So, the human race finally invents the hyperdrive and travels out into the stars. A few planets are colonized. Contact is made with other races, all of whom seem content to let me get on with things at my own pace.

(I turned them down to beginner difficulty.)

All the habitable worlds in the (small) galaxy are now taken. There’s nowhere else to go. I’ve researched weapons and built some smal fighters that I designed myself. I couldn’t make them symmetrical, unfortunately, so they don’t look sleek or slick, but they’ve got some sort of charm.

Anyway, I’ve got to the stage now where I don’t really know what to do. I’m trying to build up my influence at the moment, but I’m tiching to try out my fighters, too. So I’m researching Planetary Invasion so I can take over some planets. Trouble is, I’ve been playing as a good civilisation, so going to war unprovoked isn’t really in character.

They key word in that last sentence? Civilisation. Or, rather, Civilization, because that what play GalCiv2 makes me want to play. It’s not that GalCiv2 is bad – far from it – but Civilization has a familiarity that GalCiv2 doesn’t. (Yes, I played GalCiv, but this sequel is very different and being all in space, doesn’t have the intuitiveness of Civ.) But Civ4 would need installing and GalCiv2 is already installed and I’m lazy. And after a few games I’m sure I’ll get used to it.

To be honest, putting the difficulty level on braindead might not be the best idea, because it leaves everything up to me. If I had a threat to fight that might focus me.