Hey guys.

I made a quick review for the alpha, more of a 'who should buy this' blurb than anything. I was forced to do the ethical thing and not recommend it to the general player. Do you think I was fair in my assessment?

"[NOTE; This isn't so much a review of the game and more of an... 'opinion piece' for lack of a better word. The game is far too early in development to begin making a rational and justified review. Also, as a very large fan of the previous 4 games (Galactic Civilizations 1 & 2 on the OS/2 in the 90's, and Galactic Civilizations 1 & 2 in the 2000's) my opinion is likely biased to some extent.]

If you were not a fan of the previous game(s), don't squander your money on something you will almost certainly not enjoy. 4X games and Galactic Civilizations are an aquired taste, and if you haven't played earlier iterations you'll be wasting your money buying the game at the moment. Buy "Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition" here on Steam for a few dollars to see if the series interests you.

At the moment, the game is in alpha testing, and as such is woefully inadequate as a game in and of itself. Almost every mechanic, from diplomacy to planetary invasions, are either not in the game or are present in only the most basic way. If you buy this, you do so knowing that it will not be 'fun' for several months at the very least. Do so only if you truly wish to aid stardock with feedback and testing.

That being said, the alpha is totally playable despite its limited set of features and options, and while it obviously has many bugs, it is nevertheless stable for prolonged periods. It's not overly fun, but then again it's not supposed to be. 

So yeah; buy this (March 2014, Alpha build 1 as of writing) if you want to help out the devs or if you're a long-time fan looking for a better long-term deal, not if you're looking for an enjoyable experience. If you're someone with the latter inclination, wait for release day or Beta access in the summer.

EDIT; it's worth repeating here that you get all the DLC that will ever be made for the game if you pay the $100 asking price. If the quality of previous Stardock DLC holds up (Think Twilight of the Arnor, Legendary Heroes etc...) then this will ultimately be a very good long-term investment."

So?