You take the helm of the human civilization in the year 2178. New technology, known as hyperdrive, has allowed civilizations to travel great distance in a short amount of time. This means that countless planets are now open to colonization and exploration. However, humans are not alone in the galaxy, several space faring civilizations are doing the same thing. It is up to you to decide how humanity will interact with these civilizations.

Galactic Civilizations, originally developed for OS/2 in 1993, became one of the best selling consumer products on the OS/2 platform. The new version will feature a combination of exploration, technology research, resource management, diplomacy, and military conquest. Players will compete against up to five other computer-controlled races for control of the territory. Victory means survival and success; this can be achieved in one of several ways:

• Conquest
• Allied Victory
• Technology Victory
• Economic / Cultural Victory
• Diplomatic Victory

Game Features:

• Deep immersive storyline
• Multi-threaded AI that is sophisticated and challenging
• In the Metaverse, games can be saved onto Stardock.net and the player can allow the game AI to look at strategies used by the top players to make the game smarter
• Multiple paths to victory - Achieve victory using military strength, economic might, or political power
• Ships gain experience as they win battles
• Dominate other players with economic power through trade and wealth
• Gameplay events are designed to ensure that each game is a different experience

Galactic Civilizations plays a number of classic videogame-sounding orchestral scores, worthy of any Star Trek movie. This stylized production is enhanced with mood-setting motifs that accent scenarios like the: horrors of war, calm of the open galaxy, political debate, and, my favourite, the gothic pipe organ theme accompanying the visitation from the flesh-eating empire of the Drengin. The music is easy to handle and does not wear too heavily on your sanity after countless hours of exposure.

Most weapon classes in the game have unique sounds assigned to their power level. The sounds are respectable, but nothing to unique or exciting in this area. The Most notable disappointment in the sound department stands with explosions, which are weak and lacks the oomph desired for such an impacting event.

I enjoyed playing this game and found the interface smooth and intuitive. Without reading the instructions, I found myself building an empire and conquering galaxy's in no time. Further inspection, showed that the even the preview version of the game comes with a manual that covers all pertinent information, while still remaining slim and brief.

Managing your empire becomes a breeze with the dictatorial management tools provided in the game. Easy track progress charts, and management trade routes all within the same interface. I especially found the multiple Governor tools to be insurmountably valuable, as you can assign up to five different Social Development Build Order lists and call upon them at anytime. Likewise, the Global Military Swap, within the Governor tool, allows changing military production on all planets simultaneously. That saves a lot of clicking and menu swapping.

Every time a new strategy game comes out, most people say: "I've seen this before." Agreeing to admit that most strategy games haven't changed since chess, I'd have to say that Galactic Civilizations has attempted to make a few meaningful changes that will advance the gaming platform, like it's Multi-threaded AI system that plays like a real-time game and a turn-based game all at once.