I’ve sunk hundreds of hours into the Civilization series, from the first to the fifth. No doubt i’ll be doing the same when I can buy Civ 6 at a reasonable price.

Anyway, i’ve been trying to expand into other 4x games, I currently have my eye on games where I can build a galactic empire. Some games i’ve considered:

Endless Space 2 - I have put a few hours into this, having bought it and most of its DLC in a recent Steam sale. It was a bit of a gamble since I already own Endless Legend, a game I couldn’t really get into due to its clunky UI. I’ve enjoyed Endless Space 2 so far though, plan to play it some more.

Stellaris - This looks promising though its price (including the numerous DLC) puts me off

Galactic Civilizations III - it’s currently on sale on Steam which is tempting me. Is it different enough from Endless Space 2 to make it worthwhile for me though?

So, basically, what’s the best 4x space game? Any good ones which I haven’t mentioned would be good to hear about too.

Thanks all for the feedback.

I take your points about playing one or two shorter games before getting into another sprawling RPG. Tomb Raider seems to be the most popular choice and I have been interested in it since first seeing the trailers. Yes, it's the newest Tomb Raider I have.

As for RPG's, I had been thinking of playing Fallout 3 next to contrast against the fantasy RPG I am currently playing, plus it seems to be a popular choice here. Which mods would you recommend I install as a completely new player? Wanderers Edition seems to be one of the most popular but I'm not sure I want to ramp up the difficulty without having played the basic game yet. FOOK2 could be a viable alternative but I loved the first two Fallout games and from feedback I've seen this mod doesn't necessarily stick to the spirit of the Fallout series. I'm tempted to just go with Fallout 3 Redesigned as it improves the graphics but doesn't mess with the gameplay.

I've dabbled in various different MMORPGs over the years, though the one I put significant time into was Shadowbane. There was no real questing to speak of, just grinding to increase in levels. Where the game shone though was in its PVP element. Everywhere was PVP, you couldn't avoid it. There was also nothing to stop you from attacking people from another guild who were 20 levels lower than you. The game also allowed the guilds to build their own cities and facilities and to control their own areas. That's what a MMORPG should be for me, if I want a PVE experience I'll play a single player game with a decent story.

I haven't paid close attention to MMORPGs over the years but I'd be surprised if there was a game like Shadowbane out there now. All new MMORPGs just seem to protect the players too much. If anyone can recommend me a game that will give me a Shadowbane like fix I'd appreciate it :)

OK, so, I went a bit crazy during the recent Steam summer sale. Crazy as in "These games are 75% off so if I buy every one that looks vaguely interesting I'll be saving soooo much money!". A bit like a girl armed with Daddy's credit card during a shoe sale.

So now I've probably got more games that I'll ever play. To give you an idea on the games I've liked, the ones I've played in the last few years are the two Dragon Age games (Origins was great, 2 was mediocre but still enjoyable) and the Mass Effect series (I enjoyed all 3 games, and wasn't too upset about the ending of 3). As you may be able to tell, I'm a bit of a Bioware fanboy.

I haven't played that many other modern games as in the last couple of years I've had an unhealthy fascination with Civilization IV. I'm currently trying to rekindle my love of RPG's by playing The Witcher. I'm about 20 hours in and though I prefer party based RPG's I do like the story and setting so far.

Right, so, I've made a shortlist of Steam games that I now own that I think I'd like to play in the not too distant future:

• Anachronox
• Batman Arkham Asylum GOTY
• Batman Arkham City GOTY
• Skyrim Legendary Edition
• Fallout 3 GOTY
• Fallout New Vegas Ultimate
• Galactic Civilizations II (complete)
• Indigo Prophecy (aka Farenheit)
• Might& Magic Heroes VI (complete)
• Mount & Blade (complete)
• Might & Magic Heroes VI (complete)
• Neverwinter Nights 2 Platinum
• Of Orcs and Men
• RAGE
• Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines
• The Witcher 2 Extended Edition
• Tomb Raider GOTY

Any advice on which order to play this treasure trove in would be appreciated. I'm trying to get back in to RPG's, though have added Galactic Civilizations II and Heroes VI as wild cards in case they're the best thing since sliced bread. I'm afraid I'll waste hundreds of hours on them though like I did with Civilization IV so I'm a bit wary of getting into another similar game.

As you'll see from my list I do appreciate non-RPG's too as long as the gameplay and story are good. That's why I've added Batman, Tomb Raider and RAGE to the list.