The developers recently showcased the first gameplay video of the game as part of the Firaxis Games Megapanel at PAX South. According to 2K Beyond Earth and Starships is expected to feature an integration between the two titles which “will enhance and expand the depth of both game experiences.”
Starships is based on a story line that builds up on connecting with other galaxies to engage in duels, diplomacy or trade. The gameplay showcased during the event shows how you will be able to customise your starships with armour, capabilities and wonders.
“When designing Starships, I was intrigued by the idea of exploring the next chapter in the story of Civilization: Beyond Earth. What happens after we colonize our new home and eventually build starships to take to the stars? What has become of our long-lost brothers and sisters from the planet Earth?” said Sid Meier, director of creative development at Firaxis Games. “My goal was to create an experience that focuses on starship design and combat within a universe filled with interstellar adventure, diplomacy, and exploration.”
The interstellar game theme provides maps predominantly defined by asteroids along with quick routes that appear and then disappear. When you attack your opponent their position behind an asteroid will determine how much damage your attack will cause. Planning your attack position to maximise your damage will play a major role in your attack strategy.
Sid Meier’s Starships is expected to be available for Mac, iPad and PC in spring 2015. Watch the gameplay and announcement trailer below. What do you think about the game? Let us know in the comments.
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[rating: 3.5/5]
The latest in a long line of puzzle games to slime it’s way onto the iPad is Astroslugs Deluxe from Bit Barons.
There is a back story to the game and this time it’s based around the highly evolved Astroslugs who travel around the universe visiting planets searching for slug energy, pretty self explanatory right! In it’s current release Astroslugs Deluxe contains 4 planets to traverse with a total of 35 puzzles to complete. While this is not a huge number of levels new content is promised free of charge via future updates.
The game has smooth cartoon graphics and the first planet you have to conquer contains just 5 simple puzzles to get you going. Each level presents you with a blank grid which needs to be filled using a set variety of shapes. These shapes are Tetris style in shape plus a few additional shapes and placing them into the grid is as simple as drawing them.
Each puzzle has multiple solutions and this can sometimes make finding the right solution more difficult, fortunately you have the option of using clues that will show you where some of the puzzle pieces fit which will help get you started. Each puzzle has multiple clues and the only downside to using them appears to be the unlocking of certain achievements pertaining to clue usage.
Talking of achievements Astroslugs Deluxe is GameCenter enabled and has an impressive 32 achievements which include simple achievements such as following Astroslugs on Twitter, clicking the help button and downloading the soundtrack as well as game related ones.
As you move through the 4 planets the difficulty level rises quite considerable and I found myself often having to use at least one of the clues to get me started on solving the puzzles.
The atmosphere of the game is complimented by the music which provides a great chilled out soundtrack to the game which can even be purchased separately if you so wish!
Astroslugs Deluxe is currently $1.99 in the App Store and provides a challenging, yet short set of puzzles to entertain you while pushing your grey matter to the max.
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