Galactic Civilizations II Gold Edition - E10+

As an opponent, this strategy game is super smart!

Publisher: Stardock Category/Genre: Video Games - Strategy Platform: Windows Price: $$39.99 Online Enabled: No Graphics: High. Adjustable to your PCs ability. Playability: Hard. Several-hour learning curve Reading Level: Heavy Release Date: 02/13/2007 ESRB Rating: E10+ for Language and mild fantasy violence

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that kids will see battle sequences showing lasers shots and explosions; however, they are shown from a third-person perspective. Larger space battles are shown in a cinematic-style sequence, but the player is a watcher not a participant. The storyline of the Dark Avatar sequel involves two branches of an evil civilization--one faction determined to exterminate all other civilizations, the other attempting to "rescue" them in order to enslave them. All in all, however, the game's educational value is very high, with plenty of opportunities for kids (and adults) to learn about economics, government, diplomacy, and trade. What set's this game apart from other strategy games is that it has a super smart Artificial Intelligence (AI) so the computer is a worthy opponent.

Families can talk about the pacing of strategy games versus first-person-shooters or even real-time-strategy games. Which do you like better? Playing a game that requires paying more attention to details or one in which you must make snap decisions? What parts of a strategy game make it exciting to play? This game has a really good AI, but it doesn't let you play against friends. Does that make it less interesting to play? Why?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Jeremy Gieske

GALACTIC CIVILIZATIONS II GOLD EDITION, contains the original Dread Lords game and the add-on Dark Avatar expansion. Combined, these two games offer a masterpiece of strategy game playing.

Starting with a small sector of the galaxy, player's build their civilization into a galactic empire through trade, diplomacy, espionage, and strategic use of force.

A campaign mode tells a somewhat convoluted story of Drengin's, Terran Alliances, and other civilizations, but most players will skip past the short cutscenes to get into the meat of defeating what is probably one of the smartest AI's ever put into a video game.

At the easiest levels, the AI lets players learn the fairly complex set of controls and options without too much harassment. At the hardest levels the AI can be brutal. It's quick to take control of the best planets, makes unpredictable alliances to throw off the balance of power, and basically plays like a human opponent – only one that has been playing for a long time and has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. In fact, the AI is so human-like, it shouldn't be too hard for players to forgive the game's lack of multi-player gameplay.

The game finds a nice balance between letting players manage their empire, but not become weighed down by the details as the empire grows. A few simple slider bars control how much players tax their civilization and then distribute that money into production of military, social, and research projects. Plenty of graphs, charts, and timelines help player's figure out, on a turn-by-turn basi, the best way to fine-tune their expansion.

Exploration, researching new technologies, and engaging in diplomatic negotiations are the most important parts of the game. You can win the game without fighting a single battle. However, most players, even those who are trying to win through peaceful means, will occasionally find themselves in a conflict.

Players looking to influence the result of a conflict with fancy flying or sharp-shooting accuracy will be disappointed. Once a battle starts, the computer takes over entirely. The player merely watches as the results play out.

To make it a little more interesting, players can choose to have the computer display the battle in a semi-cinematic style, but it still doesn't allow the player to control any of the ships, etc. during the fight. A player who hopes to win the game through force must research military technologies and use them to build more powerful space ships before individual battles begin.

One of the best features of the game is that it is incredibly replayable. Beyond the campaign mode, the free-play mode lets players select from dozens of options to pick and choose the type of game they would like – from a two-hour afternoon cakewalk to a weeks-long tug-of-war between nine different opponents. Plus, the game lets players use the technologies they research to design and build their own custom space ships, which adds even more flexibility.

Overall Galactic Civilizations II is fun to play, and it's a worthy addition to any strategist's collection. Players looking to play a historical strategy game might like Civilization IV instead.

Reviewed: 05/10/2007

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content
Violence The player can initiate, and then observe space and land battles with lasers, explosions, etc. All battles are presented from a third-person perspective with the player as an observer rather than a participant.
Language
Message
	Social Behavior The premise of the Dark Avatar expansion is that the bad guys have won. Of the two sides, one side wants to kill everyone, the other wants to enslave everyone.
	Commercialism Part of the Galactic Civilizations series.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco
	Educational Value Players are required to manipulate taxes, balance spending, and manage a variety of economic controls. They can choose from different government types, and negotiate strategies and trade alliances. Players can pursue different research project and look for ways to win by cultural or technological influence.