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Imperium Galactica II: Alliances Rating: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 best By Mark Asher (5/23/2000)
The good: Solid space empire game in the vein of Master of Orion.
Good conquer-the-galaxy space games are, to dip into the parlance of science fiction, about as rare as a Venusian sand leopard. Is Imperium Galactica II: Alliances such a beast? Imperium Galactica II offers varied gameplay that includes a dash of real-time-strategy-style combat and pays homage in large part to the Master of Orion games. It's a very good game that falls just a little bit short of greatness.
It's the far-flung future, and the Solarians (humans) are not alone. As they expand from their home system, they bump into other races such as the merchant-oriented Shinari, the militant Kra'hen, the explorative Anatarians, the industrial-based Iberians, the adaptive Godan, the diplomatic Cheblon, and the sex-crazed Toulens (who reproduce at an alarmingly fast rate). As the Solarians, do you conquer the other races with military might or form alliances with them to further your goal of becoming the dominant species in the galaxy? A little bit of both, perhaps.
Imperium Galactica II is a game clearly inspired by the two Master of Orion games from MicroProse. It transplants the classic strategy gameplay elements of exploration, expansion, research, production, and military conquest into a science-fiction setting. You can choose to play as the Solarians and enjoy faster, cheaper research; the Shinari, who make double the trade income and are successful at spying; or the warmongering Kra'hen, who don't have to spend as much to build up their military machine but who cannot engage in spying, trading, or diplomacy. The other races make appearances in the game's somewhat open-ended scenarios as either allies, foes, or neutral races, and you can play them all in multiplayer. Gameplay is familiar stuff to Master of Orion veterans, but the game has a twist: it plays in continuous time. This is absolutely not a drawback or weakness, and you can pause at any time to issue new orders or vary the game speed. The game includes a number of scenarios and several campaigns that are livened up with scripted events, and throughout you are faced with continuous challenges. At the game's outset, you start on a single planet and explore the surrounding area. Some new star systems will be hospitable to your race, giving you population and/or production bonuses, and others will penalize you. You decide which ones to colonize and which to ignore. Once you settle a planet, you build a city and continue adding new buildings as the game progresses. These buildings allow you to conduct research, produce military units, and house and maintain the welfare of the planet's population. Essentially, you want to grow your planet's population (and your resulting tax base), expand its production and research capacity, and build planetary defenses. You have to balance spending among production, research, and boosting civilian morale through public works such as parks and sports stadiums. The taxation rate you choose also affects morale to a great extent. Other game options include trading, diplomacy, and spying.
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