A masterful and addictive example of the 4X Genre
Great: Space Battles, Unit Customisation, Research
Good: AI, Interface, Random Events, Galactic Map, Races, Scenarios
Poor: Colony Management, Trade & Diplomacy Options
A simplified approach to the genre, that forgoes alot of micromanagement in favour of streamlined strategy and fast-paced tactical battles. Having played Pax Imperia, MoO 1&2, Galactic Civilizations 1& 2Ultimate Edition, Id have to say that this game stands on its own against these others. I prefer deep strategy games with a lot of gameplay elements to pander over, but this game takes the opposite approach, limiting the elements of gameplay that players must worry about. To my surprise, its actually a better experience than those others.
That isnt to say that the game isnt deep - it is. All the 4X-factors are there including: diplomacy, ship design/building, trading, resourcing gathering, tactical battles and more - but the way in which the game has been designed, coupled with a simple to use interface, means you can get straight into a game and play for hours without noticing. A real sign of its addictiveness.
The game elements are designed so well that the turn-based approach doesn't detract from the fun to be had, expanding your empire and destroying the those of your opponents.
The game excels in its approach to ship building and space combat. Which in my mind is the best of all those games Ive mentioned. Ship design is very powerful and flexible, giving players an almost inexhaustable array of combinations from which to build ships from. The variety of base models to configure and customise is extraordinary, with individual weapon points and load-outs that can be assigned the weapons of your choice inc; mines, missiles, missile-racks, lasers, phasers, gauss cannons, disruptors, torepdos and the list goes on. If ithe weapon has been in a SF book or film, its likely to be there. Thats not to mention the non-weapon components that can be added such as shields and propulsion systems.
Naval battles also possess a good amount of tactical options inc. command and control limits, targeting of indiviidual weapon points, configuration of weapon firing patterns, so missiles can be aimed and fired at one ship, while lasers and other beam weapons can target incoming enemy missiles or mines. While groups of ships can be assigned to hot-keys.
The variety of races also adds another layer to the strategic challenge, with each race having its own unique navigation technology which dictates players approach to playing styles - notably the way they choose to expand into the galaxy and grow their empire.
One real surprise is the way that research and tech really make a difference in the game. Let you opponents get ahead in a certain area and you could end up having an obslete fleet of ships ready for the scrap yard. Get yourself the best weapons and you could do the same to your opponents. Whats more, even facet of technology makes a difference is some respect of the game and you real feel the difference as you work your way through the tech tree.
Whats more the tech tree screen uses the best implementation Ive yet to behold in one of these games. The way the information is laid out truly inivites you to scan through each available tech and read the info associated with it. Lists of techs just wont cut it any more.
So far the AI looks to be really good in late-early and medium phases of the game. Though I havent played enough games of 300+ turns to see if the AI is able to overturn a losing game. More limitations manifest themselves in the diplomacy and trade elements of the game. Trade is almost no existant, while diplomacy doesn't add up to much use as the AI always seems hostile, even if you choose a peaceful approach to exploration. I guess though that this is another sign of way the AI has been programmed not to be a walk-over. That said the diplomacy and trade aspect of the game are inferior to those in Galactic Civ. Though I suspect that its a different story in Multi-player when real people are playing each other. Something I suspect gets makes all the other wonderful aspects of this game even better than they are.
Perhaps the weakest element of the game is colony management, something Ive always been keen on. This is limited to a few sub-screen options and sliders. Though to be honest it really does mean you can fly through games w/o worrying about something that you wont really miss.
A final word on replayability will see players able to play this game over and over. Dozens of objective oriented scenarios and the powerful sandbox scenario customisation options means that you have a very low chance of playing the same game. Numbers of stars, galaxy shape, size, avg. light year distance, are just the start of a plethora of customisable options when setting up scenarios. And of course there is multiplayer which even allows single-player save games to be loaded up and played as MP games.
All in all this is one take on the 4X genre that should be in every strategy gamers collection. If you're lucky, like me you'll have not purchased this before - or just purchased the original game and none of the expansions. If so, here's your chance to own the lot for the price of the original!