I gave this game a 3 mainly because i felt pretty much ripped off by the developers. I have been a firm supporter of Supreme Ruler 2020 and 2010 and was expecting a serious challenge for this one. However unfortunately what i got was SR 2020 with a new skin and a couple of new screens.

If you own SR 2020, do not bother buying this one, unless you are a fanatic of the cold war era. The game mechanics do not seriously differ to justify spending the extra cash

The latest entry of Supreme Ruler series. The time period goes back to cold war time. It is certainly an interesting historic period for a grand strategy game. The graphic is very basic, but graphic is usually not something one will be most concerned in this kind of game. The learning curve is very steep, like other Paradox's game (though it is not developed by Paradox). The events in the game can unfold very differently as in real history, it can be fun yet annoying sometimes.

I really liked Supreme Ruler 2010 and 2020, however Cold war is dissapointing since its ridled with bugs and more than few gameplay issues. Biggest flaw is that I loose 50-75% FPS in ALL other games after I install Cold War. Maybe it ha something to do with DRM driver, I just dont know but it simply kills my computer.

So if other games become sluggish after cold war instalation try deinstalling it, reboot and then check again.

If you like Paradox games its the missing link between HOI and now. Beware though the game is hard to learn, like really hard. It will take times to learn the ropes with all the deep mechanics. However things have a tendency to mess up history because some factors could not be represented properly, ex: France is the third superpower.

Got this game on Pre Order but i wanted to make a review with a fully patched version...

Sadly Battlegoat takes its sweet time to post patches.

The good part is that the patches makes its job well. The game its a very good adittion to the Supreme Ruler Series, very deep Strategy, lots of micromanagement, nice history factor.

A most have for any Grand Strategy Fan, specially for those who really like Hearts of Iron Series, as this game will start at the historic point where Hearts of Iron Ends.

Pros

- Deep Strategy.

- Real Life Units, Leaders, Nations, Historic Events Etc.

- Complex Economic System.

- Very well tuned power between military units of every nation, Example: an M1A1 Abrams Battalion will have no real problem fighting a Soviet Era T-72 Battalion, but it will have real trouble fighting a Leopard 2E Battalion.

Cons

- Very Steep Learning curve, your ministers help a bit but the real deal is to play the game without them.

- The game system requirements need fixing as this game even with its "old school" graphics its very proccesor power thirsty due the real time world wide unit movement and goverment decisions.

You will need an Intel i5 processor or above to run it well.

It's a good game, don't get me wrong. But if you want to play it any time soon, you're going to be disappointed. The manual is not for the faint of heart, doesn't explain everything, and it's impossible to find anything in it. Once you've got it, you've got it, and you'll probably enjoy it. But it's so easy to blow up the world and end the game by wondering 'what does this button do?"

The AI and diplomacy systems, which we have been waiting to get fixed since SR2010, are still completely rubish. Despite the fact that this is supreme ruler cold war there is little to no cold war diplomacy between the superpowers instead it is simply a build up the military and then go to war game.

As to historical accuracy or even plausability in every sandbox game where the player does not directly control a superpower and in most campaign games where you do

1949 - France defeats north vietnam

1950 - South Korea conquers north korea

1953 - the declar war on incursions feature combined with the inability of the ai to control troop movements leads to war between china vs France and former indo-china colonies - france wins and conquers a third of china before I exit the game in disgust.

oh and in the highly unlikely event of war in the middle east isreal loses every single time

The game had so much potential, being there are not many strategy games of the cold war era. But playing it is extremely frustrating. Military units are too small scale and it is very cumbersome to move them. Also, the game is very slow most of the time with not much happening. One can set the goal for a large group of units, rather than move them individually. But a few days of game time goes by and they just stop moving in that direction.

But the worst is when there is a conflict any kind of nonesense can happen. The game starts a month before the Korean conflict. As the US player and knowing this can start sending units to Korea. But even with this the North Koreans usually will sweep everyone off the peninsula. As the Soviets, I managed to even get China and North Korea as full allies before the Korean conflict. Also, with a month's preperation moving a large number of units to that region. Nonetheless, fairly quickly I had not only lost all of Korea but also had US/UK units taking Vladivastok and racing up the Soviet pacific coast. My Chinese allies offered no help at all.

The game is unplayable.

It's meh! at best to me. It does feel more like a mod than a new game to me, I guess that's not terrible but I kind of expected much more. It's probably one of the better political simulators around, closely followed by Super Power 2 (even though it's old) and lastly by Rule of Nations GEO 2. To me the game had an extremely sharp learning curve only made more bearable by allowing the game to automate some of the things that you as the player are expected to do in the game. However to be honest, the AI is really not as good as it really should be. If you can get this on sale and enjoy this type of game then I'd suggest getting it or one of the other Supreme Ruler games, if you on the other hand, hate extremely sharp learning curves and fiddling with things that sometimes don't feel like they're making a difference, and micro'ing everything it seems, then maybe this is not the type of game for you.

Its a very good game has a lot of features. Imagine a game starcraft (In a way). This is it on crack its building factories gathering resource for armies. Just add diplomacy and stuff of that matter. Oh yeah and imagine a map as big as earth. Manual controlling every units is a pain. The AI's is a little stupid but, it is fun. Add nuclear war also.

This is a very ambicious game. It has some difficulties to manage and lacks a good walkthrough or strategic guide. So you will have to expaend many time to learn how to manage it properly. It is a superb game, speccially for afictionates of historical simulation. Some things still have to be improved, as movies (for example when you win the Korea War, the Vietnan War, or the Space race), or a better way to order your save games, among others. But the game is very rich in economic management, diplomacy and warfare.

This game is the best political simulator available. I have read the reviews of people, which I respect more than my opinion, and they feel that the game is extremely complex. I don't really feel so. One has to make choices, in the beginning of the game, and make sure, that the choices are basically, organically, and fundamentally right. Then, one has to assist those choices. If one is interested in the Cold War, this is the game for you. But, if you find the game overwhelming, I hope you didn't buy the game, because of my opinion.

A better title for this might have been Supreme Ruler Cold Cash.

Paradox obviously pushed this one out to capitalize on the popularity of the Supreme Ruler series. Unlike most modern game companies Paradox seem to have a nasty habit of releasing titles too soon and letting the public go through the frustration of beta testing. Go through the paradox boards and check out how many times they use "that's a known bug (or issue), we are working on it..." It's ridiculous. The developers' arrogance is astounding, reminiscent of Microsoft circa Windows '95, as are the outdated graphics.

The good news is that once you begin to understand the bipolar over complicated / over simplified interface, there is a pretty interesting concept for a game hiding in there. If only they would develop the system so that the game wouldn’t crash, slow to a crawl, or go insane. If only they would update the user interface and spruce up the graphics to be half as detailed as the technical information. If only they would spend their time perfecting a game rather than throwing out a few different “new and improved” versions of old games, they might be able to create a game worth your time and money.

I just recently got the game and love it! The detail is superb best strategy game I have played. Am looking forward to more modern scenarios or sandboxes involing the orignal 2020 era's. If anyone has a link or idea please let me know. Thanks. I can say if you like games like The Civilization series , Gemfire for the super nintendo, and Third World War for the Sega CD this game is definitely for you.

Interesting time period, okay game.

This game is hard to get into. A combination of it's sheer scope and it's bugs. Want to use the USSR or the USA? Good luck managing all your troops. A much easier system would have been to have troops at regiment or brigade level. Not battalion. Creates a lot of mess. Same with the economic system.

An alright purchase, buy it on sale if you really are into the time period and strategy games.

If you are a strategy nut this game still might not be for you. an incredibly complex user interface combined with a steep learning curve will ward off most people. But you know how, when you first start playing games like Civilization, you begin to think of things the game should have added...you wont have that problem here. An intricate army management system combined with an at least passable AI to help you control your countrys' economy results in a title that lets you play on any level you want. The only reason this game doesn't get 5 stars is because of the learning curve...ive been playing this series since its inception and I still dont get all the details. I love that feature, but I recognize that most will not.

This is the best one in the series, the new sphere of influence feature adds a whole new depth to the strategy, and the new map graphics make it easier to get sucked into the game.

No need to repeat what other mentioned before. Got it on the premiere day. Never regretted. Not perfect, like all games from SR family. Faults here and there. Still, to sum up (any SR game) in one word: Epic. Unfortunately, NOT for everybody.

This game follows the saying "the more hardcore a game is the less instruction they give you on how to play it." this title from battle goat(awesome name BTW) caught me off guard when i went into the campaign thinking their was a tutorial. after hours of fiddling around in the game (and a few embarrassing Google searches later for example how to move my units) i found a very tough but rewarding game. lets start with the bad things about this game first your given no instruction and dropped into the world second when you zoom in and start fiddling with the sliders the game is a little over whelming. now the good things well to be honest i haven't played this one much due to the sheer content but from the 20 or so hours i played were interesting. In conclusion this game is not for the casual gamer of the faint of heart but if you like paradox, strategy games, and have a few hours to learn the game i highly recommend it.

The concept is excellent, and the game fares wery well during those first hours you play with your mind completely open. But overtime, the game's several flaws become apparent. You are left with the impression of a game released before it was over and completely thought-out. The manual mentions lots of aspects which simply do not exist in the game, there are many unbalanced factors, lots of concepts are encripted in such a way in the game that you simply do not understand them or see they working. This is the kind of game that may become great it the developer and/or the comunity keeps on improving it. But so fat.... I just don't know. And that is disapointing too, because the concept is just so great that it leaves you yearning for a definitive version.

this series of games has great gameplay the wars between countries can be pretty tactical or you can just play brute force regardless of that a great game fun to play, i spent many hours on it myself but it seriously lacks in depth when it comes to country management and depth it only offers few generalised industries and to me that detracts from the game

For those who played Supreme Ruler 2020 - this game feels like an upgraded, Cold War version of it. A quality product that is just as interesting to play and with many new features (That should have been in SR2020!). I recommend this game to anyone who like micromanagement and those who like using their tactical and strategical thinking to achieve goals using creative means. Similar to Civilization series, Europa Universalis(HOI3, Vicky2), slightly similar to SimCity series.

This game is not for those with short attention spans. It has the highest learning curve of any game I've ever seen. That said, it is very rewarding when you get it figured out.

The campaign mode offers the opportunity to lead one side to dominance. Want to change the outcome of the Korean War and conquer North Korea? Want to turn France into a bastion of communism? It's all possible in this game.

Every nation in the world during the year 1950 is available for play in sandbox mode. You can play East Germany and build up your armies to lay waste to West Germany and reunite the two sides under one flag.

Supreme Ruler: Cold War will keep you awake for hours, trying to lead the world into your perfect future.

This game is not for the faint-hearted, casual player. The learning curve is steep, very steep, and a lot of players will likely give up on it. But... if you have the determination, you will reap the rewards from one of the most advanced, in depth world war/economic/diplomacy simulators ever.

The visuals are functional, with a few nicely renedered units and buildings, but nothing 'blingy'. The sound is a very weak point... the music becomes monotomous very quickly, but if you switch it off, there's not enough sound to fill the gaps!

The controls are ok, but some things require a little patience to get used to, like loading/unloading certain units, or coupling the right missiles with launchers etc. The manual is weak and could have shown ore detail in this area.

In a nutshell, if you like the idea of realism, and a loooong game, and have the patience and ability to lrarn how to play it..... this game is for you!

Supreme Ruler Cold War is a passable successor to the series.

It improves upon the polish and style of previous games and features a more in depth campaign system for both the USA and the USSR.

Unfortunately it adds a layer of automated interference into much of the control scheme, giving players less control over individual units than previous games, while some aspects of controlling your countries internal affairs, such as the economy, have been made more indirect and hidden behind additional layers of menus.

Fans of the series will notice that little support is given to playing as a minor nation, unlike in previous titles, and the gameplay will miss many features if you choose to ruler a country other than the USA or the USSR.

This game is basicly the same as the one released 2009, Supreme ruler. Not much have changed as far as I can see except that alliances are USA/Nato vs Sovjet union who are both competing about the neutral countries. You can compare this to any Civilization expansion, a way to milk money.

Interface when trading is bad, to finish a trade I have to doubleclick on my mouse like 200-300 times to trade all the items I want. If it was just one nation to trade with then fine but there are so many.

Few things happen in this game and its very slow. So are economic development depending on what nation you want to play. If you want to play USA or Russia it might be a diffrent story. I like strategy games so I will still give it 3 stars, its also a very ambitious projekt but it does not satisfy my hunger.

- Not much happening, slow game

- Graphics/music could be better

- Insane oilshortage and gamedeveloper lack knowledge about oil, you can make oil in more then one way! Even Estonia and Sweden where producing oil during WW2 and Estonia still gets most of their power today from "oilslate". Also some contries get unrealistic economic / resource income and this isnt a good part of the game.

- Had a personal issues with blackscreen when changing resolution, only option was to uninstall the game.

- Dont give your advisors any controll, they are there to automate some boring and timeconsuming things but they will defenitly mess upp your nation.

+ Ambitious projekt, big map

+ You can decide your own victory conditions

The supreme ruler series is always fun for me. But if you want to purchase this now, be aware that it has several critical issues:

1. The ROE(Rule of Engagement) UI was broken and is therefore currently missing in Update 1/Update 0/Original versions. This UI offers the ability to set auto-repair, deployment, engagement rules, route choices, and speeds. Without this, the game is 20% broken. This will be fixed in one of the coming updates. (According to BattleGoat developers.)

2. The inability to establish colonies from defeated countries, despite the manual saying otherwise. This feature is likely to be added later.

3. The MDI, Recon, and Comm satellites can be researched but cannot be built right now. The feature may or may not come in a future update. (It was in SR 2020)

4. The petroleum was priced $2/barrel($4/barrel for US) for USSR back in 1949. In SR 2020, labor cost was part of the calculation, but somehow this got broken in the current version?? It's still $2/barrel when my GDP was twice as much as 1949 (in 1961).

5. Space race calculation was off somehow. The milestone checkbox never lights up for some reason, but it does show they are completed when you researched the milestone techs. On a related issue, you seem to only need to research milestone techs to win spacerace. I have seen AIs getting milestones w/o building any aerospace buildings at all.

I realize the older SR series also had lots of bugs in the beginning, and they get fixed later on; this series has one of the longest support I have seen. On the other hand, I do not believe the games should be released with crippling bugs like this. Therefore, I give it 3/5.

I've had a love/hate relationship with this title so far. It has a lot to love. The hate comes from a lot of bugs, even after 2 updates. My own advice would be wait for the next update if you don't mind having to work around them. The developers have been hammering away, only a matter of time.

My biggest issue that won't likely change: The UI. I find it to be a large step back from the previous Supreme Ruler:2020 UI. It takes a lot more clicking to get the same information that was easily available in the prior title. If it took one click in 2020, it takes 2-4 in CW. I would recommend veterans of the series try the demo so that they can gauge it up front. It definitely made getting information more tedious, for no apparent benefit. That aspect gets a 1/5 from me.

Once it gets patched up a bit more, and the UI aside (Its something that boils down to preference), this will be a solid 4 or 5. All the elements are there, just needs the kinks worked out. BattleGoat has a history of giving excellent post release support, so I consider this a question of when, not if. They'll get it polished nicely, and will have another great title.

I love the supreme ruler series and this instalment is no diffrent, There are subtle glitches and one major one which means your saves will not load until the next patch BUT that is only if you choose a game option to start with no units all other starts and the campaign works flawlessly for me.

The AI i find far superior compared with the old games especially on harder settings. Allies will support your armies if you are attacked or support your invasions they also use amphibious assaults to great efficiency, i had great fun playing NZ supporting south korea stem the tide against china, When all looked lost support from australia and the US arrived.

If you enjoy a thinking game with a mix of war and diplomacy this is a great game. If you want a game you can play and finish in a week this isnt what your looking for.

Supreme Ruler Cold War is a game with a lot of potential. I gave it a 3 mainly because of the AI and small glitches and not being able to trade or sale land. The military aspect of the game is great but everything else seems to be lacking. The trade and diplomatic part of the game isn't that great but do able if the AI was a little smarter. I believe these problems will be fixed with future patches so until then it will stay 3 stars.

If you have played Supreme Ruler before you will find this release entirely unplayable. If you are new to the game save your money, it is horrible. This should not reflect on the Excelent Game Supreme Ruler 2020 and 2020 Gold.

This game is great fun for hardcore strategy gamers. Some bugs but nothing major and developers are doing as much as they can to sort them out.

Hands down the best strategy simulator for me. The overhauls in the engine and graphics were well spent and Ive found a new outlet for all my free time. I highly recommend this game to anyone at all. Once the learning curve is completed, you will enjoy the game immensely.

The Supreme ruler games are excellent well cold war takes everything that was great about them and improves on it.

The Gui has been improved alot and the game play itself is supurb...get this game if you enjoyed the previous titles in the seriesd and you wont be disappointed

I'll write this assuming that people have played either SR2020 or 2010. First thing first, Cold War is better than the previous SR games. The map looks better, control is easier and the AI and UI much more helpful.

The setting of the game is very nice, and a period where there has been very little activity in gaming, despite the interest in the time. The sphere and colony system work quite well (though I dispute the Soviet SSRs of the Baltic States, Belorus and the Ukraine being colonies), and you feel great pride in prising a valued colony of the Europeans loose and turning it into a member of your sphere. Also, with the sphere system, the game is much less of a world conquest game, where subtle diplomacy and espionage play a major role in achieving victory.

If you liked the previous SR games, I highly recommend it. If you haven't played a SR game before, the AI improvements make running your empire much easier, leaving you with a much nicer starting point.

This is a really fun game. There are couple of bugs though. When I go to open a saved game, I encounter an error and the entire game shuts down. When I go to save the game, I encounter an error. Other than these problems, the game is great.

The game is "eh". It honestly feels more like an SR2020 mod then a game in its own right. Its still a good game, but it also brings along all the imbalances from SR2020 including but not limited to questionably intelligent AI and many economic imbalances. All in all its a decent game though, definitely worth a round if you enjoyed SR2020.

The game is absolutely great! This is a military game by heart. There is a diplomatic system both domestic as abroad however this doesnt go further than taxes and declaring war. Apart from that there is a sphere of influence system. You can get countries to align with your country. A big espionage system make this the best cold war game so far.

If all the features in the manual would be implemented like the diplomacy system this will get from me 5 stars.

Improved graphics and AI on other Supreme ruler titles, but the game play is the same and just as complex and the days still take ages to go by. Incredibly steep learning curve, and a blurred GUI (well at least on my screen) have disappointed me.

I have been a fan of this "game" for many years.

But one thing where always missing starting from the Era of WW2 to influence your nations from this turning point in history.

Now you start in 1949 with the cold war already a reality.

Basicly the game is much the same as the "older versions" but now with 3d landscape that make mountains look impressive. Also the world itself are amazing, the developers actually did alot of research on how the borders where back then and who had an alliance with who ect. Also the natural resources are more limited than the past games.

The space race is also not limited to only US or Russia any nation in sandbox mode have the chance to have a space race if they can afford it...

Be aware that in the 1949 after ww2 economy where not that good so I think the game have increased in difficulty.

But I really like this new improved game so far it look good, feel good, and the technology tree have become even larger.

Its now possible to influence other nations with your spies or bribe goverments and help them into power that you like... Or if you do not like them why not send a spy to assasinate your enemy or steal other nations technology..

The message system have also been improved and is now located on the right side of the screen. For exampel in the start you get a message saying that USSR have tested a neuclear weapon, then you have the ability to condeeme this or support it ect.

That is a nice feature i think.

There are so much more to tell about this game, but I think you should buy it and suppor this very massive and impressive game.. Support the developers.