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By Robert Hancock on March 19th, 2002
Introduction The newest of the well known Space Empires series, This remake of Space Empires IV offers pretty much the same as all the others of the series... If you liked those that came before, you’ll like this. Haven’t played any of the previous? Well, by the end of this review, you’ll know whether you want to delve into it or not.To give you a quick idea, SE-IV is probably one of the most complex, involving, strategy games you’ll see out there... Until SE-V comes out, anyway. Presentation The menus and such are kinda clunky, and they’re packed to the brim, but that’s because they have a lot of stuff to tinker with. You get to feeling crowded after awhile, but you need every bit of info it shoves at you. Keep in mind, you’ve been given control over an entire galaxy and that’s a lot of responsibility. Take a look at my screenshots... You’ll see, it gives you a hand in everything that goes on in your empire.Graphics & Sound They aren’t good. I don’t think it needed much in the way of flash, though, being the kind of game it is. I’m not saying better graphics would hurt it though, even as retro as I am, I find it kinda hard to get into occasionally.Gameplay This is a slow game, and whenever you start it up, go into it expecting that. Like any strategy game, you have to plan out every move carefully in exacting detail, or you can prepare to eat your mistake later. As much as I haven’t exactly given this game a favorable review, it is a game I will come back to. All it takes is a lot of patience and a lot of time.Lasting Appeal Pretty strong for one of it’s genre, considering that you can customize just about everything. It will take you awhile to get bored of it.Conclusion Overall, I’d still buy it if I got a chance to do it all over again. Last I remember, I think they want about $40 for it on Shrapnelgames.com, but I’d say the value tops out around $30. If you’re expecting Starcraft or something of the like, shy away, but if you want something along the lines of Risk on a galactic scale, pick this bad boy up. Happy gaming, kiddies. ~ Skandranon |
