archive.org/details/1991-09-compute-magazine/page/n169/mode/2up Review] in Compute!
- [https://archive.org/details/info-magazine-34/page/n39/mode/2up Review] in Info
- [https://archive.org/details/Page6-48-Feb91/page/62/mode/2up Review] in Page 6
Category:Electronic Arts games
Category:Intelligent Games games
Category:Monochrome video games
Category:Single-player video games