I love a good 4X game. I love Civ, probably the most. It is the 4X for children; when compared to other, more complex games. Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition is best summed up in some simple sentences. Imagine Civ, in space, but instead of being able to settle wherever you would like (so long as there is land under your feet) - you can settle on rocks orbiting planets.
It isn't as "4D chess" as you might think, though, as the galaxy and universe depicted here is rather flat. This means you can't do elaborate 3d space strategic moves, like hiding your about to invade army behind the dark side of a neighbouring planet where your opponent doesn't have vision, reconissiance, or other things.
This ain't no homeworld (which; ironically, I'm looking forward to playing - but sadly don't have in my Steam Library... yet - maybe I have it on GoG?). In any case, Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition does all the Civ things, but it wraps it in space, in 2d; (with a 3d representation); slaps on a basic campaign mode with three different perspectives, and a ship builder.
The ship builder is pretty deep, and based on your research, you can create custom trading, battle, recon, or other types of space-faring vehicles to your hearts content.
The unfortunate thing about this particular 4X game is that Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition does not do a great job of having an interface that is as slick or as polished as any Civ game I've ever played.
As a result Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition is quite difficult to play for an extended period of time, with annoying nested menus preventing you from getting to planets, to research, to your shipyard, to your units, to sanity in any easy way.
The UI and UX is a bit dated in that regard. If you want to struggle with it, there's a solid game blow the surface, but boy is it a struggle.
Nothing quite nails the 4X itch for me in the same way that any Civ game does. Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition doesn't make me want to scratch anything, except perhaps the imaginary disc it were supplied on. However, for a game that was released in 2008, it has aged very, very well.
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