Galactic Civilizations

Dan Gardiner discovers he actually enjoys getting arse-whipped by E.T.

The general consensus around the Atomic office is that Master of Orion 3 sucked. Gameplay aside, the user interface was so clunky that it was nearly impossible to get anything accomplished. And the fixed resolution of 800 by 600 just gave us the shits. But MoO3 did have one positive effect: it got us hyped up to play a good 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate) strategy game. It looks like Galactic Civilizations might just answer our prayers.

For those unfamiliar with the 4X genre, a basic game of Gal Civ requires you to create a space empire and dominate the galaxy. This is done by building starships, colonising and managing planets, researching new technologies and generally kicking the arse.

Gal Civ is a tiled-based 2D galaxy filled with star systems -- the objective being to take hold of the planets orbiting these stars by any means necessary. Planets are then used to build starships, and they also contribute to researching new technologies. Your starships also inhabit this 2D map, and are used to attack enemy ships, colonise and invade worlds.

There are five major alien species also vying for galactic supremacy (including the curiously E.T.-like Torians). Each has a certain alignment that governs their demeanour and how they'll respond to you. The AI can be devilishly tricky at times because it has access to all the same gameplay features as you do. Your enemies and allies are consistently surprising and cunning.

As with most 4X games, Gal Civ can initially be a little daunting. You're confronted with a multitude of different screens and options, and it can be difficult to know where to begin.

Thankfully, learning how to play and discovering new tactics is half the fun. The learning curve isn't impassable -- although we experienced a humbling amount of arse-kickage to begin with.

What sets Gal Civ apart from other 4X games is its focus on deep, empire-level strategy. There's a real sense that you're not just managing a bunch of individual colonies, and almost every aspect of the game is streamlined so you can concentrate on building and expanding your civilisation as a whole. The inclusion of random events (such as all species being forced to share their research, or finding an awesomely powerful starship) serves to shake things up so the game never becomes stagnant.

Gal Civ is so well-rounded that you can even win without physically attacking your enemies. Each major civilisation has a zone of cultural influence that expands as they grow in economic, military and social might. As your culture spreads, other civilisations will start defecting to become part of your empire.

One of Gal Civ's greatest strengths is its penchant for customisation. For example, although you're restricted to playing as humans, you can customise and change the species' abilities to give them a bonus in over a dozen different areas. This in turn drastically changes the way you play the game.

Diplomacy also plays a huge part in reaching your goals. While it's possible to win a game without relying on foreign relations, it's much easier to get ahead with the help of your neighbouring aliens. Diplomacy is based almost entirely on trading, and you can barter, bribe or extort using almost anything you produce including starships, technologies, cash or even entire colonies.

Despite all its strengths, there are still one or two flaws in Gal Civ. There's no multiplayer to speak of, which would have been a very welcome addition. Old-school 4X fans may also be annoyed that you can't customise or create your own ships being limited to set types.

Ship combat has been streamlined in comparison to many 4X games. All ships have a defence and attack rating with combat typically consisting of two ships firing at each other until one is destroyed. There's little strategy involved in the act of combat itself -- it's primarily based on brute force, and at times it can be a little dull.

4X games typically offer excellent replayability. Designed around the idea that when you provide players with sophisticated gameplay options and a healthy dollop of randomisation, every game should be unique and interesting. In this arena, Galactic Civilizations passes with flying colours. It's nice to finally find a 4X strategy game where strategy really counts.