Armada 2525: Deluxe Edition is a beefed up version of the original, released after the demise of interest, the originator, in the early nineties. Armada 2525 is a space oriented 4X (Explore, Expand, Exploit, and Exterminate) game with competent AI and human player capabilities.
At the beginning of Armada 2525, the player does not possess much of an armada. Your race of beings has meager resources and owns only one small planet in your little corner of the galaxy. Early exploration will quickly reveal that you must compete with up to five other races for resources and space within the system, and then the race for power is on.
There are military, diplomatic, and economical factors to be considered in this space fantasy micromanager. Research new technologies quickly and exploit the nearby heavenly bodies to glean extra resources before your neighbors can scarf them up and use them against you. Increased technology and advanced production capabilities will unlock the secrets to more advanced ships, allowing for a more powerful military and greater expansion potential. There are more than twenty ship designs that can be built once technology is mixed out. While expanding and exploiting, the cautious leader must be careful not to neglect things on the home front, or an opportunistic scoundrel will be exploiting you and your limited defense system. Just about every celestial body in the system has some merit.
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It is up to you to prioritize their worth and allot manpower to exploiting the resources. There is a good balance in the world of Armada 2525, and this is created by random planetary worth. For example, a planet that is very close to you may contain many resources; however, they may be of the type that will be more efficiently gathered much later in the game when technology advances. So, do you wastefully mine this planet now and take advantage of its proximity for defense and transport, or do you venture out further from safety to find something that is more dangerous but more lucrative. As the leader of the colonization effort, these are the choices you will be faced with at each turn.
Armada 2525: Deluxe Edition features numerous difficulty settings. The AI’s aggressiveness can be predetermined at the beginning of a game to ensure the player gets the challenge he or she is looking for. The graphics and color are better than the original Armada’s. Still, game play is entertaining and customizable with a good level of replay ability. I highly recommend downloading it and have fun!
