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The expansion pack to 2006’s best “space-based strategy game” (the genre is also sometimes called 4X or galactic-sim) has arrived. Once again, players are called upon to balance military might, technological wizardry, manufacturing know-how, diplomatic savvy, and cultural exportation to survive in a hostile galaxy.
Far from the bright spot in the universe, during my time on Earth, I’ve found that expansion packs usually come in three flavors: bug fixes with a few new levels, “cutting-room floor" material, and love packages meant for fans of the original game. Which one is Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar?
Well, going by Stardock president Brad Wardell’s recent interview in Games for Windows... this expansion pack is meant as a thank you card to the fans (who apparently suggested some of the very changes implemented in DA). The question for me isn’t whether this title is good, but rather "can new players jump into this universe?"
Dark Avatar’s main single-player mode is the best example of the 4X galactic-sim genre you’ll find on the market today.
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The main campaign is set mere moments after the universe, having just defeated the evil Dread lords, finished its round of celebratory drinks. But, like any good Saturday morning cartoon there’s always another evil villain lurking in the shadows waiting for their turn in the spotlight: the Drengin seize the moment and begin a campaign of slaughter so brutal that it sets off a civil war within their ranks.
In practice the story does a remarkable job setting up what is a very free-form campaign. If you’ve ever thought that Grand Theft Auto was an “open world” you’ve been deluding yourself. Dark Avatar’s main single-player mode is the best example of the 4X galactic-sim genre you’ll find on the market today. It may even be the best ever, but I’ll leave that for die-hard fanboys to argue.
Once the main campaign is finished in Dark Avatar there remains a robust sandbox mode to tinker with to your heart’s content. Freed from having to save the universe (again), the new gameplay mechanics have an opportunity to shine (depending on how you set the game world up).
Not having spent much time with the core game, I wasn’t blown away by the addition of asteroid fields (randomly placed). Though it is nice to have resources at your fingertips, that don’t require setting up camp on a planet. Speaking of planets, the planetary environments were a real kick to play around with. Basically, depending on your tech level and species, certain planets are uninhabitable until they've been terraformed. Having to pass up landing a colony on a planet because you lack the tech or weren’t born with the right lungs is a bummer, but it adds a big wrinkle to how games play out.
The “mega-events,” which range from intergalactic plagues to civilizations that splinter to form new sub-civlizations, were… interesting. Still, for every group of robots that comes into town and ends up kicking your opponent’s butt there’s a planet-killing asteroid that hits your key facilities right before you’re about to put an end to your foes. Like everything else in this expansion pack you can tweak the settings of any of these new features, or just turn them off.
Personally, I spent the most time playing with the ship designer (tons of parts to play with) and the AI settings. Given enough energy and time it’s more than possible to setup your favorite sci-fi universe and then play it out one turn at a time. Between this and the sandbox options there are hundreds of hours of possible playtime Dark Avatar making it the biggest expansion pack I’ve ever reviewed.
Having not played much of the game this pack expands, I feel rather uncomfortable commenting on the graphics found in Dark Avatar... but I also have no complaints. Information is presented clearly and the overall design cues makes you feel like everything in this universe “fits” correctly. Performance wasn’t an issue on either my laptop or desktop, which is increasingly rare these days.
Earlier I spoke of the three common types of expansion packs Well, now I have to add a fourth category: the expansion pack that makes noticeable changes to the gameplay formula, while still managing to add a nice chunk of new content. Considering that one can have both Galactic Civilizations II and its expansion pack, Dark Avatar, for less than the cost of a brand new game it’s impossible for me not to recommend this to anyone who fancies themselves an Emperor Palpatine in the making.
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