Imperium: Galactic War review

Foggy tutorials mar the otherwise rewarding social strategy of Imperium: Galactic War.

It must be tough to be a Thanerian. When you look precisely like the subjects in C.M. Coolidge's kitschy paintings of dogs playing poker, it's perhaps inevitable that your comrades will introduce you as the "lapdogs" of the Intergalactic Alliance. That's not to say that the mutt men don't encourage it themselves; later, after they've won a battle against one of the other factions in space, they announce that they won't "roll over for the rabble of the universe." This kind of dorky humor weaves itself into most aspects of Imperium: Galactic War, and when you couple it with real time space battles that encourage the use of actual strategy, the result is a city building/strategy sim that stands out from its increasingly numerous competition.

Indeed, one of the high points of Imperium is that its three factions actually feel a little different from one another, thematically. Besides the Thanerians, the peace-loving Intergalactic Alliance also includes run-of-the-mill Terrans and Vulcan-like Oberans (minus the ears). Less lawful good, the other two factions dedicate their activities to the pursuit of profit and conquest, and play host to a number of unusually appealing races like the Sototh, each of whom sport dandy face tentacles that could make even Cthulhu jealous.

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