Review Roundup

Your thoughts on Starships:


  • Total voters
    48

rkade8583

Realism Invictus Player
Joined
Jun 30, 2003
Messages
772
Location
Washington
4/5 Twinfinite
[+] Quick-fire strategic gameplay
[+] Ships are awesome, it's just that simple
[+] Surprising amount of content for a low-cost title
[-] Ship customization refuses to give you a sense of personal achievement
[-] PC version really doesn't look like a PC game when running.
4/5 PC World
Pros:
-A taste of Sid Meier strategy gaming without the Civilization time commitment
-Highly approachable, but plenty of room for advanced tactics

Cons:
-UI is poorly designed
-Some AI quirks, especially when assessing win/loss probability

Shacknews
It's clear that the development team at Firaxis spent a great deal of time putting together a robust ship combat game, and I love seeing my ships evolve as I attach add-ons. But even though the space ship combat is challenging and fun, I don't think it has a lot of long-term appeal. The supporting strategy elements in Starships are too shallow and there's no cohesive narrative holding things together. Although there are pirates and marauders around, and they show up in missions, there don't appear to be any random events to help shake up gameplay. There's just ship combat, and all the upgrades you invest in to make sure you win each fleet encounter.

Ultimately, the game left me wishing there was more to it.

4/5 The Examiner
“Sid Meier’s Starships” offers more of the same, but totally different. Allowing players to play the role of intergalactic admiral, at a price that more than justifies content, the game grants the fantasy of commanding a fleet of futuristic warships against the politics of exploring the crowded cosmos. Though lacking a multiplayer, map editor, and other key features from past “Civilization” entries, “Starships” has more than enough escape velocity to differentiate itself from past titles.

7/10 PCGamesN
Starships may not be a grand epic like Civilization, but its stripped back design fulfils a purpose. If you normally struggle with the multiple complexities of a 4x strategy game, Starships is a great introduction to the genre. It even offers step-by-step advice at every point if you need it. But for anyone more advanced than total rookie, after a handful of campaigns you’ll have seen everything Starships has to offer. Without the usual 4x depth or any multiplayer, Starships lacks the level of replayability. Even though it’s priced accordingly, that’s still its open exhaust hatch. A couple of afternoons after buying, Starships is likely to be lost among the debris of your unplayed Steam collection.

6.9/10 Multiplayer.it (Italian)

Recommended Eurogamer
Starships isn't Civ, but it is Sid, and that's fine by me.

Pocket Gamer
Sid Meier's Starships is an empowering gameplay experience that simultaneously makes you feel like the President of an entire space-faring species, and the Commander at the head of a fleet of combat-ready ships.

And it does it in an endlessly replayable manner that's as strategic and devious as you want it to be.

8/10 Softpedia
The Good
+Tactical combat mechanics
+Engaging player choices
+Array of leaders and Affinities

The Bad
-Repetitive missions
-Escort objectives
-No multiplayer

The Verge
So long as you're content with the narrower scope and scale of Starships, it'll be a rewarding experience not unlike its senior siblings. In fact, for many people who might have been put off by the complexity and time requirements of a proper game of Civilization, the more accessible Starships might be the perfect entry point to Firaxis' extensive library of great strategy games. I was victorious in my first game on easy mode within four hours. The price of Starships, available today on the iPad and through Steam for the PC and Mac, is fitting for this purpose at $14.99. It's a thoroughly enjoyable, lightweight alternative to the big complex games like Elite: Dangerous and Star Citizen that are coming out now. Space doesn't have to be daunting to be fun.

Gamezebo
As a fan of Sid Meier’s strategy games, I approached Starships with a nervous excitement. Nervous, because not every game with his name on the box has been as good as I’ve hoped it would be, but excited for the potential I saw in it.

Sid Meier’s Starships lives up to its potential.

If you’re a fan of strategy games – even if your experience with them begins and ends with Civilization – consider Sid Meier’s Starships an absolute must buy.

Financial Post (Arcade)
Starships may lack the complexity and nuance of other strategy games, and it feels a bit rough around the edges in places, but its accessibility, terrific turn-based combat, and bite-sized duration combine to create a tempting alternative to a multi-evening marathon campaign.

The next time I have a few free hours – and only a few hours – and an urge for some engaging 4X strategy action, there’s a pretty good chance this will be the game I choose to boot up.

Travelers Today
These days, when the gaming world has been overrun by recurring titles and dizzyingly beautiful graphics, it pays a lot to get back to a time when strategy ruled over every other aspect of the game. Sid Meier's Starships delivers on this and more.

6.5 IGN
Sid Meier’s Starships’ battles held my attention for a handful of games, after which point the tactical AI’s behavior became exploitable and the strategic layer became too muddled and unpredictable. So I say so long to Starships after a brief time, but I’ll always remember its neato torpedoes.

+Customizable ships
+Large-scale battles
+Neato torpedoes

– Confusing strategy layer
– Balance troubles

4/5 The Guardian
Starships has been released for PC and Mac, and also for iPad. The latter may be the platform where it prospers, not just because it adapts seamlessly to touchscreen controls, but because it’s tailor-made for the common on-sofa, on-train and in-bed tablet gameplay patterns of people who don’t have huge slabs of (non-work) computer time.

7/10 LazyGamer
Fun, quick and light strategy game, Starships is a great introduction to strategic gameplay or for those who don't have time for a longer experience. On its own, it feels shallow and lacks extensive replay value. Not suited to PC, I think Starships will do best on mobile.

7/10 Game Informer
Concept: Manage a fleet of ships to conquer the galaxy through tactical combat and resource dominance

Graphics: Lightweight but effective torpedo explosions and laser beam blasts add nice visual elements

Sound: Statements like “incoming torpedo” wear out their welcome fast, as does the limited soundtrack.

Playability: This is the easiest strategy game to play and understand in recent memory.

Entertainment: Those looking for a core strategy experience may be disappointed, but the game is well suited for those that want a fun (if fleeting) tactical game.

Replay: Moderate
 
I intend to buy it tomorrow, but then it is quite cheap to me. If it were full price, I would be more hesitant.
 
I'm pretty sure it will be stripped down and super basic like CivBE. At least, it might be actually worth the 15 dollars unlike 50 dollars for civbe.
 
I'm pretty sure it will be stripped down and super basic like CivBE. At least, it might be actually worth the 15 dollars unlike 50 dollars for civbe.
I am pretty sure that Starships will be moar fun than civ:be. both titles lack replayability.

however, Starships cost three times less!
 
I cant really see how this game could be good after civ5 and BE.

Online reviews are rigged as hell, they say what they are paid for.
 
I just figured I'd put all of them up so people could make their own decisions. Besides, do you really think Firaxis has the kind of money and lack of morals to pay for good reviews of a budget title?
previewer may not be directly paid. things are more subtle. like, those that write a bad preview, may not get a preview copy of the next same publisher/developer game. ;)
 
I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be getting bashed for just putting up reviews. I haven't even put my review up because I'm just a pleb who doesn't have the game yet. Unbiased linkposting for people to peruse is worth getting bashed?

I mean I'm in the weeds. I know how corrupt journalism can be but not every single review round-up thread has to devolve into it, right?
 
I will repost what I put on the steam forum:

Forgive me for not taking seriously a grown man dressed like an astronaut who mispronounces Sid Meier's surname.

That being said, I'm not adding videos because I have a life. Linkposting is easy work. Sitting through videos, most of which are subpar, is not something I have an interest in.
 
I'm going to give it a little bit, it looks like it'll be at least a few hours of fun, which is what I expect from a $15 game.

And the reason I'm giving it a bit is that I'm still unable to play BE on my machine, which is above the recommended specs in every way, but a DX11/Win7 bug is failing the game out. I want to see any technical issues that may arise before I throw money at them on something built off the same engine/engine changes as BE.
 
Whatever... AJ is the only show on Youtube I watch regularly and his reviews are always spot-on. He was a really big fan of BNW and is always promoting strategy games like Total War heavily. I trust his reviews way more than those of the "press". Why? Because I play a lot of games and in 99% of the times, I would have done the same review that he did.

Especially with games that are hyped like BE. I think he gave it at a 5 or 6 out of 10. While everyone was throwing 90s at it.

Be a fanboi if you have to, I stick to objective reviews. And actually that wasn't even a review, it was a "first impressions" let's play.
 
I will repost what I put on the steam forum:



That being said, I'm not adding videos because I have a life. Linkposting is easy work. Sitting through videos, most of which are subpar, is not something I have an interest in.

Angry Joe tends to be spot on, costumes or not. We are all playing video games at the end of the day. If he wants to wear a costume while doing it... more power to him.
 
Whatever... AJ is the only show on Youtube I watch regularly and his reviews are always spot-on. He was a really big fan of BNW and is always promoting strategy games like Total War heavily. I trust his reviews way more than those of the "press". Why? Because I play a lot of games and in 99% of the times, I would have done the same review that he did.

Especially with games that are hyped like BE. I think he gave it at a 5 or 6 out of 10. While everyone was throwing 90s at it.

Be a fanboi if you have to, I stick to objective reviews. And actually that wasn't even a review, it was a "first impressions" let's play.

No one has claimed fanboi'dom, you're labeling, reviews were posted here, what you do with them is up to you.

I will agree with rkade8583, the video wasn't put together well. Whether it's first impressions or not, mispronouncing Sid's name is kinda a non-starter on taking his review in any seriousness. Post edits are a good thing, unless it was directly pulled from a livestream that he did there's not a great excuse. But, again, discussing whether we like the video you posted is really kinda off the topic at hand.

Taking which mag it is into account is key. GI hardly ever gives below an 8, even if they thought the game was poo-on-toast. PC world, I've seen very few 3's or lower, again, even if it's a steaming pile. But the negatives and positives are relatively consistant no matter the scores it looks like it's gotten from the big review groups. So really, it's interesting to see the differentiation in what companies consider a 6, or an 8, since the positives and negatives are so similar.
 
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