This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Matthew Call.

It can be tough for a new game to establish itself in the turn based strategy genre with industry staples like Civilization IV setting the standard for others to follow. If a new game doesn’t measure up to the impossibly high standard set by the big names it is relegated to bargain bin doom almost immediately. Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords is Stardock’s second foray into the strategy genre and they have actually created a game that gives the mainstays a run for their money.

Galactic Civilizations takes place in the 23rd century. Mankind has just begun its leap into the stars and encountered a wide variety of alien civilizations who are also attempting to expand their empires. These races were once subdued by the ancient Dread Lords who mysteriously vanished centuries ago, allowing the lesser races a chance to explore the cosmos. The game takes this plotline and incorporates it into a turn based strategy where players must interact with several other civilizations all vying for control of the galaxy. Galactic Civilizations is essentially a galaxy sized game of Risk where players must manage their territories and attempt to gain control of all other civilizations.

What sets Galactic Civilizations apart from mediocre strategy titles is the amount of complexity and depth the game contains. Players begin the game with a single solar system. The home planet contains a starbase which is able to manufacture starships, which are featured prominently in the game. Starbases not only construct warships but also ships designed for exploration and colonization of other worlds. Players will quickly start colonizing and exploring as much of the galaxy as possible since the computer controlled civilizations will also be expanding. Players who aren’t quick on their feet will find the computer civilizations have already taken over the majority of the unclaimed territory and will have a tougher time winning the game.

Thankfully there are several different ways to actually beat Galactic Civilizations. The game allows players to achieve military, diplomatic, technological, and cultural victories. Military victories are achieved by either wiping out the other civilizations or forcing them to surrender. Diplomatic victories occur when players are able to establish good relations and communications across the galaxy while cultural victories are obtained by exporting a civilization’s culture to other races and becoming the envy of the galaxy. Technological victories are achieved by advancing so far in the game’s technology tree that a race actually achieves a higher state of existence and leaves temporal existence entirely. Each of these victories requires a different strategy to win and choosing which victory to strive for at any part of the game is the most important decision players will face.

The AI in the game ranks among the best ever seen in a strategy title. The computer is smart enough to change its own strategy as soon as the tables turn against it. Often in strategy titles a computer will strive to win a certain way and all players need to do is figure out what the computer wants to do and continue to block its progress until it loses. In Galactic Civilizations, the computer will actually realize that it is beaten and try to win using another method. For example, if a computer controlled diplomatic civilization is about to be beaten militarily, it will surrender to another diplomatic civilization before the military one can conquer it. Computers will also try and trick players into attacking them by holding fleets in reserve, out of sight of the player until it is too late to pull out. While the AI can be frustrating, Stardock has been quick to point out that it is not cheating in any way - the AI is simply often able to outthink human opponents.

The graphics in Galactic Civilizations won’t win any awards, but certainly don’t detract from the game in any way. The galaxy is rendered in full 3D, with moons rotating around planets and impressive looking stellar clouds in the background. Players are able to zoom the camera out until the galaxy looks like a chessboard, or zoom in on a particular ship they are interested in. Combat also looks impressive with laser beams shooting across the screen using appropriate lighting effects. The cutscenes in the game are fully rendered in 3D using the game’s engine and are quite impressive.

The audio also adds to the game’s overall atmosphere. The game’s main theme is quite catchy with a space opera style theme, and the rest of the music in the game adds a nice feel to the game’s ambience. There is little voice acting in the game, although the tutorial does contain a calm voice that reads the text of the tutorial to players as it scrolls by. Players are likely so busy thinking in the game that they hardly even notice the music but Galactic Civilizations wouldn’t be the same without it.

The largest single detractor from the game is the tutorial. While most recent strategy titles contain playable tutorials that walk players through the entire process of playing the game, Galactic Civilizations contains over a dozen video clips accompanied by lengthy text descriptions of how different aspects of the game function. It takes over half an hour to wade through all the videos, and with the complexity of the game those gamers who try to dive straight into the action will quickly become confused and overwhelmed. This is especially true for gamers who don’t play many turn based strategy titles since the game doesn’t go out of its way to explain itself to new players.

The other largest detractor from the game is the lack of any multiplayer. The game does contain the ability to post gamers’ scores on an online leaderboard called the metaverse, but lacks any substantial form of multiplayer. In a strategy title where quick thinking and backstabbing are common fare, multiplayer would seem to be a natural addition. The developers have stated that if there is enough interest in the game they would consider adding in multiplayer via a patch, but in the meantime players will have to make due with only a single-player game.

Galactic Civilizations II is the first sleeper hit of 2006. The AI is the best seen thus far in any strategy title and the complexity and depth of the game will keep gamers coming back for just one more turn. With a random galaxy generated every game, coupled with AI that is unpredictable and incredibly intelligent, the game is sure to never play out the same way twice. Gamers looking for a good turn based strategy title will find a lot to like in Galactic Civilizations and the reduced MSRP of $39.99 also makes this game one of the best PC buys of the year.

Amazingly complex and deep game that keeps players coming back for more.

full 3D environments that are fully scalable.

Good music and reasonable sound effects complement the gameplay.

The AI is actually intelligent and really steals the show.

The campaign is entertaining but the random games really are where the game shines.