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Hello all, I am new here. In fact, this is really my first post so let me take the opportunity to say 'hello'. I bought the game three days ago and have spent most of my free time playing it in those days. I have been a big fan of the genre, having played endless amounts of MOO2, Civ, Civ II, Civ III, Civ IV, Alpha Centauri, etc. I tried Galciv I's demo. I played it awhile, thought it was a decent game, and then went back to playing MOO2. I am not knocking that particular game, its just that it didn't wow me.
But it had some potential.
And so, after being temporarily tired of playing Civ IV, SMAC, and MOO2, I visited this site again, just to check out Galciv II. I looked at some screenshots, and read a couple of reviews, and pretty much bought it (and downloaded via SDCentral) on impulse shortly after. Why? Because I saw a high likelyhood that that potential would be realised in Galciv 2.
I won't turn this into a review by rehashing all the features of the game listed elsewhere, but I will tell you what I really liked about Galciv. The 'character' that your empire has. You can really make a civ your own. Do you fancy copying the Galactic Empire from star wars? Or is your vision more like a Roddenberry-esque Federation? And you can make that happen. This characteristic makes the game allows for a significant investment of the personality of the player. You can really put yourself in it. That makes it really addictived. And in Galciv2, These features have been fleshed out even further, with one of the greatest feratures of the game, TOTALLY custom ships. That aspect is a game unto itself, seriously. Furthermore, real and apparent benefits to particular allignments, and not just cosmetic ones. The graphics are nice, too. And some other stuff, too.
Never before has a Space 4x-type game introduced moral issues to the game. What kind of empire do you run here? How do you treat your people? And it is realistic to persue a peaceful path instead of conquest, unlike almost every other game in the genre.
Also, I don't know if it is my experience with the genre, but i found this game pretty easy to learn. I really was able to pick it up, and play sucessfully.
What I am trying to say here, is this: This is the game the Masters of Orion III SHOULD have been. And I don't say that lightly. It has a place on MY list as one of the all-time greats.
The only dissapointment I have is the lack of a Death Star. --Erm, I mean Doom Star...or Terror Star, rather. Whatver you call it, I wanna blow planets up. I would also like to see allignment consequences for diplomatic and martial activities of your empire as well. Unprovoked attacks, and Constantly threatening and extorting other nations should turn you evil(er).
I look forward to seeing this game get even better as Stardock expands it even further. Not to mention the modding community.
But it had some potential.
And so, after being temporarily tired of playing Civ IV, SMAC, and MOO2, I visited this site again, just to check out Galciv II. I looked at some screenshots, and read a couple of reviews, and pretty much bought it (and downloaded via SDCentral) on impulse shortly after. Why? Because I saw a high likelyhood that that potential would be realised in Galciv 2.
I won't turn this into a review by rehashing all the features of the game listed elsewhere, but I will tell you what I really liked about Galciv. The 'character' that your empire has. You can really make a civ your own. Do you fancy copying the Galactic Empire from star wars? Or is your vision more like a Roddenberry-esque Federation? And you can make that happen. This characteristic makes the game allows for a significant investment of the personality of the player. You can really put yourself in it. That makes it really addictived. And in Galciv2, These features have been fleshed out even further, with one of the greatest feratures of the game, TOTALLY custom ships. That aspect is a game unto itself, seriously. Furthermore, real and apparent benefits to particular allignments, and not just cosmetic ones. The graphics are nice, too. And some other stuff, too.
Never before has a Space 4x-type game introduced moral issues to the game. What kind of empire do you run here? How do you treat your people? And it is realistic to persue a peaceful path instead of conquest, unlike almost every other game in the genre.
Also, I don't know if it is my experience with the genre, but i found this game pretty easy to learn. I really was able to pick it up, and play sucessfully.
What I am trying to say here, is this: This is the game the Masters of Orion III SHOULD have been. And I don't say that lightly. It has a place on MY list as one of the all-time greats.
The only dissapointment I have is the lack of a Death Star. --Erm, I mean Doom Star...or Terror Star, rather. Whatver you call it, I wanna blow planets up. I would also like to see allignment consequences for diplomatic and martial activities of your empire as well. Unprovoked attacks, and Constantly threatening and extorting other nations should turn you evil(er).
I look forward to seeing this game get even better as Stardock expands it even further. Not to mention the modding community.