The penultimate 4x space empire game on the PC.
Middle ground: diplomacy; late game challenge.
Cons: some may find boring the lack of distance & discovery on smaller maps, and unbalanced the variable AI expansionism on huge maps; CTD on crowded maps.
Stardock dropped the skinny to bring this excellent sequel to GalCiv II: Dread Lords. Very few features from the latter were kept unscathed, thus enhancing the overall experience onto one of the most accomplished TBS game in recent memory, arguably the best 4x space empire title since the legendary Master of Orion II ( 1996 ). Though the uber megalomaniac atmospherics of MoO//MoOII remain unmatched, most of the basics were elegantly revamped in GalCivII for quite an efficient, modern coating provided in Dark Avatar along a stronger AI.
We could speak all day about the various little things that may seem innocuous at altering the gameplay taken alone; but the sum of all their parts- bringing a noticeable change of pace - just enhance the strategic experience, enticing enough for the veterans and yet, perhaps, steeping a bit the learning curve for the newcomers. We're talking about the new features in DA, nicely overtuning the existing engine: mining the asteroids; two new races; improved strategic and tactical AI ( better economics/military/domestic management ); a new campaign, improved upon various fan requests; ''new'' treaties that should have been implemented way before - better late than never but they're still based on what's been made 10 years ago ( economic & research treaties); tons of options and tweaks made to set up a sandbox game, including various AI abilities; and, not the least, a vastly revamped colonization phase namely by the addition of new environmental requirements to colonize specific planets, again not entirely stranger to some MoO types: Aquatic, Barren, Heavy G, Radioactive, Toxic. The trick resides at which one or two the player must ( or musn't ) choose to research their pricey techs in the early game ( at the expense of other tech branches ). Before the update 1.50x3 (.072), it was possible to barter these terraforming techs with the AI rivals; now the player must most likely research them alone in order to keep ( some ) of the faster AI expansionism at the higher difficulty levels. Oh and they expand fast.........
Though the early game has been remarkably redesigned, some players may want to try the Rare settings on larger maps to get some sense of discovery a real galaxy should offer. Otherwise, on most settings - particularly Abundant planets on medium to small maps- we have a total absence of said discovery, not to mention very close star systems assembled like dominos for a close neighborhood. Heck, even some ''outer'' planets SEEM to be closer to an adjacent star than their own sun. During the first DA updates, the developers wanted to put even more of them when choosing Abundant settings and there we have, so close altogether like suburban districts we can travel at a ludicrous speed. This is intentional, which is good for early warmongers but at the expense of galactic feelings........
Though the simplistic, yet efficient combat system seems to keep the same facelift at a first glance, in fact a dramatic recalculation on when ships fire each turn has been made - for the best. Two things to keep in mind for the average player: 1) Capital ships are more powerful ( more space ) but exponentionally pricey; 2) the recalc during ship combat often spur mixed results ( more casualties for the human player ), then here too a change of strategy may be helpful ( the right defense according to the immediate enemy's offense more handy than ever ).
Economy management has become very tight now. No more 100000 BCs each turn in the late game. Almost any economic feature has been tweaked for much less income past mid-game, from trade to government type. Players must maximize starbases and facilities in order to muster decent fleets, because decent fleets mean a lot of military maintenance. If not, then a lack of income ( thus military ) will definitely stifle the expansion and ups the ante of aggressive AIs declaring wars when you're not ready. It could be very frustrating to lower below 100 % the spending rate, but now it can happen a couple of times during a long game if somehow the income takes a drop.
Some players may find that the AI rivals, often the Torians and the Krynn, have a tendency to expand incredibly fast next to some others, leading to an uneven balance even if they're all set to the same level. The result with 8-9 rivals: often, two very large AI empires ( twice-three times the human player), some decent and two very weak. In second thought, some other players may even prefer this kind of set up refreshing enough for warmongering, alliances and backstabbing. It may be purposefully coded this way by the developers, yet with recent updates the empire generations during the early phase seem to be more evenly tweaked. As ways to cope the still high pace of even the slowest AI expansion at Painful + difficulties, there are many tradeoffs in this game to use skillfully as countermeasures before an incoming success in the later stages of a campaign, among others the diplomatic ability to nigh constantly coerce AIs to wage wars between themselves ( even without the Drath's Super Manipulator ability ), thus keeping them at bay for the most part when you're still weaker - barring you're not awaiting too long building your own forces after the mass of colony ships have been sent away. Weak planets outside the sphere of influence can be assimilated too.
As you can guess, these are only some of many other reworked features you will encounter in Dark Avartar, to be used thoughtfully for building your galactic empire. They do not necessarily upgrade the late game challenge once the path to victory has been clearly paved - unless some Mega Event really affects you deeper than the AIs but it seems many, not all but a majority of them galactic events have dramatic consequences on them too. Anyway, you can toggle on or off said Events in the set up.
Now, the technical side for a strategy title this deep doesn't disappoint either, including new explosions, graphical details namely on ship parts, starbases plus various cosmetic updates rendering the whole engine more vivid, and quite pleasant to the eyes of a TBS addict. Said engine can even be powermonger on huge maps fully loaded, that may lead to some memory leaks and CTDs regardless your high end machine. There are occasional typo errors ( mistaps in descriptions ), yet for the rest a great deal of testing and polish has been made to refine the visual style.
TBS developers scarcely invest time for a state of the art sound engineering, and Stardock stick to that motto in a professional manner. Like its prequels, Dark Avatar has an average audio palette regarding the sound effects, the ''lasers'' are still a bit retro, though this time they seem to have been coded with less irritating distortion. Fortunately, we can rely on the excellent musical score, in fact being nothing short than superb. But please, forgive the rec quality of the intro movie's voiceover.....
As of writing this review, the latest update was 1.50x3 (.072) and Stardock was already working on 1.6. Needless to say, the team continues to heavily support the franchise, tweaking Dark Avatar and the AI abilities.......for a tougher experience at higher settings on almost every level. For the rest, just don't let a Korathi Eruptor fry your ships along the way! This is the penultimate epitome of the ''one more turn'' syndrome in space, still evolving and leading the niche sub genre recently.