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Platform: PC
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Publisher: Paradox Interactive
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Developer: Paradox Interactive
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Medium: CD-ROM
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Players: Multi
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Online: Yes
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Also on: (n/a)
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An exercise in backstabbing!
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It's the turn of the century in Europe. Governments are playing for power, empires vying for land. This is the environment you're thrown into in Diplomacy.
For those unfamiliar with it, Diplomacy is a board game that incorporates secretive movement, discussions with other players, and a shunning of random chance. Its simplistic, yet ornate design has accrued a fervent fanbase who play the game primarily by mail, as the design also calls for seven players. This is where Paradox Interactive steps in, with what seems to be the only natural evolution of the game: a PC translation with online play.
In Diplomacy, everyone starts out with equal numbers. However, this makes no difference, as some countries have a natural advantage due to the amount of neighboring countries, while some are at a huge disadvantage as they are surrounded. These borders force the dynamic of the game which makes Diplomacy... Well, diplomatic. Soon, players are talking to each other, making deals and trying to get the other nations to work alongside them. Lying and backstabbing start to occur, and large-scale disputes happen all over the continent--making the game take Theon a role-playing aspect. For that, Diplomacy is an admirable attempt at recreating the cloak-and-dagger politics of the pre-World War I era.
Gameplay in single and multiplayer are much different. Even though by all respects they are identical, the difference in experience is immense. Both use the easy-to-use graphic interface, both have the same setup, but it's the human on the other side that makes all the difference. The computer can play a great game of Diplomacy against you, however human opponents lead to a more fun experience. When you're going against a half dozen people who work together to screw each other out of every inch available, the spirit of competition is never more alive. Make no mistake, the computer can play well, but it's more training for multiplayer than anything.
Diplomacy's only notable flaws are in the presentation of movement. When the pieces move about the board, the game's camera snaps to the action. This makes for a jarring effect that's somewhat distracting. As well, the avatar system may have been a great idea on paper, but it's just poorly implemented. Watching the same canned facial expressions time after time with something that sounds like a cleared throat quickly annoys, and doesn't really give you much of a clue to what's going on.
Paradox Interactive has made an extremely faithful recreation of the board game and its rules. Every rule, every detail is folowed to letter. All of which that is in the board game is in the PC game. If you're someone who already plays the board game in person or through the mail, you couldn't go wrong with the PC version. For anyone still not sure, it serves as a good introduction to the board game. Simply put, if you like strategy, you'll like Diplomacy.
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