{"id":80462,"date":"2015-04-09T17:43:49","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T16:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8ce250469d.nxcli.io\/?p=80462"},"modified":"2020-08-23T00:25:02","modified_gmt":"2020-08-22T23:25:02","slug":"stardrive-2-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment-focus.com\/2015\/04\/09\/stardrive-2-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"StarDrive 2 preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two years ago Zero Sum Games released a real time 4X space-strategy game called StarDrive. The sequel is simply called StarDrive 2 and while it brings more of the same the developer has been working hard to evolve the game. Although we\u2019re new to the series we were keen to play after hearing it\u2019s based on the 1996 classic Master of Orion II.<\/p>\n

For those who don\u2019t know the 4X genre is a type of strategy game based around empire building. 4X games feature four main concepts which are eXplore, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate. In StarDrive 2 the aim is to dominate the galaxy.<\/p>\n

Real time 4X games can be quite overwhelming so this time around the game features a new turn-based mechanic. Your opponents make their decisions at the same time as you do but the game is essentially on auto-pause. This gives you time to make your decisions and choose when to advance the turns.<\/p>\n

\"SD1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

StarDrive 2 is an incredibly ambitious game with seemingly endless things to do. The game can be tailored in many ways but for this preview we went with the default setup. From the selection of races on offer we started off with Humans and began our quest to conquer the galaxy on Earth.<\/p>\n

Learning the game is tough and takes a lot of time. Thankfully the developers have really tried hard to make it as easy as possible. There\u2019s a tutorial that takes you through your first steps and it explains things in a nice clear and concise manner. Another great feature to help you out is the use of tooltips on everything. Should you forget what something does simply mousing over it will give you the details you need.<\/p>\n

Even with the help on offer conquering the galaxy is a daunting task. Our first game quickly went terribly wrong as we decided to split our starting fleet and send them off in different directions. Instead of sensibly going to the nearest planets we went off into unexplored territory.<\/p>\n