Is this the new Pravin Lal for Beyond Earth?


Seems like a friendly chap

A third leader has been revealed out of the planned eight for Firaxis's upcoming sci-fi strategy game, Civilization: Beyond Earth. The new leader's name is Samatar Jama Barre of the People's Africa Union so, geographically, we now have a representative for North America, Asia and Africa. Barre claims that while Africa has always been at the bidding of colonial powers and then more recently, superpowers and megacorps, he thinks it's important to use Africa's wealth of resources to fund an expedition beyond Earth. His aim is for a better life on a new planet where Africans aren't treated as the world's second-class citizens.

This leader potentially takes the role that Commissioner Pravin Lal did in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri. Pravin Lal was leader of the U.N. Peacekeeping Forces and always sought peaceful, diplomatic and humanitarian solutions to problems which seems to align with Barre's non-confrontational attitude if his letter to his brother is anything to come by. In fact, it doesn't really make sense to me since on one hand Barre is saying "we are not going to repeat what happened to Africa on a new planet" yet shortly afterwards he says that when on the new world and when other heads of state "come and ask me for titanium or oil or land, I will smile and nod and play the part of the nice, simple old village chief". This sounds like he is still willing to compromise, still willing to do what the People's African Union did on Earth.

It's a pity we haven't seen what actual bonuses each of these leaders bring to your expedition since I'm sure that's what most Civ fans really want to see at the moment :). Lets hope we'll get more juicy details on how you setup your civs/expeditions soon.

[ LINK: Civilization: Beyond Earth - Letter from Samatar Jarra Barre ]

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