AI War: Fleet Command PC Review

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My views of indie games have forever been altered. When was the last time you played an indie game that contained the amount of content of several retail games? If you have ever played and enjoyed Sins of a Solar Empire but cried because you couldn’t play it on a laptop or that the scale just wasn’t grand enough for you, then you should pick up AI War – Fleet Command right now.

Arcen Games’ title is based on the 4x style of gameplay; explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate. You start with your basic structures and create your empire by building your base and creating vast armies in order to conquer other planets. The game includes an extensive tutorial that explains how to build your armies, create your bases, and all the other intricacies of the system. Trust me, you are going to need to play the tutorial before you start the campaign because this game brings a whole new meaning to the word complex. Luckily, the complexity never hinders the in-game experience but instead adds to the overall scope and enjoyment as long as you take the time to learn its ins and outs.

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The game consists of your basic campaign with the ability to have up to seven other players in your game with you. The campaign games can last for several hours or even serveal days depending on the amount of players you set, which can either be taken as a blessing or a curse. I found it to be a great thing because I love to get sucked into what I am playing so when a single match can last for days I’m in heaven. There is also an online component but at the time of writing there weren’t any servers up so I didn’t get to experience the multiplayer. I really don’t mind since the single player matches are challanging enough.

On the presentation front AI War – Fleet Command may seem a bit lacking but once you consider that you will be seeing thousands of units on screen at once you can see why they toned the graphics down. I’m certainly not saying the graphics are bad in any way, on the contrary they actually are pretty nice with each ship and station having a clean look to them. I did however find the lack of sounds in some areas to be a bit disturbing but it never got to the point where it drew away from the overall game.

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I will warn you though, this game is not for the casual player. Only approach it if you are either a hardcore strategy gamer or just a hardcore gamer in general. Should you spend most of your time playing Peggle or Plants vs Zombies this game will blow your mind with its sheer complexity and massive scope.

If you are one of those few who enjoy a hardcore experience you will dive into the game and never look back. I applaud the developers of AI War – Fleet Command for the complex system they have created and with a few more updates this game will be close to perfect.

9 out of 10