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Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords (PC)

Galactic Civilizations II

Information
Reviewer: James Collins
Developer: Stardock
Publisher: Paradox
Reviewed: PC
Genre: Turn-based Strategy
UK Release: 24th Feb 2006
Article Date: 26th Feb 2006
Difficulty: Medium
Retail Price: £29.99
Price Comparison:
0

Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 93%

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Pros

Addictive

Tight AI

Challenging

Functional Graphics

Cons

Some may still hanker for Online Multiplayer

Screenshots

72 of 90

Galactic Civilizations first saw the light of day in 1993 when college student Brad Wardell released the game in beta form for the then popular OS/2 platform. It immediately came across stern competition with the release of Masters of Orion later in the same year, and to a certain extent it became largely forgotten after that. Part of the problem was that it wasn’t for a further two years before the beta code was finalized and ready for general release. Of course OS/2 was also losing popularity and finally, over eight years later in 2002, Galactic Civilizations was released for the Windows platform and to anyone that saw it, it generally received a favorable reception.

The basic premise of Galactic Civilizations II is to gain total control of the universe by either peaceful or military means, but of course the game is far deeper than this. You start the game by picking one of the ten available pre-built races (with the option of creating a new civilization from scratch) and then it’s onto selecting your opponents that you’ll eventually encounter in the game. It’s worth noting at this point that the amount of customization and game tweaking available at the start of the game is simply staggering. You can change the world size, your race, your political allegiance and so forth. The main plus point for these tweaks is that you can cater the game exactly how you want it, ultimately giving you the best possible game catered for each player that lasts from a few hours to much, much longer.

Once you have chosen which civilization you wish to lead you will be given a Homeworld, a colony ship and a survey ship and you'll then be sent on your way. Your colony ship is used to colonize new worlds which in turn expands your civilization even further. Like the Homeworld, newly colonized planets can house specialist units like farming equipment, research towers and media centers to keep the populace happy and the cash flowing. Occasionally you’ll receive bonuses for equipping specialist units in certain sectors of the planet or you’ll come across areas on the planet that cannot be built upon until you have enough research. These units take a certain amount of time to build although it’s possible to pay over the odds if you wish them to be built immediately. Over eager commanders will even be able to get credit on buildings and ships if the cash flow is tight although its worth noting the interest rate as you could find yourself in trouble later with the galactic debt collectors You’ll be able, of course, to build as many colony ships as you can afford, and that’s exactly how you'll expand in Galactic Civilizations. Where things can get difficult is pleasing your own people, taking part in galactic conquests and creating and breaking treaties, trade routes and promises.

Other areas of control include voting on key decisions in the galaxy. Each race currently inhabiting the galaxy will be given a certain number of votes in accordance with their influence. When the ruling parties meet you’ll be asked to vote on a specific subject (for example if warmongers should be taxed). It’s always enjoyable seeing a vote coming your way due to the influence you have in the galaxy but it’ll be prudent to vote wisely and accordingly, as the result from the vote will effect the game from that point on.

Winning the game depends on the player fulfilling any of the five specific victory conditions which can be modified at the start of the game, or you can use the default settings. A conquest victory plays as it sounds, with the player having to survive until they are the only race left in the universe. The diplomatic victory is awarded if you are aligned to every surviving race. It’s also quite possible to form an alliance and then defeat non alliance members for the same effect. The influence victory is achieved by controlling a certain portion of the galaxy with finally the technological victory being achieved by researching ‘technological victory’ at the end of a long branch of the research tree.

Special mention should also go to the included tutorial bolted onto the front end. It’s here that you’ll be taken through the most important features of the game. Not only are the full tutorials spoken out aloud, but everything is explained with full menu examples so you’ll never be unsure how to access a particular area or option. Even better still you can jump out of the game, enter the tutorial and finally continue your game at ease once you have understood what to do next.

Graphically Galactic Civilization II might seem basic compared to today’s blockbusters but to counteract that the developers have taken great pride in making the actual presentation and gameplay top notch. The menu system is intuitive, units can be stacked up and production lines can be arranged and re-ordered at will and all without breaking a sweat. That’s not to say that the title is devoid of a little eye candy though, galactic battles and first encounters for example get special attention and some nice FMV rewards players during key moments of the game. Having said that, where there is a need of graphical representation the developers have made everything look as visually pleasing as they can and its certainly one of the better looking strategy titles of late. Functionality over excessive eye candy is always welcome in our book, and Galactic Civilizations II has this in bucketloads.

Finally, Galactic Civilizations II is devoid of any real multiplayer content, and the designers cite many reasons why they made this decision. However, they still managed to incorporate some bragging rights for players by creating the ‘Galactic Metaverse’. In the Galactic Metaverse you can submit your own personal high scores online, and compare them with your friends, enemies and the rest of the galactic scum to see who the best players really are. You’ll even be able to join forces with your friends by creating ‘Galactic Empires’ to create that true formidable empire. It's also worth mentioning that the AI in Galactic Civilizations is so tight it's almost as if you were playing multiplayer anyway.

What really surprised us was the trust that Stardock and Paradox have placed in the end users hands. First off there is no copy protection present in the game whatsoever, so for starters the Galactic Civilization CD does not need to be in the cdrom drive when you play, something that gamers have frowned upon for a while. Instead, the publishers and developers hinge their security on the included serial code which, when entered, will allow you to upload scores via the Galactic Metaverse, install necessary updates and improvements, and furthermore download the whole game again if you ever misplace your original CD. Even more surprisingly this serial code itself does not need to be entered to start playing the game. Whether or not this system proves to be a success will be down to the same gamers who are frustrated by intrusive security measures in their games, in short if you pirate this game you’ll be ridiculing the system most gamers would like to see as the norm – basically its now up to you.

Fun and enjoyment wise nothing has touched Galactic Civilization II this year and we’ll be surprised if that stance changes in December. Stardock and Paradox have without doubt created a hugely enjoyable and highly customizable space simulation that deservers every ounce of your attention. Immersive and addictive, Galactic Civilization II is the perfect compliment for the megalomanic Galactic Commander desperate for that extra control.

DETAILED GAME INFORMATION

Version Reviewed: PC Press Version (not retail)
Other Versions: No
Muliplayer: No
Price: £34.99

PEGI Rating

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