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Ready the mass drivers: Galactic Civilizations 3 launches today

Galactic Civilizations III launch

After a long stint floating away in the vacuum of Early Access, Stardock’s humongous space 4X game, Galactic Civilizations III, is launching today. 

I’ve been conquering galaxies with terrifying armadas and cornering the galactic marketplace for a week, but I’m holding off on giving my final verdict until tomorrow, since the story campaign was only recently added to the game. 

In the mean time, you can take a gander at the cinematic launch trailer below.

While you’ll have to wait another day for my full review, I can tell you now that Galactic Civilizations III is a worthy entry in what has been an excellent 4X series. Dramatic changes are few and far between, but the game’s laced with subtle tweaks that end up justifying the sequel.

The biggest differences are mostly in scope. Galactic Civilizations III is mind-bogglingly massive, taking advantage of the switch to 64-bit. The largest galaxy size takes forever to explore, and can be populated with 100 different races, and every few turns, there’s an important decision that needs to be made.

Okay, I’m saving the rest for my review tomorrow.

If you fancy buying it between now and next week, you’ll get some free DLC containing a bunch of unique ship parts that Stardock says won’t be available again.