AI War Collection

in this game you are a tiny resistance force in a galaxy with like 80 system controlled by the two AI that you must terminate do win. you must explore the map to find your objectives, the two AI to kill, many advanced factory and research labs that will allow you to produce more varied and more powerful ships, some old superweapon to reactivate and a plethora of minor and not so minor other bonuses. but every planet you conquer, every significant damage you do, you attract more of the attention of the two AI, enhancing the amount and tech level of the ship reinforcement in the other planet and attracting more waves of enemy ships that attack you. it's an RTS but you essentially control the pace of the game, between the setting of the speed and possibility to pause to think and give commands on one side and the choice of what you conquer and how frequently enhancing the AI responses. so it's really much more a strategy game than a real time click fest. you must explore then make plans, choose what to conquer for the benefit (in new ships, positioning advantage or various bonus), devise tactics and ship mix to respond to the enemy attacks and breach his defences and finally decide when you are grown enough to try to kill the first AI and if you fail weather the response, regroup, rebuild and try a new plan

This is best played with friends. Just you and your friends defending the last vestiges of humanity against a computer program that is out of control. Victory requires you to manipulate the AI's system, get the tools you need to take it down, and prevent it's countermeasures from stopping your plans. With hundreds of settings options and a very steep difficulty curve, start on a 5/5 difficulty and work up - with so much variety on offer and constant updates, this game is never stale.

This is a very, very rich game. I usually do not like RTS games (with the exception of Homeworld and Dawn of War) in the sense that they keep me as enthralled as this one. But this game is freaking amazing. I can't remember being enthralled this much in a game like this. Not even the original Civilization. This game has had gotten me thinking heavily about my next move against the AI even when I am not playing it. RTS and 4X fans really need to treat themselves to this game. I got it on sale and I have to say that I think that this is one of my best purchases at GOG.com. I don't think that I will ever get tired of this game. I just need to find some people to play online and I will be in seventh heaven!

I was skeptical at first, being laid out in 2D. So I tried the tutorial...at the end, I got my ass KICKED. I love the various layers of this game, and how the units are more detailed as you zoom in. It can be a daunting learning curve for the uninitiated, but worth the time. I am hooked.

This game has many things going for it, and only a few downsides. Pros: Excellent strategy- almost like RTS chess Excellent multiplayer Insane amount of replayability Great support by developer Awesome amount of customization options The game is hard, but has very fine-tuned difficulty settings to tailor it to your liking Cons: Aged graphics Aged sound UI could be better- there are a fair amount of buttons to remember In my opinion, the pros far outweigh the cons, especially if, like most GOGers, you can look past dated graphics and enjoy excellent gameplay. It truly saddens me that the difficulty combined with the learning curve of the UI have probably turned off many people to this game before they could glimpse its beauty. It almost did for me, in fact. It sat in my library for months almost entirely unplayed until I read a review one day that made me sit down with it for a couple hours to at least go through the tutorial, and boy am I glad I did! There is also a rather huge wiki with all the information you could ever hope to read, and some starter tips like don't take every system you run across. So, buy this game, grab a mug of hot drink, look past the simple sprites, and get hooked.