For some of us, owning the world is just not enough. What we want is the whole galaxy. Fortunately for the rest of the galaxy, none of us will ever to be able to achieve our ambition for real so we have to content ourselves with computer simulations.

Imperium is one such simulation, allowing a player to take command of an imaginary galactic power based on a planet called Earth (now there's someone using their imagination) and, by skilful use of diplomacy, economics and military might, conquer and populate a small galaxy containing around 30 star systems.

Then again, if you're the more passive type and don't go in for this glory lark you can always try to win by just keeping your empire going and survive as leader for 1,000 years. How long! Yup, 1,000 years. Achieving that, though, will still require careful juggling of your empire and skilful manipulation of the other galactic inhabitants - the aliens.

Several other computer-controlled empires are also trying to expand their horizons and do much the same as you (though they're much more into conquering things rather than keeping their tentacles to themselves!).

The game is completely menu-controlled, so all your decisions are made by selecting icons at the top of the screen which cause menus to appear. Then you can make decisions on what to do from the menus. The game is played in yearly cycles (the number of years being user defined), then once you've done enough for one year you simply click on 'next turn' and the game advances.

So what keeps you playing? Why not just skip a number of years and outlast the game? For a start, no-one lives for 1,000 years without taking steady quantities of the life-preserving drug Nostrum. Nostrum can be found throughout the galaxy and can be refined from the planets on which it occurs. Taken in moderate doses it enables you and your subordinates to remain alive for a lot longer.

Of course, you first have to find the stuff, so you have to start thinking about moving beyond your own star system. And this is where you come to the crux of the game - economics. Money has to be generated through developing your planets, producing commodities (over 20 of them) which you can use to build ships or use to trade with the aliens. You can also buy things you can't produce from the aliens and to make things interesting you can set import and export taxes, put trade embargoes on certain items and all manner of other things.

Colonising other planets not only expands your empire, but also makes you popular with the electorate who go to the polls every 50 years to decide on the next leader (if it's not you, then it's game over). And as all good politicians know, money talks. A good deal of cash has to be stored as the years go past which can be called upon when you come to campaign for re-election.

There are loads of planets to discover and dealing with the aliens can be a very tricky business. Keep things ticking over, let the computer handle the economics and/or the diplomacy to start with while you concentrate on the military side of things until you become familiar with the game and gradually start taking things over yourself once you understand just how different things affect the game.

Don't be afraid to experiment, push taxes way up and see how it affects things, start censoring the press and see how it affects your popularity. Play around and after a few games you may find you have just the sort of qualities a galactic leader needs. You may even start calling yourself Emperor Ming...

GRAPHICS AND SOUND

There are a few sound effects, usually short bursts of music, which are fine but not special. The graphics of the game are also quite reasonable. Bear in mind that this is not meant to be a graphic stunner; it's a thinking person's game. That said, all the menus are nicely presented and are very clear.

LASTING INTEREST

This is the game's strong point. It takes a long while to play a single game and it also requires a lot of concentration, but the nature of the game is such that it's easy to get caught up in the action and spend many an hour at the keyboard without getting bored. It's by no means the first of its type, but it has a lot more depth than some similar games.

JUDGEMENT

Imperium is very well put together and the whole game interlinks with itself intricately, which makes it great fun to play. The aliens are an intelligent bunch, which makes for good interacting opportunities, and it's a game that also rewards smart thinking and punishes rash or ill thought out actions. Definitely a game for the sole player who likes reams of statistics to ponder over and who likes to juggle limited resources making them work to their best advantage.
Andy 'Not tonight Josephine, I've got an empire to run' Smith

Running the galaxy is a tough and thankless job. Set a couple of decades in the future when man has developed interstellar flights and made extra-terrestrial contact, Imperium deals with both the mundane and deadly challenges of managing an empire. There are foes to fight, allys to be won and home improvement loans to be given out.

The aim of Imperium is to be re-elected as leader every fifty years. As the game is set over a thousand years you're going to make even China's leaders look like spring chickens. During the course of the game, catastrophes and wars cause public unrest and unhappiness, and it's these sort of feelings that can put a dint in your popularity and ruin your chances of holding on to power. If it falls too far, you lose the election and thus the game. The key is to keep people happy.

As the leader of your empire, you have to make many complex financial decisions and keep relations with other planets and empires on the straight and narrow. Decisions range from trivialities such as whether to buy 19 or 20 thousand bars of soap up to such orders as launching a full scale attack on another solar system.

The selling point behind the game is the vast amounts of data on hand. There's a mountain of info to be read, options to be considered, and strategies to be worked out. This is not the sort of game you can pick up and start playing immediately. Understanding the manual takes a few hours. The game's slightly easier to work out, but trying to play it well needs a degree in economics and an MA in political studies.

Playing Imperium, I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the sheer complexity of the game. There is just too much to do. I'm a great fan of strategy games, but this is a little heavy handed. Also, even though there's a lot of information to digest, most of which is useless, you never get to find out what you want to know. Yes, the Kroygon empire have sent out an invasion fleet, but where?

Imperium has a lot that could have put it up there with the greats (, etc.). However, as it stands now, all EA have is a very good simulation of a very dull and bureaucratic job.