Sword Of The Stars Expansion Now On Sale
If you call yourself a PC gamer and haven’t heard of the Sword Of The Stars series yet, then for shame, sir. For shame. But never fear, your friend Insomnia Bob is here to educate you.
When little known game studio Lighthouse Interactive published Sword of the Stars back in 2006, I had no way of knowing how many hours of my life would vanish into the abyss of it’s glorious space battles.
Sword of the Stars is “4X” game focusing on space combat and fleet engagements. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a “4X” game is a title that focuses on exploration, expansion, exploitation and extermination. Series like Master of Orion, Civilization, etc. are all examples of 4X gameplay. Sword of the Stars follows a lot of the tenets of the genre, but with less micromanagment and more space battles. You don’t need to worry about building farms or managing wheat distribution as you’ve got alien fleets full of drooling, hungry space cockroaches to destroy.
Combat is handled in real time, with an engine that is just awesome to behold. Fans of the Homeworld series will feel right at home, though fleet engagements typically take place around planets instead of out in the middle of nowhere, and you don’t have to worry about mining asteroids. There’s a limit to how many ships it can display at once, and slower systems might see frame rates chug, but there’s really no substitute for surrounding an enemy planet with a fleet of ship and bombing them into extinction, and then building your cities on their bones.
As I said, the game has been around since 2006. Since then, Lighthouse has released three expansions. Born in Blood and Murder of Crows both introduced gameplay tweaks, new technologies, and new races. The latest expansion Argos Naval Yard is a veritable buffet of new ship types, weapons and tech and is meant to be the last expansion before the inevitable sequel is released. If you’re a fan of strategy games, sci-fi fleet battles, or just want to root for the human race in a war against all manner of alien filth, go check out Sword of the Stars.
The “Sword of the Stars Complete Pack” is now available on Steam, and contains the main game and all three expansion packs (including the brand new Argos Naval Yard expansion). Best of all, the whole sheebang will only set you back $15.99. That is an UTTERLY RIDICULOUS PRICE for so much gaming goodness. Seriously, I half expect Vince to pop up and start selling the thing on late night TV any time now. I defy you to find me a better deal. (And if you do, email me!)
Check Out: Sword of the Stars: Complete Pack on Steam
