Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar

There are some that might think Dark Avatar is merely an expansion pack for Stardock’s top real-time strategy title, Galactic Civilizations II.

That would be, in part, correct. But the Dark Avatar expansion offers so much more that if not firmly rooted to the GC franchise, it might be a worthy stand-alone title. Those that have GC II The Dread Lords will find that the campaign thread picks up right after that game.

The story, for the uninitiated, is a bit robust. The Dread Lords were defeated by the race known as the Drengin. Said Drengin turned that victory into a sweep of the galaxy, in order to conquer it all (which is, more or less, the path the Dread Lords were on). But defeat, it seems, follows closely in the wake of the Drengin plans. A faction within the race, the Korath, have decided to eliminate all non-Drengin, thus a civil war has erupted.

Ok, so much for the campaign. The game also features several new features that will tantalize gamers as well as a second new race (the Korath being one of them). There is a personality tab, which will adjust the opposing AI, and the customization is much deeper in terms of races and ships.

Of course, with the new additions, there are new skills that come when players’ races have reached optimum approval rating. You will need to micro-manage your society, which is a stock feature of the top-tier RTS titles. But should you manage to successfully manage your civilization, you will gain extra rewards, which may include first-strike capabilities – that can be a huge advantage in an RTS.

There are also new espionage units. Place an agent on an opposing civilizations industrial tile and you will wind up short-circuiting their upgrades in that area. If sabotage or conquest is not your cup of tea, there are new treaty options.

The interface has a bit of an upgrade as well. Maps will have more information on them.

Graphically the game still looks very good. Remember, this is a turn-based game, so expect the chess-like quality to roll over into the way the action plays out. The sound is serviceable and provides a good support for the visuals.

Playing the game can be, depending on your difficulty customization and ambitions, either a very sedate experience or downright intense. You can play out the sandbox mode the way you wish, either just building up to super-power status without the need to conquer, or be the mad dictator on a personal quest to have the galaxy bow before him or her.

Galactic Civilizations II is a terrific series that plays well and has broad appeal for RTS fans. With the coming release of Dark Avatar, the series just got a lot better.