PAX IMPERIA: EMINENT DOMAIN (PAX 2)

                   Reviewed by Mike Raven

A space real time strategy game, this one, and not a bad one. A
shareware game called Space Empires III, which I have played for
years now, is like this but with worse graphics. worse everything
really, particularly AI. The AI of Pax Imperia is a lot better.

You select a race (or make your own) with a ship style and a flag,
and begin your space empire. Using transports to colonise planets,
and scouts and destroyers to defend and attack alien races, you
have to juggle planet productions, research, ship design, economy
of your empire and 'foreign affairs', which is everything to do
with aliens.  Foreign Affairs has one entertaining option, allowing
you to offer trades of anything for anything of the enemy. You
might, for instance, offer a few thousand dollars and a piece of
technology for a alien planet or ship. If they agree to the trade,
it goes ahead.

Everything is run intelligently, and while you might get a better
result if you work everything, your empire will still run happily
with the computer handling everything.  Absolutely tons of
different technology is out to be researched, from Gatling Lasers
to Advanced Colony units and Neutronium Hulls.  Ship range,
especially when starting out, is very short so you have to have a
colony in a system to supply any ships going to adjacent systems -
this is the only way to explore. It is all on the time scale of
tenths of a year (I think) so it is like conducting a battle in
another country using model figurines on a board to show your
progress. You have to react to what the enemy is doing long before
they actually do it.

I still enjoy Space Empires III, but this is far better, and if you
can find a copy of this I strongly recommend you grab hold with
both hands and wave your money in the air! :)

OVERALL 89% - A massive space empire strategy game, that will take
ages to complete. Enjoy!
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