Endless Space is the recently released 4X title developed by
Amplitude Studios. Their first game since the company was founded in April
2011. They set themselves the challenge of developing the best strategy games,
and Endless Space is an excellent start.
The format is very traditional. Pick one of eight races to conquer
the galaxy through military power, scientific discovery, diplomacy or economic
dominance. Each race has a unique design for its ships, but the real
differences come from the traits. The Amobea can see the entire galaxy map and
are master diplomats. The Sophons are great scientists and the Cravers build
large navies, stripping the worlds they own for bonus resources. If none of the
default choices take your fancy, there’s an excellent customisation option
allowing you to tailor a faction to your liking.
What really sets the game apart from its peers is the focus
on simplicity. The genre is defined by complex titles, allowing players to
micromanage empires down to the minute details. But here, everything is kept at
a high level. There are only four resources in the game: food, industry, dust
(money) and science. The UI provides clear information on the production of
your systems, allowing you to easily shape worlds to needs of your empire. The
happiness of your citizens acts as a fifth resource. High taxes and barely
inhabitable worlds will lead to strikes and shrinking populations. So remember
to research technologies like Infinite Supermarkets to keep your peons happy
and industrious.
Fleet battles also take a minimalistic approach. For the
most part, the player sits back and watches as the ships close, unleashing
their broadsides. Clashes take part in three phases. Each phase allows you to
pick from a number of tactic cards to determine your strategy. Do you unleash a
full broadside, repair damage or flee from the fight? Every tactic can counter
another. Predicting your opponent’s moves correctly gives a powerful bonus.
This can be enough to overcome a slightly more powerful fleet.
The weapon systems and ship classes you have researched have
the biggest impact. Ballistics, lasers and missiles all have different
mechanics and each is countered by a different defence. Clashes can often be as
one sided as rock- paper- scissors if you focus too heavily in a single weapons
technology. This leads to some great tactical situations, battles can swing
back and forth based on your choices.
Heroes can also be the difference between victory and
defeat. Each has two specialities which can be developed to improve a systems’
production, or bring clever tactics and bonuses to battle as an admiral of a fleet.
You’re limited to three to begin with, but research allows for more as long as
you can pay the bills.
The camera does a great job of following the action, as
colourful laser exchanges and ship explosions contrast against the darkness of
space. It does sometimes focus on the wrong areas, but a free camera mode is
provided. Simply hit the button to enable the feature, and then manoeuvre using
the arrow keys to follow the fighting.
Simplicity is also the game’s one weakness. The tech-tree
has four branches, each representing different fields: science, warfare, colonisation
and diplomacy/economics. But since it’s
all unlocked by science, it dominates the game. The other resources should help
contribute to particular research fields, counter-balancing the problem that if
you ignore science, you fall behind in production and have inferior ships when
war breaks out.
And war is inevitable. Holding out for economic or
scientific victory can only be done with military supremacy. So why not take
the rest of the galaxy if you have that advantage? Diplomacy and co-operation between
human players is the only counter, working together to overhaul another’s lead.
But of course, finding several people with the spare time
for a game isn’t always a possibility. The AI is capable of putting up a good
fight on norm al difficulty. The diplomacy of the AI isn’t particularly
nuanced. But they are smart enough to make deals to their benefit, and try to
appease warmongers. They do have an odd liking to lots of small strike fleets,
which would give them a lot of tactical flexibility. But instead they like to
throw all their might against your navies in waves, allowing you to swat away
their advances like pesky flies. You'll get tired of pressing the auto-resolve
button very quickly.
Overall Endless Space is an incredibly accessible game for the
genre. Its simplicity is a real strength and its sole flaw. The aesthetic
design is fantastic; all the races look distinct in battle. The use of colour
in the UI is well done, giving consistency to the multitude of icons. And the
music perfectly captures the optimism of space exploration. It leaves me
looking forward to Amplitude Studious’ next title.
