E3 2002: Imperium Galactica III preshow report

CDV Software will present Imperium Galactica III: Genesis, its upcoming space strategy game, at this year's E3. The game is the next installment in the Imperium Galactica empire-building series, which was first launched by GT Interactive in 1997. The new game is set in the year 2100, after an alien force has taken over Earth by establishing control of the planet's computers. You must establish colonies on other planets, build your forces, and eventually restore Earth to human control.

Imperium Galactica III will feature the same sci-fi style as the previous games in the series, but it will include a number of improvements, such as a new research and development system and an all-new 3D engine. The game will include six different alien races controlled by different AI systems, customizable spaceships and colonies, and more than 100 different planets. Through the course of the game's detailed storyline, you'll engage in detailed space battles against 30 different types of alien spacecraft that feature more than 50 different kinds of weapons and instruments.

We've posted some screenshots in the gallery above that depict some of the game's ships and space environments. The game is in development at Philos Laboratories, the Hungarian game studio that is also developing the upcoming strategy game Escape from Alcatraz. Imperium Galactica III is scheduled for release near the end of 2002.