Galactic Civilizations 2 (PC) - Paradox

buggy but great

This game is very addicitve and i found it hard lo leave it alone. but unfortunatly the constant crashing of this games becomes to much of a nusicence to bother starting it up again. I love this game and feel it is one of stardocks greatest creations, however i couldnt give it 5 stars due to the presistant crashing of the game. All in all a good buy if your not easily annoyed.

Addictive

Few games have lived up to the 'just one more turn' standard set by Sid Meier's Civilisation series. Galactic Civilisation does just that: it can be extremely addictive. Don't buy this for the campaign: it's ok, but that's not the strength of this game - or indeed any in the genre of turn based strategy. It's the random map or 'sandbox' mode that really matters, and it is here that this really delivers. The graphics are good and I disagree with other reviews suggesting bugs: have there been bugs, yes, but the technical development team behind this have fixed them very quickly. The current releases are very stable. Don't just buy this: get the expansion pack as the game really comes into it's own with that. The changes are often subtle, but they are important. Play this, but be warned: it can eat into your time badly. As a final point, once installed you don't need to have the CD in the drive. This is very unusual for modern games and represents a level of maturity, trust and respect for players most software houses don't extend us.

Better than Civilization?!?

First off this game as sold is in sore need of patching. The retail version is playable but there have been major changes in the game mechanic and the addition of several important features in the patches. To get the patches from the developer at Stardock.com you have to download a programme that some internet firewalls identify as a virus.
However, that done, you now have yourself a classic 4X game to rival (and in my opinion beat) Civilization.
As soon as you start a game the sheer level of customization is ispressive. From designing your galaxy to designing your race and their ships. All the ships can be designed and redesigned to your hearts content and appear in-game fully rendered as you have designed them.
The graphics are great - you can zoom into one of your planets and actually see the city lights on the planets darkside! The sound as well is just at the right level for you to appreciate that it is there without it getting in the way.

The main selling point for this, and any other 4X, game is the gameplay. In Galactic Civilzations 2 you can win by military (shooting things), diplomatic (talking to things), technological (being brainer than other things) or influence (everyone likes you more than other things). There are resouces on the game map to help you acheive any of these victories and certain random events in the galaxy that may help or hinder you. The frequency of those events and the victory conditions allowed can be customized at the start of the game.
The diplomacy in Galactic Civilizations 2 seems to be a more major part of the game than in any 4X game before. You can trade technologies, unique items, money or influence points (useful for Galatic Senate votes). Once you gain the required knowledge you can sign treaties, band together against neighbours or become allies. Your diplomacy is also effected by the wider game, for instance opening a trade route with another civilization will make them more inclined to like you in the diplomacy screen.

A very cool game that should come with a warning about the amount of time that can be lost playing it! Definatly needs patching though and if possible get the expansion pack : Dark Avatar. This is only available by download though.

Absolutely Awesome Game!!!

The amount of customisable options there are is amazing. When you start a game there are hundreds of combinations you can have, e.g. size of galaxy, amount of hospitable planets, anomilies, stars, victory conditions, technology rate, etc, etc... Then there are ten races to choose from, ranging from war-mongering Drengins, to the noble Arceans. You can even design your own ships, and make them for a certain purpose, e.g. for speed, for invasions etc... The only bad thing about this game is the lack of multiplayer, but because the A.I. are do good, it almost makes up for it. In the end, I will give this 5 stars. BUY IT NOW!!!

SUPERB - THE BEST GAME EVER

This game is really superb!! Its probably one of the best games I own!! Ignore previous reviews which say the game crashes all the time. It doesn't and must be a problem with his system. It runs perfectly on my PC with no crashes at all so dont know what hes going on about!! Also the guy who says you keep pressing end turn after researching is ridiculous!! He doesn't know whats involved in the game - probably a novice!! I will tell you why this game is the best game ever!! The AI is top notch - it feels like youre playing a human opponent. The graphics are superb and the ability to design all your own ships with accessories is really fun. Theres a lot more to this game than meets the eye!! Create your own civilization with traits and characteristics!! CHoose what planetry improvements to build on your planet, trade with other civs. In fact there are several different ways to win the game like Civ IV such as Cultural victory, diplomatic victory etc. You will never get bored with this game as theres so much to do and consider!! ALso make sure you get Dark Avatar the new expansion just released. That improves on an already perfect game with enhanced graphics, new conditions and new civs as well as new ship components. Several mods exist for this game which can be downloaded. Stardock who support this game are top notch. Once youve installed the game you can download all the updates from stardock and you dont even need your cd once installed. It runs off your hard drive once installed so that another bonus. To sum it up this game is just Superb. Ignore the other reviews because it is just such a cool game!! Trust Me and BUY IT - You wont be dissapointed!!