Stalin vs. Martians Release Date Announced

Mezmer Games has announced the official release date of Stalin vs. Martians, the most anticipated game of the year among fans of videogames based on the fictionalized life and times of Joseph Stalin.

Developed by Russian studios Dreamlore Games, Black Wing Foundation and N-Game, Stalin vs. Martians is an alternate-reality RTS in which Joseph Stalin takes command of the Second World War-era Red Army to fight off a force of brightly-colored aliens that's threatening the motherland. It should be clear enough from the title but the game doesn't take itself too seriously; lead designer Alexander Shcherbakov, whose head sometimes gets stuck in doorways because his brain is so big, downplayed the strategy angle in an interview last year, saying it was more like "Pac-Man with guns and weird jokes."

"It doesn't really matter if it is a real-time strategy, or unreal-time strategy, or turn-based strategy or Katamari clone," he said. "Who cares?"

"This is no realistic and deeply strategic war simulation," according to the Mezmer website, "but a straightforward, fun and light-hearted arcade-style game - complete with power-ups falling from conquered foes in the form of bright shiny coins." The game is fast-paced and accessible even for people who don't normally play strategy games, while its commitment to accurately representing the 1940s-era Soviet Union is virtually non-existent.

"One contributing factor to the success could be the high level of historical accuracy that is completely missing from the game," noted Mezmer Executive Producer Tom Soderlund.

Stalin vs. Martians is being released worldwide on April 20 via "all major digital games retailers." To learn more about the game, check out Mezmer's Stalin vs. Martians page or stalinvsmartians.com.