Mister Adequate has talked before about a little game called Endless Space, but we’re going to talk about it again because it’s just that good and because it was also just officially released!

Like any true 4X, Endless Space takes a little bit of time to get used to.  You’ll need to give yourself an hour or so to get used to the UI and how things work, and then you’ll probably need another several practice games after that to figure out how to not languish in last place in the score chart (hint: just focus on money, industry, and expansion.)  But if you’re willing to work at it and get past all of that, then you’ll soon find yourself faced with a very solid and polished space 4X in the vein of Master of Orion and Space Empires.  The races are wonderfully inventive, the tech tree is a delight to navigate, and on the lowest graphics settings it will run on most computers.  It’s very easy to find yourself sucked into the “One More Turn” mentality with this game, a true sign of a good turn-based strategy.

Overall this is a game that is well-worth playing for a variety of people: longtime 4X fans will find themselves right at home, and people new to the genre will find this a challenging but rewarding gateway to the genre.  It may not be Master of Orion 2, but it might be the best homage to it thus far.