The objective is the same as in the original Balance of Power: use your military, covert, and industrial forces to make your country the most prestigious in the world while avoiding nuclear war. However, it is now 1989, and the Communist Block is crumbling...

Chris Crawford, who rarely ever made a sequel to a computer game, was besieged by mails asking him to update his classic from a few years before to reflect the new state of the world. Russia was falling, the Iron Curtain was shattering, and smaller countries were beginning to assert their own regional power with more freedom from the bipolar world of the Cold War.

The result was the 1990 Edition. This game featured an updated database, but the most significant new features were:
The multipolar level, where small countries could go to war with their neighbors on their own. Of course, you could help them out (or encourage them!) by sending in military aid.

18 more countries, bringing the total to 80.

A "Crisis Advisory Board" of four people, who would give you advice during international crises. The nice thing about being a Superpower is that the little countries do whatever you tell them, but you still have to watch out for your main rivals (USSR or the US)!