Galactic Civilizations III is a turn-based strategy game that gives players simple objectives of conquering the galaxy through war, diplomacy, becoming a cultural juggernaut or having the best scientists and technologies around. Despite having these basic strategy game mechanics as the base of the series, Galactic Civilizations has always been known as a complex game that takes plenty of time and dedication to master. With Galactic Civilizations III, Stardock Entertainment wants to change that somewhat to make the game more accessible to a larger audience and make the title a better experience overall. Some of this can already be seen in the game's alpha with improvements such as the wheel system that allows players to add specific commands to initiate during matches or the improved HUD that helps players more easily receive messages from AI and other players.
Galactic Civilizations III currently boasts four races with the full game containing eight classes in total. The Yor Singularity, Thalan Contingency, Iconian Refuge and Krynn Syndicate will be added to the full game when it is released, while the Terran Alliance, Drengin Empire, Altarian Resistance and Iridium Corporation all boast all new skill trees, abilities and terminologies in the game's current form. The game is currently only available to play in tiny and small sized randomly generated maps, and the only mode of play is Conquest Victor, a simple mode with the only objective is to find and defeat all other players. There is some other new content for players to experience in the game's early alpha stage including the impressive new bonus system that awards players that specialize in certain ideologies towards ruling the galaxy.
Stardock is promising plenty of additional content for the full release of Galactic Civilizations III in 2015. The most significant change will be the game's full single player campaign. The campaign will continue the narrative started by previous releases in the series with all new content to keep fans interested in what's next for the series. Additionally, the game will feature plenty of variety in maps that will allow players to interact with various objects throughout the galaxy including black holes and undiscovered planets and ancient artifacts with some great value and properties. One other major feature will see the game boast an impressive AI system built on a 64-bit engine that allows computer controlled opponents to grow and adapt with players over time, though the game will also support up to four players online as well.
It remains to be seen exactly how all of these pieces will come together in the finished product, but we definitely enjoyed our time with the alpha for Galactic Civilizations III so far. Fans may find the game a bit pricey for some gamers with the only version of the game currently available running at $99.99 for the Founder's Elite Version of Galactic Civilizations III, but it does come with some pretty cool bonuses including all future DLC and expansions for the game for free, an ability to name a star in the galaxy and get special in-game thanks, gain access to exclusive art and other content from the development team and access to the Stardock forums with an exclusive badge. It's still too early to call the game a must buy, but fans of the series shouldn't mind paying a little extra to gain early access to the game that looks to be one of the better strategy games to come around in some time.
Galactic Civilizations III is now available in Early Access on Steam and can be purchased for $99.99. For more information on the game, check out the official Galactic Civilization III website.
Game Features:
- Online Multiplayer 2-4
- Early Access Release
- Purchase Founder's Elite Edition for Bonus Content
- Choose from Four Different Factions
- Massive Single Player Coming in Full Release
Game Information:
Developer & Publisher: Stardock Entertainment
Available exclusively for PC
Release Date: March 24, 2014 (Full Release Coming in 2015)