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Rating Reviewed by: Dobian(Unregistered User)
Review Date January 6, 2003
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Visitors rate this review 4.50 of 5,
2 votes
Review NaN of 5
, from Balmont, CA
Summary: Stardate 2437.1: My plot to turn my empire’s trusted allies – the Eee Consortium and the Phong Confederation – against one another appears to have backfired. Two years ago, my intelligence agency spoofed a message to the Phongs, instigating a war between these former galactic partners. As the Phongs and the Eee weakened each other over time in their prolonged conflict, We, the Abbidon Enclave, quietly built up a massive military assault force. We then joined the Phongs against our former ally, the Eee. It would be just a matter of time before the Eee were finished, and the Phongs would be virtually defenseless against our overwhelming military might. Then, unexpectedly, the Phongs and the Eee made peace, and the Phongs turned against us. Shortly thereafter, the puny Praetorian Imperium and the sniveling Xiati Empire joined in the alliance against our kingdom. We had been too reckless with our expansion, and no doubt the Phongs and the Eee eventually realized that they had been had. Now, the entire galaxy has united against us. While militarily we can match the combined forces of the others, our economy has collapsed from the loss of galactic trade. Fighting a war on all fronts is a near impossibility at this point. This is a dark day for the Abbidon Enclave, but we will find a way to overcome our enemies and rule this galaxy that is rightfully ours…
Just a typical day in the life of a galactic emperor in Space Empires 4 Gold, the latest entry in the 4x space strategy series masterminded by Aaron Hall of the independent development company, Malfador Machinations, and published by Shrapnel Games (who markets this and other strategy games at www.shrapnelgames.com). The above scenario really happened in a game I was playing. Fortunately, I saved the game right before I tried that devious little tactic, and while I was eventually drawn into war with the other empires, the outcome worked out much better. But this all-too-common type of scenario is what separates SE4 Gold from other games in its genre. In many empire building strategy games - such as the Civ games – get a huge resource and technology advantage over your rivals and the ending is a slam dunk. Not so in SE4 Gold, where your empire becomes so economically and politically intertwined with the others, that war can often be as damaging to you as it is to them. Even wars that don’t include your empire can have drastic economic consequences, as I discovered in one game where my mineral imports sharply declined shortly after war broke out between my biggest mineral supplier – the Toltayans – and the Jraenar.
Space Empires 4 Gold is the richest, most complex 4x strategy game I have ever seen. It is the Cadillac of the genre (although the upcoming MOO3 could be the Mercedes, but that remains to be seen!). The sheer number of possibilities with this game is immense, and that’s just with what comes out of the cellophane packaging. When you factor in the long list of mods and scenarios available for this game – both online and bundled with the Gold version of the game – the replayability is virtually endless. And then there is the terrific SE4 Gold online community, which easily bests online communities for most other games, including those from big publishers that sell a gazillion more copies. But what it comes down to, ultimately, is the just-one-more-turn factor, which is the benchmark for all turn-based strategy games. With SE4 Gold, there is a new expression: just TEN more turns. This is one of the rare must-haves, a dream game for anyone who loves strategy games, and anyone who has ever wanted to conquer the galaxy.
Summary: Prerequisites: You must be patient, able to multitask, and have more than two brain cells to rub together.
Overall: An excellent, and easily modded, turn-based space strategy. Many nights have I spent at work (yes, I get to play at work :) ...) playing this game and putting off what I should be doing... for just one more turn. I got my co-workers hooked on it. Now when I come in, the guy that’s supposed to go home leaves 30 minutes after he should of... he just had to play through one more turn.
Summary: PLUS ---- Vast game universe Immense (and customizable!) tech tree Customizable (change, add, remove) races, race characteristics, race AI, etc. etc. (many new, and significantly more graphically sophisticated races available on the net). Huge number of components and systems Good in-game help system Adequate AI (it can win, but, strategically, fails to understand the effect of certain technologies, and tactically fails to make full use of certain capabilities) Many initial race settings and variants, including unique technologies Good tactical space assault mode (graphical, with good user control). Strategic space assault mode available. Huge number of spying and covert operations and assaults available Basic diplomacy options provided Strategic ground assault capability Production queues Good ground-based planet defense capabilities can be designed and built. Nifty capabilities like creating and destroying warp points, igniting stellar explosions, planet creation etc. that add variation to assault programs.
MINUS ----- The AI for each race is static once specified. That is, the AI is unadaptive (always the same strategy even though it lost with it 10,000 times before). The AI can lose brainlessly and unnecessarily (uncontextualized behavior). The 'neutral' races are brain-dead and are really juicey morsels to be eaten. Strategic ground assult only. Ground-based defenses (weapons platforms) cannot be upgraded, only replaced, and it is difficult to get an overview of what defenses are on what planet (without explicitly examining each one) Primitive multiplayer (email & hotseat) Lack of attention to user task flow w/ a number of redundant and superflous actions. For example, in creating a Gas colony ship: select ship size(colony); select ship type (Gas colony) - there are only three legitimate choices for a colony ship (gas, rock, ice), yet all possible ship types are offered as selections; finally, override the standard 'Design name' to be something useful. The components are then selected - here, given the type selected, one probably wants a Gas colony module, but could add anything ... Lack of control for moving selected components into some order after intitial selection (aside from delete and re-add) Uninspired graphics for out-of-the-box races (though they can be enhanced) Bare-bones paper documentation Uninspired and short sound loops
OVERALL ------- Fun turn-based space exploration/conquest game w/ good depth but basic graphics and sound. A good single-user gaming experience with lots of room for customization. High replayability w/ lots of fun things to build and do.
Rating Reviewed by: Scott Wilson(Unregistered User)
Review Date May 31, 2001
Overall Rating 5 of 5
Review NaN of 5
, from Ashland, Ky
Price Paid:
$49.00
from over the net
Summary: This game indeed has a fun replay value. If you liked masters of orion, then you will love this game. This game enhances what masters of orion accomplished. Most players who played the federation empires board game will love this as this game plays very similar to the board game. I enjoy the shear control of your empire, ships and solar systems this game allows.
Summary: Video games have come along way these past years. Everything from gameplay to graphics are evolving every day to highten the experience we as gamers have. But Shrapnel has done something amazing. They have shown that even without flashy graphics and 5.1 sound you can have an amazing and inventive game. Space Empires is just that, it has little graphics and little to no sound, however behind its weak appearance is probably one of the deepest and most amazingly fun games ever created.
5 of 5
4 of 5
