Where StarDrive 1 is a giant, rambling mess of a 4X game, StarDrive 2 is divided into discrete segments of varying quality and cohesion. At its heart it’s still about ship design and combat, and this time the execution is good enough that playing Space Admiral and ship designer ends up being enjoyable. But it's in service of a strategy game that overwhelmingly focuses on the "exterminate" portion of the 4X formula to the exclusion of all else, which ultimately makes StarDrive 2 feel a bit two dimensional.
StarDrive 2 lifts a page from Total War's book by having tactical space and ground battles that occur separately from the turn-based 4X layer, on which you do the usual mix of exploration, colonization, planetary development, and diplomatic negotiation. But these pieces don't all fit together equally well, and tend to get in one another’s way.
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StarDrive 2 lifts a page from Total War's book by having tactical space and ground battles that occur separately from the turn-based 4X layer, on which you do the usual mix of exploration, colonization, planetary development, and diplomatic negotiation. But these pieces don't all fit together equally well, and tend to get in one another’s way.
Continue reading…
Continue reading...