The last several years haven't seen many turn-based strategy games, but lately there have been a few released, Domination and the re-release of Disciples II in a Gold Edition among them. Independent developer Black Hammer has joined the field with a space themed turn-based strategy game entitled Supremacy: Four Paths to Power, published by Matrix Games.

Right from the beginning, this game has a slightly different feel from most strategy games. For one thing, the opening cinematics are drawn in an anime cartoon style, rather than the more realistic look favored by most current strategy games. It has an old-fashioned appearance, which works rather well for the theme of the game, as the entire game has a nostalgic feel to it.

The game's initial set-up menu allows for players to jump right into the game, or begin a tutorial. The game has several different options of map and game styles, wherein players can choose the prerequisites for victory, as in capture more enemies than the opponent, rescue a hero, control the most territory, etc. The corresponding maps offer a good selection and variety for each mode of play.

There is a tutorial mode, but it is an awkward vehicle for learning the game. Instead of having an interactive beginner's scenario, the game begins with a small map and the tutorial directions outlined in a html page, which requires players to hop back and forth between reading the directions, to implementing them. This quickly becomes tiresome. Players may opt to just print out the tutorial, but this takes a bit of ink, because of the pictures.

Once a game mode of one- or two-players and the game style and map have been settled on, it's time to select the race. This is where the name of the game comes from, as in there are four races to choose from. However, each race has pretty similar units, so there's not much difference between them, although there are some race-specific units that have unique characteristics. For the most part, the units are the basic short- and long-range fighting units, plus several artillery units.

The gameplay is strongly suggestive of an actual game board, as in having the grid layout for piece movement, and the rather unique grid for unit selection. When choosing units, players have a grid where they can drag and drop units, which are different sizes and take up a certain number of squares. Players have to choose which units they want and which will fit into their grid. This adds a strategy level right off the get-go. The computer opponents are adequate to play against, but really aren't much of a challenge for the most part. Real opponents are much more worthy.

Resource management is kept at a minimum, and mainly consists of keeping plenty of fuel around for space combat. Interestingly, this is another somewhat different approach to strategy games, in that there are two types of gameplay going on at the same time, with the formation and placing of the units being the primary force for ground combat, and the research trees and resource management the focus in space battles.

This is one of those games that is difficult to rate, because it basically comes down to a choice of gaming taste, more so than any extraordinary features, either positive or negative, of the game itself. The game is played very similar to an interactive board game, with small maps and number of units, a choice of pre-subscribed moves (or unlimited moves and moving times), and the mostly finite selection of unit types in the beginning of the game. This lets the gamer control the type and duration of the game. For players who enjoy board games, this is a big plus. I, myself, like having the control and the time limit, and have enjoyed playing Supremacy, even though I usually don't like space-themes quite as well as fantasy themes. However, it's not the most exciting type of gameplay, and people looking for fast-paced action will be disappointed.

And, although I have enjoyed playing, the game itself - even though it does offer interesting innovations in the choosing of units - isn't really anything above the ordinary in terms of "oomph" factor. One more note, too, some players may experience technical problems in running the game. I have had to uninstall and reinstall the game several times, evidently because of some type of conflict with ActiveMovie, as this is where my game chooses to freeze on me during the playing of the opening credits.

A slow-paced, yet short board-type strategy game that will appeal to board game enthusiasts and people who like more of a pure strategy experience, rather than a shoot-out.

Gameplay: 6.5
A different type of gameplay that I found interesting, but one that may not appeal to all strategy enthusiasts. More of a board-game experience than anything else.

Graphics: 6.0
The graphics are rather dated, which may have been on purpose, but is still very noticable when compared to current PC games.

Sound: 5.0
The sound is really lacking, and doesn't add anything to the game.

Difficulty: Medium
The difficulty is of a medium range, with the beginning tutorial being harder than it should be, but once learned, the game itself is easily manageble.

Concept: 7.0
There are some interesting innovations, mainly to do with choosing of units.

Multiplayer: 7.0
There is a multiplayer mode which definitely ups the ante in strategy, as the real deal is much smarter than the computer.

Overall: 6.5
A different type of strategy game, which offers some new ideas, but still doesn't manage to rise above the crowd in any significant manner. Best for fans of finite board games.