Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power

Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power is inspired by the Russian science fiction novel “Inhabited Island” by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. The novel tells the story of Maxim Kemmerer, an explorer stranded on a distant planet modeled after the failed socialist utopia that the Strugatskys saw all around them in the post-war Soviet Union. The game’s origins are readily apparent in the turgid text that is slowly read aloud as you wait for the next mission to load.

Its international origins are also apparent in the game design – most American developers don’t make games like this any more. Galactic Assault is a turn-based, hex-based wargame. You’re on an alien world, but the weaponry is recognizable as an extra-terrestrial World War II. Heavy tanks, light tanks, artillery, rifles…this isn’t a laser force from the future. If it weren’t for the strange hopping attack mammals, the whole setting could be an alternate past as much as a possible future.

As a wargame, Galactic Assault is accessible and inviting. Every unit has a purpose and you will need to use each properly in order to reach your objectives before time or your advantage run out. Many of the scenarios seem exactly one turn too short to allow for imperfection. The interface makes everything crystal clear. Rollovers give you the range of possible damage, your move/fire range is clearly marked and your troops’ morale is conveniently color coded. Though probably too under the radar to qualify as a great intro to wargaming, it’s easy enough to get into that it could generate interest in hex-gaming in general.

In theory, at least. In practice, Galactic Assault hamstrings you so often in the campaign’s early going that it’s a real trial to keep going. Though it’s not unusual for a strategy campaign to limit your access to every weapon in the beginning, this game takes it to extremes, even preventing you from building new units in many of the early missions. You are told you can reinforce them, but the time limit means that you will waste valuable turns if you ferry your infantry back and forth. They don’t even bother to explain the resource gathering, which doesn’t matter since you will be given just enough to spend on what you are told to spend it on.

As a tutorial, this would make sense, but it’s dragged out for far too long. By the time you get to the third chapter, you will be so tired of following orders to a T that you wonder why they don’t just get some robot to do the job. You have little leeway in crafting a plan, making many of the missions more like puzzles than battle scenarios. If the tutorial missions were shorter, we could get to the good stuff faster.

And the good stuff is there. The deathmatch setups are solid wargaming experiences that emphasize reconnaissance, concentration of force and counterunits. It is here that the rudimentary economic system comes into play, where you need to ration your slow trickle of resources. Do you buy an infantry barracks or a tank factory? When do you upgrade your units? The recruitment phase becomes more than an exercise in replacing lost units; it becomes a crucial part of war planning.

This turn-based strategy component can be a little dull, though. Most of your time will be spent shipping newly purchased units to the front in your trucks. While the logistics of being ferryman to the troops is appropriate, having a single space to gather your new troops with no options for airdrops or frontline reinforcement makes every turn a little longer than it should be. It’s a sensible design choice and certainly reflective of the alternate WW2 game world, but it makes it hard to hold territory you’ve gained since all your fresh troops need to rush forward from home base.

Typically, no one is playing this online. The servers are empty and the game is too low profile to attract much of a multiplayer following. And that’s OK. This isn’t some great underdog or hidden gem. But there is a good light two player game here.