Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition

K. Fields
2023-02-28T14:58:18-05:00
Video Games

Years ago, OS/2 was my operating system of choice. Although it also ran DOS and Windows programs, I tried to use as many native applications as possible. There weren't a lot of native OS/2 games, unfortunately, but I bought most of the them. My collection is listed on the Video Game Library page. Sim City and Links were two big name games ported to OS/2. The most noted and highly regarded original game for OS/2 had to be Stardock's Galactic Civilizations. It was a 4X game much like Sid Meier's Civilization set in outer space. I owned the original Galactic Civilizations from 1994, Galactic Civilizations 2 from 1996 and Galactic Civilizations Gold from 1998. I also owned Star Emperor, a 1995 release that stripped Gal Civ down to a military combat game. They were definitely my favorite OS/2 games.

Stardock eventually moved on from OS/2 to write Windows software. The Gal Civ series for Windows currently includes Galactic Civilizations (2003), the Altarian Prophecy expansion (2004), Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords (2006), the Dark Avatar expansion (2007), the Twilight of the Arnor expansion (2008), Galactic Civilizations III (2015), and Galactic Civilizations IV (2022). This month, I was reminiscing about Galactic Civilizations and decided it was time to try one of the Windows versions. The 2003 release was a little too close to the old OS/2 versions I remember. I decided to jump in with its sequel, which had numerous improvements and was very highly regarded. I have Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition, which includes the base game and both expansions.

I just finished my first game of Gal Civ II. I played the Terran Alliance, leading humanity against five other civilizations: the Drengin Empire, the Altarian Republic, the Arcean Empire, the Torian Confederation, and the Yor Collective. Despite numerous tutorials, it took a while to get familiar with the game. After researching some technology, colonizing a few worlds, constructing some starbases, and building various ships, I felt like I was reasonably proficient. Humans are excellent diplomats so I focused on peaceful relations and trade with other civilizations. My economy was good so I built up enough military tech and assets to provide an adequate defense. The Yor were a bit of a concern but the belligerent Drengin on my border were my primary worry. Eventually, I had trade routes with all civs except the Altarians (who were too far away for my level of tech). I began making alliances, starting with the distant Altarians. For a while, I thought an influence victory was my most likely path. Time was running out, however, when the Drengin had collected a large number of ascension crystals and were well on their way to an ascension victory. I made alliances with all but the Drengin and had good leverage over them. If necessary, I was prepared to seize the ascension crystal resource to deny them victory. That was unnecessary, however, as I convinced the Drengin to ally with me. The diplomatic victory was secured!

Where It All Began—Galactic Civilizations for OS/2