This isn't just your average, everyday assault - oh no, this is a full-blown galactic assault. It's an assault of such a magnitude that it has managed to distance itself from the Massive Assault moniker that usually gets attached to Wargaming.net's turn-based strategy gaming epics. However, Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power is an entirely different beast of a game, a game with its own sets of rules and warring futuristic armies, a game far grander in scope and scale - a game that's more, well, galactic.

It's also a game that's giddy with schoolboy excitement at its science fiction plot involving futuristic warring armies fighting for control of a distant planet, based upon a book written by popular Russian authors Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. Whether or not the book itself is any good I couldn't tell you, as I had never even heard of the authors before starting the game, let alone know anything of the story that provides its inspiration - but it would have been nice had Galactic Assault given me some indication of its quality. As it stands, the tale is rather half-heartedly narrated, as though it is quoting passages from the book itself - appropriate I guess, but you're never told anything remotely interesting and the things you are told fail to draw you into the game world.

There's very little back story given to you about any of the four playable factions and even less is revealed about their reasons for fighting each other in the first place. Instead there's a lot of pointless filler, introductions to characters you'll never meet and soon forget about and only a smidgen of any sort of build up to the missions you are about to undertake. It's not a big problem, as science fiction orientated strategy games are hardly known for their Shakespearian theatrics, but for a game that prides itself on the fact that it uses a popular science fiction story as its basis, you'd expect a bit more effort to be put into working it into the game.

The story does have its uses though, in providing reason enough for four distinctive factions to fight one another. Well I say distinctive, but while the post-apocalyptic Barbarians use an assortment of strange and interesting units that range from fireball-spewing tanks to bizarre gorilla-like creatures, the other three fall back on rather conventional designs, your standard line up of tanks, artillery and the like. They do each come with their own specialised units though, unique, destructive and very expensive - still, some more variety in the way each unit behaves as well as looks would have made the 'other three' factions a little more interesting.

As to the messy business of war, it's a familiar experience to Wargaming's other turn-based series Massive Assault. Each faction gets their own campaign and each follows a rather linear sequence of missions that see you cleansing the battlefields of the enemy, or capturing their base. As this is a turn-based game, there are two turn phases to contend with - the main combat phase, in which everything kicks off and you must decide who moves where and what targets they need to engage, and the recruitment phase, where new units can be bought and damaged ones can be repaired. It's not a giant leap from the Massive Assault series, but there are some noticeable differences in the formula here.

First is Galactic Assault's leaning towards more conventional real-time strategy games by introducing basic elements of base building. And that's basic at it's most extreme, as you often start each level with a command centre where buildings such as vehicle depots can be constructed to allow the recruitment of various units. That's really as complex as it gets, as depots are often already attached to a base before you even begin, so there's no minor micromanagement nightmares to contend with during combat - only the threat of a mission loss should you allow the enemy to waltz in and capture your base. There's a strict limit on the cash given to you to actually build units too, as well as the number of units you're actually allowed to build, so there can be no reliance on massive armies of heavy armour to crush the enemy here.

Another welcome difference that Galactic Assault manages to pull over Massive Assault comes with its armies. Whereas MA struggled to make its two factions unique in terms of the hardware they use against one another, there's a nice range of vehicles available to you in GA. Well, okay, a lot of them do end up looking alike; scout vehicles on one side for example might move and act exactly the same as another on the enemy side, except they might have a twin turret instead of a single, but with four armies each utilising everything from infantry to armour through to artillery and air support, there's an impressive array of units at your disposal and a multitude of different tactics for you to employ to ensure that their full potential is utilised, rather than wasted on half-baked rushing strategies.

Did I say rushing? I think I did, an odd choice of wording considering that even when ramping up the speed of the game threefold, it can be an extremely slow experience. This is surely one of the reasons that turn-based games are viewed with disdain by some, yet there's something endearing about the methodical nature of turn-based games, where every move you make has to be considered beforehand and every action you take can have differing and sometimes drastic consequences.

Galactic Assault is as much about your ability to keep your own army alive, as well as inflicting the maximum amount of damage on the enemy, but there are always obstacles in your way - specifically the point system lying at the game's core, where every action undertaken by every unit, be it moving or firing, costs a point. Run out of points and you'll have to wait until the next turn. It becomes especially tricky when you factor in things such as the type of terrain you have to navigate across; units can move a great distance on roads but are limited in speed over a desert and hills chew up points for anyone moving up them while allowing huge defensive bonuses when stood at their peak, with the added inclusion of a day and night cycle can also limit your viewing distance. It's a constant challenge trying to balance everything, but getting it right reaps its own rewards - particularly when you manage to wrestle a victory with minimal losses.

And yet although a solid enough turn-based game, there are a few constant irritants that still manage to spoil things. There's a certain feeling, for instance, that the game tends to make things a little easy for you. The whole thing is linear to the point where you'll only ever have one course of action to take, maps aren't large enough for you to experiment with different tactics and the overly helpful mission briefings at the beginning of each level that tell you exactly what you should do and how to do it, often making it feel as though you're simply following instructions rather than being given the chance to take your own path. There are also what suspiciously seem like scripted sequences that tend to give you an unfair advantage; instances where the enemy could quite easily drive you to defeat, yet will often halt an advance and allow you the time to catch up and miraculously turn a near defeat into a victory. The AI also seems a little dense; one instance sees you attacking a frontline defence of infantry who stand and take the punishment, while their reinforcements simply stand and wait behind. Although this might make the game more accessible to beginners, it's a bit of an annoyance to those looking for a real challenge.

The graphical and sound quality also don't break any new ground; this isn't a game that sets any new benchmarks in relation to how it looks, with a colourful if sometimes featureless array of environments and some basic troop animations, while the sound fulfils all the stereotypical sci-fi noises and explosions, complete with unenthusiastic voice acting. This is hardly a massive loss considering that Galactic Assault has obviously not benefited from the mega budgets of most mainstream games though, and while lacking in real visual and audio flair, the presentation is pleasing enough.

The real problem with Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power doesn't lie with its handholding and linearity; it's with its reluctance to really push any boundaries. What's been done here has been done plenty of times throughout Wargaming's own Massive Assault series, and although the new features in Galactic Assault are welcome additions, it's not a giant leap ahead. What is here though is enjoyable turn-based action, undemanding fun that entertains but probably not for very long.

Reviewed by Kieron Giacopazzi for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).