Galactic Civilizations 2 Dread Lords Computer Game

Pros: Great balance of control vs. micromanagement, highly customizable, intelligent AI, complex, good layout

Cons: Sound effects are minimal, no multiplayer, graphics are nothing flashy, story mode gets boring fast

The Bottom Line: If you love 4x (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) turn-based strategy games, this might be for you!

Review: Not too long ago, I had a hankering for mass cultural domination on a galactic level and dug out my old copy of Master of Orion II. The game loaded as quick and easy as I had remembered, but for whatever reason the graphics kept bugging out and ...

Pros: Just the right level of control complexity. Fun gameplay, mixed with interesting events. Varied tech.

Cons: Tech interface. Cramped galaxy. Scrolls a little slow. Tendency to skip turns last in play.

The Bottom Line: A welcome return to form for a genre which had lost its way. Fans of Master of Orion 1 and 2 or Imperium Galactica should be very happy.

Review: 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 ...