Game: Galactic Civilizations 2 (PC)

Ever since I picked up a copy of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, way back in 1999, I have been addicted to Space Strategy games. And though Alpha Centauri (SMAC) had a definite Scifi element, it really wasn't even about space strategy; not as much as games that have followed, anyway. When Alpha Centauri got tiresome, I moved on to Masters of Orion, like most gamer nerds. It was adequate, but lacked depth, compared to the original kingpin. Finally, after the disaster that was Masters Of Orion III, I thought the genre of space strategy was dead in the water. Fortunately, Stardock released Galactic Civilizations back in March of 2003, giving new life to a genre that was in severe need of a defibrillator. It was astonishing, and really did space strategy the way it was supposed to be done.

Finally, we arrive at the present, and Galactic Civilizations 2 is out. Though this was released back in February (and played through and put away), I recently downloaded the patch off the Stardock website and started playing again. I was pleasantly surprised to find the game has become more challenging, with several surprise additions to the story. The developers and fans have been busy cranking out a few mods on the website. It's definitely worth checking out.

Sifted: 9/10

I have to lower the score because of a few minor technical glitches. For a game that's so heavy on user interface interaction, there is a little to be desired in usability issues. All the pointing and clicking grows a little wearisome after a while. It would be great to be able to select multiple units like you can in most RTS games these days.