Stardock,
After playing Galciv2 for the past few nights (late, late nights) I have three words for you:
Oh My God
...with that said, I'll elaborate. I never played the first GalCiv, though not for any particular reason, I just never got around to buying it, though, I always thought it looked interesting. I didn't even know GalCiv2 was coming out until I read a preview at Gamespot in January, and, looking at the screenshots and reading the features, my strategy-game-starved mind went into convulsions! So, I was very happy when the game was released this month and sold some older PC games on eBay to save up the funds for GalCiv2 (it's hard for us married computer game junkies to justify spending so much money on games, so, some of us are forced to sell personal possessions on Ebay!
) With that said, here is what I like:
* The interface is beautiful, clear and clean, and....beautiful. I love it.
* The game loads up quick, no stupid intro movies you can't skip past, and runs smooth as silk. I've finished one campaign on normal (I lost!) and I just started another, and have not experienced a single bug or CTD.
* Options, options, options, and charts, charts, charts. Perfect. This is a strategy man's dream come true. For those that complain the game is boring, try tweaking your starting game options...or try playing something more exciting like a shooter. This is a 4X game, afterall.
* AI seems sharp, I love the open ended gameplay, and the ability to "roleplay" your way through the game is sublime.
* It's obvious from reading the forum, reading the in-game text, playing the game, and visiting your site that you have put a lot of love and attention into this game. It shows. Thanks.
Here are the few things I do not like:
* As someone stated, you should not be able to see AI players influence before you run into them. This ruins the "go out and explore and see what's out there" part of the game, and takes away some of the mystic of "going boldly where no one has gone before". I can understand your civ may be picking up radio transmissions or something, pointing out to you that there is something "out there", perhaps. Maybe at least remove the color coding from the influence circles so you can't tell who is where? Though I still think that influence should only be visible once you have "bumped into" an AI ship, planet, base, or even "run across" it's influence border.
I think that pretty sums it up. Being a computer game junkie, I would probably rate this as one of the best gaming experiences I've had to date, not just because the game is fun, most games are, but because of the, for want of a better way of putting it, sheer amount of love and attention Stardock obviously puts into their product. It really shows and this game is a triumph of engineering, fun-factor, and presentation.
Cheers,
Candelarius
