Free this Week on the Epic Games Store: Galactic Civilizations 3
By: Mr Constantine
As it did last year, the Epic Games Store is still going to be giving away free games each week in 2022. That's right, Epic will be giving away free games with no strings attached, and the game that is free this week on the Epic Games Store is Galactic Civilizations 3. The game is going to be free for a limited time on the platform, from the 13th of January to the 20th. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game, here is a quick overview.
Galactic Civilizations 3 is a 4X turn-based strategy video game developed by stardock only for Microsoft Windows. Stardock Corporation is a software development company known for computer programs and strategy games such as Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion, Elemental: Fallen Enchantress, Ashes of the Singularity, and the Galactic Civilization series. Galactic Civilizations 3 is a sequel to 2006's Galactic Civilizations 2: Dread Lords. The full version of the game was released back in May of 2015 and it's the first game in the series to feature multiplayer and hex-based game tiles. When the game was released, it was sold for $40 and the price has remained that way for a very long time, until today.
Next, let's dive into the storyline of the game! However, I would like to mention that there will be some minor spoilers for the previous Galactic Civilizations games ahead, but if you are not planning on playing any of those games and just want to play Galactic Civilizations 3, then this won't be much of a big deal for you. Now the story takes place in the year of 2242 where the Terran First Fleet returns from the pocket universe with advanced technology and a mission to liberate Earth. 2242 is ten years after the war against the Dread Lords, where the Drengin Empire and their Yor allies reign supreme. Most of the races which allied against the Dread Lords have been exterminated or subjugated. And Earth is protected, but isolated due to the Precursor shield.
The Terran First Fleet has a goal of liberating Earth and the three missions of the campaign detail the fleet's efforts to liberate Arcea, deal with the Thalan, and finally dismantle the Drengin presence in the Sol system before bringing down the Precursor shield. The lifting of the shield allows the massively rebuilt Terran Alliance fleet to dive into the galaxy, thus beginning the "Terran Crusade" the Thalan had previously warned about. Now if you are confused about the game's storyline, we are going to be talking about the gameplay next which will hopefully clear things up.
The first thing you will need to do once you play the game, is that you will need to choose or create your race. You can either choose one of the eight present races or create your own race by clicking the "create custom race" button on the main screen of the game. Once you've chosen a race or created your own, you will need to customize your civilization where you can choose from a gallery of images for your race, background, and leader's portrait. Then you can customize your race's name, the callsign for your ships, your homeworld's name, and a simple description of the race, as well as choose your race's logo and beginning star system. It seems like this game features a ton of customization options and it's really in-depth as there are a lot of things you will need to do before getting into actual 4x turn based gameplay.
Anyways, After you have chosen your race, you will then have to choose your Galaxy Type, Star System, Victory Conditions, Game Settings and Opponents. Once you have done all of that, then it's finally time to get into the 4x turn based gameplay! Now if you don't know what a 4x turn based strategy video game is, 4X is the abbreviation of Explore, Expand, Exploit and Exterminate. It is a subgenre of strategy-based computer and board games, and include both turn-based and real-time strategy titles. The gameplay of Galactic Civilizations 3 involves you building an empire in space.
Now the question that most of you guys probably want answers to is…should you play the game once you get it? Well, the answer is…YES. According to the reviews that the game received by both critics and players, Galactic Civilizations 3 is said to be a unique space conquest game that sits alongside another 4x turn based game called Master of Orion, rather than simply sitting in its shadow. The game is not just a game of rules and strategy, but also of quirky charm. The witty descriptions to soften the harshness of the technologies are an attempt to give the aliens you encounter personalities rather than just a rendered face on some stats. It is also said that the core gameplay or Galactic Civilizations 3 is extremely well-made. Playing against the AI has the same feeling of being up against real opponents rather than computers that happen to have a face on top. There are so many 4X turn based strategy games, particularly space ones, that just feel empty, but in Galactic Civilizations, the game makes you feel connected to the NPC's.
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