Civilization Meets Master of Orion 2 - Space Strategies Are Back in Style!

A Dormant Genre

After the traumatic letdown that was Master of Orion 3, I pretty much have shied away from the space-empire strategy genre. MOO3 and a couple of variants that appeared around the same time marked some sort of collective amnesia among game studios about what made this sort of thing entertaining : Hardcore strategy with almost total control at the player's fingertips, but with the sense not to go too crazy with tedious micro management. While MOO3 went one way and completely dumbed the whole thing down into automated pointlessness, other games became bogged down in chore-like overkill. After disappointment followed disappointment, I despaired and gave up.

A couple of weeks ago fate reunited me with this former favourite when a friend recommended Galactic Civilizations 2 as something I really should check out. I have to say I wasn't disappointed.


Gameplay

As with other games in this genre, Galactic Civilizations 2 is a sweeping epic which involves establishment of a powerful interstellar empire, while experiencing more than enough political intrigue, bureaucracy, galactic warfare, espionage and so forth to keep even the most hardened strategy buff satisfied.

The action takes place on a randomly generated galactic map which is dotted with a variety of star systems featuring planets of varying usefulness and habitability. Peppered among the solar systems are asteroids rich in natural resources and mysterious space-junk containing hidden surprises - perhaps a boost in technology, or something to top up the coffers.

The game may be played in either a campaign mode, complete with unraveling storyline, or in a more traditional freeform type of game. Once you have selected all your preferences such as opponents, galaxy size, frequency of planets and so forth, it's time to choose your race. Players choose from any of ten or so pre-made races, each with their own special abilities and tendencies. If none of the existing guys turn you on, you can always customise your very own species.

Once the game gets going it feels like a rather appealing mix of great games like Civilization and Master of Orion 2. You start out with one planet and a couple of spacecraft and from there your empire expands by settling other words, battling (or befriending) your opponents and so on.

GC2 strikes just the right balance between giving a feeling of being in total control, without bothering you with utter trivialities. Each colonised planet is capable of being equipped with a variety of structures, depending on the amount of usable landmass, and all this is completely player controlled, much like building city improvements in Civilization.

Many games like this feature needlessly cumbersome ship-design modes when setting up a new class of craft. I'm pleased to report that this is most definitely not the case here - GC2 features perhaps the most intuitive and user-friendly ship design sequence I have seen so far. It's actually fun to use. I also enjoyed little touches like the momentous video when my first captital ship (complete with stupid name of my own devising) rolled off the production lines.

I enjoyed the variety of different worlds in the galaxy, particularly when things like "aquatic worlds" or "radioactive worlds" tied in to technology for colonization purposes. Speaking of technology, the tree of research possibilities here is massive and impressive, although it is a little overwhelming in layout until you get used to it. I would have preferred the research window to be more expandable so I could get more of an idea of the things available and see them all together, rather than scrolling along the narrow slotted window provided.

One of the coolest things about this game is the ongoing series of random events that take place. You might discover a particularly valuable vein of ore under a hideously pretty region of your planet that's being touted as a "galactic heritage" national park. Do you dig it up, or preserve its majesty? Another time I had to deal with a rising number of uni students who thought being anti-establishment was pretty trendy. Did I ignore this annoyance, start an education campaign, or lock the ungrateful so and so's up and throw away the key? This game is full of dillemas like this which really add to the fun factor. It would have been nice if a few no-brainers were thrown into the mix once in a while, rather than every instance involving very clear ethical directions for each choice you make. In addition to this sort of interraction, there's also the excellent addition of the galactic council meetings in which you participate. These gatherings are used to vote on laws which if passed have a direct impact on the rules of gameplay. It's all quite exciting in a very non-Episode 1 sort of way. Gotta love that democratic process.


The Technical Stuff

AI is fairly sensible here and your opponents are certainly no pushovers at the negotiation table. You get a pretty clear idea the types of people you are dealing with fairly early in each piece. This allows you to pick your allies and trade with caution - as well as know where your frontier should be strongly defended.

Graphically the game is attractive without being stunning. There's a nice variety of different planet types, including some with moons or rings, and the different alien species look nice, if a little cartoony. The star map is well laid out, although I did find that things were a little... bunchy.... with planetary systems actually overlapping in some cases. I'd have preferred to see things spread out more and the travel time kept the same, if only so things didn't get quite so cluttered. Space combat and ships look a little five years ago, but get the job done. Scrolling around the map is also a tad on the slow side, even on the maximum scroll speed. It can get a little annoying when having to navigate right to a specific world when you want to take care of something there.

Sound is pretty sparse here, with a rather sedate soundtrack and a few click effects and an assortment of noises relating to construction or weapons fire. What's here is fine, but you could quite easily get away with listening to mp3s during play without missing anything.


The Bottom lime

All in all, Galactic Civilizations 2 is a welcome rediscovery of form for a gaming genre that had deteriorated into rather uninspired drivel. While not quite up to the magic of early classics (there is the tendency for later rounds to turn into "next turn" clickfests), there's enough innovation here, coupled with a return to the roots of things to make this a joyous experience for fans of space colonization strategies.


4 stars out of 5.