Stellaris
“I hopeupcomingpatchesandexpansionscanfillin thegaps,”is whatonecolleaguesaidatlaunch.There’sstill
roomtoimproveforParadox’ssci-figame,buttheupdateshavebeencomingfast.TheUtopiaexpansionmade
majorchangestothegame’sinternalpoliticssystem,andvariousotherchangescouldplausiblyseeyouput
anotherhundredhoursintothegame.Plus,it letsyoubuildDysonspheresarounda sun,letting you drain all the
energy from it and leave any nearby planets freezing, which is amazing in a cruel way.Endless Legend
A sleeperhitofrecentyears,Endless
Legendis a 4Xfantasyfollow-upto
Amplitude’sEndlessSpace– a pretty
goodgame,butapparentlynotthe
fullmeasureofthestudio’spotential.
Shadowedatthetimeofitsreleaseby
thehigher-profilelaunchofCivilization:
BeyondEarth,Legendis easilythebest
gamein thegenresinceCiv4. It’sdeep
anddiverse,withfascinatingasymmetrical
factions,sub-races,herounits,queststo
discover, and more. It looks gorgeous, too.
Neptune’s Pride
Asmucha socialexperimentasa strategy
game,Neptune’sPridepitsfriendsagainst
oneanotherin a battleforcontrolofa
galaxy.Therulesaresimple:upgradeyour
starsandgetthemtobuildships,then
deploythemtopoachmorestars.Thewar
unfoldsslowlyin realtimeoverthecourse
ofa weekorso,andmayslightlyruin
yourlifeduringthatperiod.Thesimple
butelegantrulesetleaveslotsofroomto
makeandbreakalliances,andbeforeyou
knowit yourfriend’sgettingupat3amto
launchsneakattackswhileyousleep.A
simplegame that orchestrates amazing
drama.C&C: Red
Alert 2
I stilllovethefirsttwoRedAlerts,and
mostofWestwood’sC&Centriesare
fantastic– butthisonehasthebest
campaigns,mostinterestingunits,
greatmapsandofcourse,superbFMV
sequences.Thedifferentfactionsareso
distinct,andhavemorepersonalitythan
theydidin theoriginalgame– hence
SovietsquidsandAllieddolphins.They
foundtherighttonalbalancebetween
self-awarenessandsincerityin the
cutscenes,aswell– they’replayedfor
laughs, but still entertain and engage.