Space Empires IV

“Live long and prosper” was the parting line of a famous television Vulcan. It could also describe the underlying theme of Space Empires IV, a release from Malfador Machinations and Shrapnel Games.

A turn-based game that is rich with options, Space Empires IV plays out like a civ game, with micromanagement of resources a must, while treading the waters of a conquest program. This product is very open-ended. The ultimate goal is to conquer the galaxy. As the program is quick to point out, how you do that is up to you. You can put on the mask of peace, lull alien races into a false sense of security with treaties, and then strike when your armada is ready.

Wouldn’t that be delightfully treacherous? Or maybe you prefer to wear your hostility on your sleeve, be openly warlike and just try to destroy all those who would oppose you. Perhaps the path of true peace and tranquility is the one you seek, and so you would prefer to embrace the galaxy, and bind it under the banner of harmonious co-existence.

The game begins on your home world. You must manage the resources and then spend them wisely – developing the technology that will enable you to construct colonization ships, war ships, spaceports, and all the facilities necessary to move beyond the confines of your planet. To aid the process of interstellar flight, warp holes allow you to move into other systems quickly.

This is a turn-based game, and though you can order a ship into a warp, it may not complete the movement in one turn. And, unless you’ve been to that other system before, there is no telling what or whom you may encounter. Building a ship is not all that easy. You must create a design – based on a series of prototypes, and then make sure that each ship has all the necessary parts (like a bridge, crew quarters, life support system, engines) that will make it fly.

While you are busy with your technological advancements, other races will be speeding along the same avenue. After you have busied yourself with ships, facilities and research, you must turn your attention to intelligence gathered on other empires, and politics. Who will you ally yourself with? Is this a matter of convenience, leading to that eventual backstabbing, or a mutually beneficial partnership that will survive the ages?

Playing the tutorial is almost a must. The controls on this program, though well laid out, will take some getting used to. The tutorial gradually takes players through all the game’s features and familiarizes players quickly with the controls. There is nothing worse than bogging down a game because a player can’t find the right keys.

Graphically this program lacks animation, but does provide two-dimensional graphics that are bright and colorful. Against the background of space, the planets and system anomalies stand out very nicely. Though this is a two-dimensional program, you must give the designers credit for a nice use of shading in an effort to give the program a three-dimensional feel.

The audio of this program – what little there is – is nothing to write home about.

Space Empires IV cannot compete graphically with another recent release in the genre of space civ/combat games – Reach For The Stars by SSI and Mattel Interactive – but it is an in-depth program that is definitely challenging.

This product supports multiplayer gaming.

Install: Easy. This program goes onto your hard drive without any fuss, and does it quickly – while only requiring 130 megs of hard drive space.

Gameplay: 7.5. This is a turn-based game that allows a lot of flexibility in the length of one’s turn. The program does not seem to hang up at the end of turns, and moves quickly into the next phase of play.

Graphics: 6.5. There is little movement in this program – all the elements are static, though the graphics are colorful and bright.

Sound: 5. A few computer clicks and whirrs is about all you will get from this program.

Difficulty: 8.5. This program requires a lot of forethought, and resource management – two elements which embody the best of civ games.

Concept: 6.5. This program focuses on the micro-management of a small, but growing empire. That is good, but where this program falls down is in utilizing animation and sound to support a story line that is immersive.

Overall: 6.5. Space Empires IV is not a bad program, but unfortunately – in days prior to loading and playing this program – I was treated to a similar game (SSI’s Reach For The Stars) that employs solid graphics, better sound and animation to advance the game. When comparing the two programs, Space Empires IV finishes second. If, however, animation means little to you, and you are looking for a solid, space civ game that requires chess-like moves, this program may be exactly what you are looking for.