That's really about all I could get from the game background and the often incomprehensible cutscenes within the game. That's the bad news. The good news is that you are happily ensconced in a war, and you'll have one heck of a great time fighting it with Galactic Assault's powerful turn-based engine.

The game harkens back to the Panzer General type games of yesteryear. Gamers move and fire with one unit at a time, eventually wearing down a defender until he (or she) is destroyed or has suffered enough damage that they break and run. It's a rock-paper-scissors type of combat, with tanks working well against infantry in the open, infantry working against tanks in close quarters, and artillery wasting infantry.

There is, however, more to the game than fighting. During a scenario, players can construct new buildings, which in turn enhance their defenses or provide them with new troops and weapons. It's very real-time-like, but in a turn-based setting. The game ships with a multiplayer death match option, but to be honest, there is rarely anyone on the servers to play with.

A thinking man's rush

I've been hooked from just about the second tutorial ... at last, a turn-based game with intelligent mission design, 3-D graphics and weapons chillier than a frosted mug of beer! What is even more exciting are the tactics that the game requires to win. Flanking enemy units is a must. If you go straight into the teeth of a prepared defense, you'll lose. If you fail to use your reconnaissance units to uncover enemy weakness, you'll lose. If you use the wrong unit for the wrong job, you'll lose. All this depth in an interface that can be mastered in a handful of clicks. Sweet.

Before you rush to download your copy, however, let me tell you about the game's warts. The 3-D graphics are lush, inviting and vividly colored. They also lack detail, and in the evening I found myself constantly zooming closer to identify my units. The story is wart two. The Strugatsky brothers are two of Russia's most famous science-fiction authors. Perhaps Inhabited Island is a great work, but when translated into the game, it is incomprehensible.

Incomprehensible story or not, Galactic Assault: Prisoner of Power is an addictively fun romp through the land of turn-based gaming. The game's combination of intriguing missions, realistic portrayal of small-unit tactics and vividly colorful landscapes makes for an enthralling experience.