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Global Domination is pretty self explanatory: You are a world leader bent on world domination. In the grand scheme of computer gaming, this usually involves warfare -- and this game is no different.
At the start you can choose to pit your talents against up to four other players, either computer or human. After making some selections involving difficulty and complexity, you embark on a world map (the default being the one we should all be familiar with). The map is divided into provinces, with each province given a city size to denote its tactical value. When you first start out, each player is given a random assortment of provinces around the world from which to start his/her rise to power. After each player is given their provinces, the rest are set to neutral, allowing you ample room to expand before the inevitable conflicts begin.
At the start of the game there are no armies on the board, and each player is given a pool of points to spend. Using this starting pool you can begin building an army using a selection of various units, from infantry and tanks to aircraft.
Armies can contain up to ten kinds of fighting units: Infantry; mobile infantry; air-mobile infantry; light and heavy armor (tanks); light and heavy artillery; air defense; combat aircraft; and strike aircraft. Each unit has different strengths and weaknesses when pitted against another unit type, so the structure of your army will have as much effect in a conflict as its size. For example, an air-defense unit is only good at attacking aircraft, and has no defenses when attacked by infantry. Once an army is built, you can then place it in any friendly territory and begin your invasions.
In the beginning you can make only one move per turn. To gain additional moves you need to invest in transportation, which is paid for out of your income each turn. If you wish to move over water you must invest in naval transports, which are more expensive. To improve your income you need to conquer and hold provinces. Once you begin this process it goes very smoothly. With the ability to tailor a ready built army and then quickly drop it wherever you need it, it streamlines much of the fiddling you would normally have to do in a game of this type.
That’s a good thing, because this game has a great number of provinces you need to conquer in order to gain global domination. So what happens when your army decides it wants to take a territory containing another army? You fight of course... in the blink of an eye most times. Combat simply involves grabbing your army (which is represented by bullets) and dropping it on enemy territory. The conflict will then be resolved at the beginning of your next turn. There are also options that will allow you to watch the battle results screen, which will show you a blow-by-blow comparison of attacks, and even a satellite view of a battlefield that allows you more direct control. I found the satellite view to be a bit difficult to use, and in a game with this many conflicts it tends to bog down the gameplay quite a bit.
For the most part, despite all the things you can do, it is simply a more complex version of Risk. You amass armies, conquer territories, and repeat until you are the last nation standing. What is interesting in this game is the ability to add complexity. Do you want more interaction between the players? Turn on diplomacy. Do you want some fog of war, where details are not fully known about your opponents' armies or morale? Turn on espionage. You can make more informed tactical decisions by taking into account the morale of your army, and as your armies age they grow in obsolescence (which means they become outdated.) I found in my playthroughs that this was rarely an issue, however, since you can overcome any obstacle with more armies.
With the ability to randomly generate maps, and the customizable complexity, you're sure to find the type of game you want in this one. It can be a fun playthrough with friends, and a decent challenge with the AI turned up. I advise grabbing the manual and running through the tutorial it offers if you get this game, as it will help you get a grasp of all the icons. With its clunky interface and outdated gameplay, it’s hard to get started, but you can find some enjoyment here. I give it a 2 out of 5.
Compatibility
It runs just fine on Dosbox 0.73.
Miscellaneous
Also a part of the Definitive Wargame Collection
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