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Galactic Civilizations 2: Twilight of the Arnor
Published by: Stardock Corporation, Inc. |
Galactic Civilizations 2: Twilight of the Arnor - Game Review (PC)
By Emanuel Avram
Published: July 14, 2008
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Every eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate game, or 4X as they are called have a certain degree of complexity associated with it, and Galactic Civilizations 2 doesn't stray from this unspoken rule. This was always a two-edged blade, as newcomers need a lot of patience to master the game - or some really good advice from experience players. But then again, it begins to be more and more rewarding as you discover things, ending up in becoming very addictive and time consuming.
One of the signs that 4X games don't play by the rules is the Campaign mode. While Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor features a full campaign mode with a decent story, nothing compares to just creating a random huge universe, and conquering it in the way you please in a couple of days. Or just staying there, and playing endlessly. I always enjoyed doing that too.
Twilight of the Arnor continues the campaign story from where the previous expansion left us. While manipulated by the Dread Lords from the shadows, the Drengin continue to fight each other for the conquest of the galaxy. With some luck, a lone Terran ship manages to escape the massacre and meet the Arnor, an ancient race thought extinct. The Arnor teach humans the only way to destroy the Dread Lords: collect all of their crystals and destroy them in a supernova.
But in order to create an artificial supernova, you'll have to build your own Terror Star ship, a ship so advanced technologically that it could wipe out an entire solar system in one blow. Fear not, it's gonna take you hours and hours of actual time to accomplish this, so better get your sandwiches ready!
Since this is a somewhat late review, I've had the chance to catch up with some other press impressions. While this is indeed a good game, and especially valuable in a time where everyone is doing MMOs for PCs and FPSs for consoles, it's not all so sugar-pie honey-bunch as everyone says (except maybe those evil teddy bears, don't know what their race is called but when one of them threatens your entire species, you'd better be scared! BOOO! I said!).
I'll start analyzing a bit further some aspects of the game... And don't tell me to "Analyze this!".
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Although it does not include all the patch notes, I thought I'd add this now so you get the general idea of what will change in the next major World of Warcraft Patch 2.4.0.
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| Kalypso Media has released cover of Galactic Civilizations II: Endless Universe August 13, 2008 Today Kalypso Media has released the packshot and new screens for September's stand-alone expansion
"Galactic Civilizations II: Endless Universe".
[...] |
| Galactic Civilizations II: Endless Universe Announced July 8, 2008 The battle for galactic supremacy continues in Endless Universe; the new stand-alone add-on for the acclaimed strategy game Galactic Civilizations II
[...] |
| Galactic Civilizations II: Twilight of the Arnor Patch June 20, 2008 The Galactic Civilizations II Forums
announce that a new update for the Twilight of the Arnor is now available,
updating the GalCiv2 expansion to version 1.95.
[...] |
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