By: Michel Carrier-Auger
MSRP: $30 Platforms: PC, Mac Games genre: Strategy
Endless Space is a 4X game (Explore Expand Exploit and Exterminate) by Amplitude Studios for PC and Mac. The game is turn-based and has a sci-fi setting. It allows players to build fleets, colonize star systems and terraform planets. The game features many different factions that have different play styles. For example, the peaceful Automatons are more suited to an isolated playstyle, while the Hissho are very much geared to a combat-based empire and a conquest victory. However, like many 4X games, there are many ways to win. You can win a scientific victory, a militaristic victory, an economic victory or a diplomatic victory.
The mechanic used to advance in-game is called FIDS, which stands for Food, Industry, Dust and Science. Food helps your population grow, industry contributes to the various construction projects you can assign to your star systems and dust is the currency that you use to pay various fees in-game, pay for upkeep on your fleets and star systems and trade with other players. Science is produced by all of your star systems to contribute to the technology you are currently researching. A star system seen through the star system manager system. (screenshot took in disharmony expansion)
The combat system in Endless Space is basic, yet satisfying. The ships you build in your star systems can be made into fleets. Once your fleet occupies the same star system as another enemy fleet, you enter combat. The battle is divided into three major parts: long range, medium range and melee range. The combat screen in-game. You can see your fleets status on the left and many other things about your fleet. (screenshot took in disharmony expansion)
Missile weapons excel at long range while laser weapons excel at medium range and kinetic weapons excel in melee range. In each round of combat, you can also play a “card,” which is essentially a glorified version of the classic game Rock-Paper-Scissors in which one thing always counters another thing with a couple of exceptions. During combat, offensive maneuvers counter ECMs (electronic counter measures) and offensive maneuvers counter defensive maneuvers. The soundtrack is by Fly By No. The cosmic music and “spacey” sounds fit the game’s environment very well. You can also buy the digital soundtrack online on Fly Ny No’s website on a name-your-price basis.
I give the game 7.5 arbitrary points out of ten.
The recent Disharmony expansion adds two new factions to playersand improves the combat system with the addition of fighters and bombers that you can build hangars for on your ships. The expansion also adds other small things, but for some people the ten-dollar price tag will not be worth it.
I give the expansion 6 arbitrary points of out ten.
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