Factions were generic future-versions of the French, the Americans, and et cetera.
But its biggest failing was in not giving players something to hook onto. Civilization: Beyond Earth was a solid strategy game-it was based off Civ V, after all. Those exist (the Sophons and United Empire, respectively) but far more interesting are races like the Cravers, an insect-like horde that devours everything in its path, and the peace-loving Unfallen who colonize new worlds by extending tendrils of light from system to system. Substantial differences too, not just generic bonuses to science or industry or whatnot. The United Empire has an incredible USSR propaganda aesthetic for instance, while the new Lumeris faction is essentially the space mafia.ĭifferences in aesthetic are also reinforced by differences in how each faction plays this time. Endless Space 2Įach is equally unique, though-differences driven home by the stylized intro and outro videos that accompany each campaign. The best remains the Horatio faction, a race of clones named Horatio created to bring beauty to the galaxy-beauty, of course, meaning more Horatios.
Groundbreaking? Not necessarily, and most are ported over from the original Endless Space, but they’re all memorable in their own archetypal way. Every faction has a “storyline” of sorts to guide players through the game, and you’ll also randomly trigger other events by, for instance, exploring certain star systems.įactions are excellent. That's surprising for a turn-based strategy game, but Amplitude’s factions and quest system continue to be its best assets. Like Endless Legend before it, the best part of Endless Space 2 is its writing. Master of Orion II knew it, Stellaris knew it, and Endless Space 2 knows it. Endless Space 2īut presentation counts for a lot, especially in these space-faring games where developers are trying to highlight the wonders of exploration and capture that Star Trek feeling of probing (and plundering) the final frontier. Okay, so artistry can sometimes go too far.
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There were many moments in Endless Space 2 where I sat staring at some random menu, trying to figure out how to do the thing I wanted to do and not quite understanding which button would allow me to do it. Almost too slick, with Amplitude apparently concerned more with artistry than creating an intuitive user interface at times. It’s not a flawless game, nor does it feel as fresh as Amplitude’s fantasy spin-off Endless Legend. This is the part where I say, “ Endless Space 2 has quite a few issues at release” though-and it does. Such is the case with Endless Space 2, the latest and prettiest 4X strategy game from Amplitude. Don’t judge a book by its cover, they, say but you know what? Having a beautiful, state-of-the-art cover sure can help.