Galactic Civilizations Deluxe

by 2K Games

Product Features

• Galactic Civilizations and Altarian Prophecy Expansion Pack
• Lead humanity in a struggle to dominate the galaxy in Galactic Civilizations
• Altarian Prophecy with 2 new alien civilizations: The Korx and The Drath
• Deep, immersive storyline; multi-threaded AI; multiple paths to victory
• Full campaign along with 10 built-in scenarios and 10 custom maps

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0006SL93S
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: December 6, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,785 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Galactic Civilizations Deluxe Edition brings together the original award-winning, turn-based strategy 'Game of the Year'; Galactic Civilizations and the Altarian Prophecy Expansion Pack into one gameplay-packed box.

Galactic Civilizations
Lead humanity in a struggle to dominate the galaxy in Galactic Civilizations, a 4x strategy game where you use whatever means necessary: technological advancements, economic might, cultural expansion, and military prowess to survive the hostile intergalactic war.

Altarian Prophecy
The Korx and the Drath hold the secret to Altaria’s past, but they also know of the prophecy that foretells of the destruction of the galaxy... Altarian Prophecy expands the universe and strategic scope with a host of new features and content, along with new editors that allow you to add to the ever-expanding universe.

Features:

• Deep, immersive storyline.
• Multi-threaded AI that is as sophisticated and challenging as real-life politics.
• Multiple paths to victory--military strength, economic might, or political power.
• Ships gain experience as they win battles.
• Dominate with economic power through trade and wealth.
• Gameplay events ensure that each game is a different experience.
• In the Metaverse, games can be saved, allowing the game AI to look at strategies used by the top players to make the game smarter.
• New to Altarian Prophecy: two new alien civilizations: The Korx and the Drath.
• A full campaign along with 10 built-in scenarios and 10 custom maps.
• Four new unique ships based on the civilization's ethical alignment (good/evil).
• Map, Scenario, and Campaign editors allow you to design your own galaxies.
• New technologies that enhanced logistics and other civilization abilities.
• Metaverse dimensions--online campaign support!

Product Description

Galactic Civilizations Deluxe Edition puts you in charge a human empire that expands to the other solar systems. You'll lead the human race as it fights for dominance in a harsh and dangerous galaxy -- use any means necessary to secure humanity's place in the stars. Choose military might, diplomacy, economics, cultural expansion or technology to win over other peoples - then use the new features in the expansion pack to try out new features & content, for all-new challenge. Features the original Galactic Civilizations and the Altarian Prophecy Expansion Pack.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than Civilization 3, October 16, 2005

By 

Noumenon (rural USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Galactic Civilizations Deluxe (CD-ROM)

A non-game factor that almost cost this game all its stars: I nearly had to return it because the CD verification codes wouldn't work. This is common, apparently, but has never been fixed. The company's FAQ is not helpful and just says, "we won't replace nonworking codes, remember that 1, I, and l all look similar." I was pretty mad after typing in all the permutations of 1, I, and l and none of them working.

But fortunately (and this is what should be in the FAQ), my friend found that all I had to do was change two letters in one of the verification codes. Both were in the form "42-03-AP1-5423." I just had to change one AP1 (for Altarian Prophecy expansion) into GC1 (for Galactic Civilizations). The dumbest thing about all this is once you go through this huge hassle based on them treating their customers like potential priates, the game does not require the CD to play. So you can still give it away to your friends and it doesn't prevent piracy at all.

Once I got past this, however, I found an amazing game, much better executed than Civilization 3, both in interface and in gameplay.

Interface:
They've done a ton to eliminate the end-of-game micromanaging. You can set governors to handle all the routine building in the order you want, and it needn't even pop up a window but just scrolls by in a box in the lower right corner of your screen. Military units can be set to produce and launch straight toward a rally point, saving you tons of unit manipulation in the late game. Units can easily be moved in stacks. All stuff Civilization should have done a long time ago.

Victory conditions:
One reviewer complains that he was never attacked during a game. That makes some of the fun stuff possible! You can win by being so diplomatically deft as to form peaceful alliances with every other civilization, or by peacefully spreading your culture across the galaxy. This is much more fun than in Civilization, whose culture and United Nations victories are tacked on and anticlimactic. With this game you can shape your whole strategy toward this method of victory, from cultural exchange centers in your starbases to researching technologies like Cultural Conquest and The Better Way. While genocide is still an option it is awfully fun to find yourself maintaining a military only in order to protect your trade routes. On the higher levels staying out of war becomes a skill and not a drawback.

Features:
Trade is a central concept, much better executed than Civ's caravans. You don't just establish trade routes, you have to protect them too, and you can prey on your enemies' freighters. The tech tree is interwoven and can be researched in many different paths depending on your strategy, unlike Civ's strict progression through all the techs in each historical era. There's a nice little flavor of politics -- you have to win elections to keep your party in control of the Senate (harder when your form of government is a Star Federation) and there's a United Planets organization where your influence gives your vote more weight on issues like "should we put a tax on civilizations with too many starbases?" It all makes the game more well rounded, none of it is annoying.

Gameplay:
I've played this game for fifty to a hundred hours since I bought it last month, and I still haven't researched every tech or tried out every strategy. Despite being a Deity-level Civ 2 player I'm still finding Painful a tough challenge and haven't moved up to Crippling or Masochistic. The artificial intelligence is punishing early in the game, and isn't easy to placate or buy off. In the late game it's not as good, especially post-Dreadnoughts, tending to send its forces into battle piecemeal and without any transports to occupy the planets it clears. But it's not stupidly easy to game like the ones in Master of Magic. The different races really do have different personalities. My friends and I each found a different race as our recurring nemesis.

What's been really fun for me as a Civ player is discounting one after another feature as not really significant, such as trade, starbases, influence, and morale, only to find out that learning to manage these things can be the key to winning certain games. Don't miss out on this game just because Gal Civ 2 is coming out in early 2006. Buy it and give them some time to get the bugs out of the new one.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fan of Turn-Based Games and I love it!, September 23, 2005

By 

Glenn M. Dickson "Deth Monkey" (Lake Tapps, Washington) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Galactic Civilizations Deluxe (CD-ROM)

If you are a fan of games like Master of Orion and Civilization, I think you'll love this game. The A.I. is very tough and the game sneaks in twists that keep you on your toes. The graphics are just OK, but they do the job. This game will keep you up late...you'll be saying...just one more turn!

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strategy Game Star Trek, August 30, 2005

By 

D. Showalter "SciFi fan" (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Galactic Civilizations Deluxe (CD-ROM)

Here is a simple galactic conquest stategy game that allows you to play in spurts if you can tear yourself away from it. It's just complex enough to allow you to become immursed in it. The AI is intelligent enough to provide a challenge.