Galactic Assault - Prisoner of Power Preview

Paradox Interactive have made a name for themselves in the PC realm by publishing some very impressive strategy games over the years. Their latest, Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power (developed by WarGaming.net), is a title that looks to carry the torch well for the publisher. The game presents an intriguing sci-fi yarn on a distant planet where several races are fighting for complete control. Galactic Assault is a turn-based strategy that does away with the problems usually found in the genre, from unwieldy controls to slow-pacing, and succeeds in offering fast and intense gameplay.

In Galactic Assault, you join the fray as four races vie for supremacy over the planet Saraksh. You are a solider who was shot down over the planet, and you become a pivotal element in a power vacuum after a nuclear conflict on the planet. The story is based on the book “Inhabited Island”, and was in fact called that prior to becoming Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power.

One of the game’s key features is the intuitive camera controls. You use the WASD keys to move the camera around the map and the mouse to rotate, zoom, and switch from an isometric view to a side-view or a top-down view. This is a very adaptable system that lets you zoom out or get in as close to the action as you’d like.

Galactic Assault is a turn-based strategy game, but the action moves very quickly. Your units will move into position and attack quite fluidly. There are more than 70 different units that you have access to, and each of them has their own abilities, differing in traits like mobility, vision, and firepower.

While the game isn’t broken visually into a hex-grid (or a “honeycomb” grid as I like to call them), they still exist around each of your units. Your view is blocked by the “fog of war”, where you can only see as far as your units’ specific honeycomb grid will allow. Depending on their range on the battlefield, some units can see farther than others. Tanks, for example, have a larger range and infantry units, so they can see much further and attack from longer distances.

There are other factors that affect how far your units can move and see. Night and day play a huge factor in your visibility, as your visual grid will decrease at night falls, rendering some enemies invisible until you get close enough. Rivers and rough terrain will also limit how far your units can move on the map, as each one has a specific rating that will lower your mobility by a certain percentage.

Graphically, Galactic Assault is a pretty good looking game, and features several details and nuances that set it apart from other titles in the genre. Your infantry units will leave small footprints as they cross through the map, and the environmental textures are very well done. The units are also very well rendered, and feature very nice details throughout. All in all, the game’s look is quite solid. Soundwise, the game is pretty standard fare for the genre, with a militaristic score and token sound effects.

Galactic Assault is shaping up to be a fun and engaging turn-based strategy that shucks away the familiar trappings and pitfalls of the genre. The game is fast-paced and offers up an engaging scenario, and should be one that strategy fans won’t want to miss.