[Taqwus]

I like SE4 for its depth and flexibility.

If I want to play a horde of ravaging scientists (the usual militarist technology-for-war hive Civ II strategy, or especially the self-sufficient Creative/Repulsive combo in MOO2), I can.

If I want to play a shadowy spymaster race with a sneakiness obsession, that can be done too.

Likewise, it's possible -- albeit quite (realistically, one suspects...) frustrating -- to try to be a benevolent, honorable race striving for peace.

Peace or war? Assimilation or genocide? "Special" tech, or merely specialists in the normal ones? The standard SE4 universe, or a heavily modded one -- and if modded, which one? Plenty of choices...

And it works well when each turn seems to bring *some* progress... but little enough to leave you wanting more (the "just one more turn" phenom; just like in CM:BO, where 60th-second cliffhangers seem incredibly common). It also definitely helps that the developer and publisher provide darn good support for their product.

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-- The thing that goes bump in the night