4 x games in 2002: the big three.

[Iron Giant]

This is a good year to be a 4x fan...

Master of Orion 3 -
Graphics look good
Combat looks good
Universe looks huge, open ended and believable

http://moo3.quicksilver.com/main.html

Imperium Galactica 3-
Graphics look absolutely fantastic.
Combat looks good - 3d, ships look awesome, shield effects, lightning, etc.
Universe looks ok, story driven. Probably not nearly as ambitious as MOO3, but it will have a story to follow.

They did just release a demo of the combat. There is not much documenatation, but the graphics alone are worth the download. I posted a quick Users guide in their forum about getting started in the demo.

http://www.ig3.de/english/index0.htm



Space Empires 4 -

Graphics are.... well, how can I put this... um, Well its not that they're "bad" per say, its just that... the graphics are not what SE4 is about....
Combat has a lot going for it tactially. Many ships, weapons, research, etc. Just not a graphical game.
Universe is tremendous. Huge replay value, many different races, Online play etc. The diplomacy is very good.

And, SE4 is available now, if you want be tided over while were waiting for MOO3 and IG3....

Webpage:
http://www.malfador.com/se4.html

Forums:
http://www.shrapnelgames.com/cgi-bin...ubb=forum;f=23

Note, Im lazy and bored so I'm posting this to all 3 forums.... I'm not comparing them to each other, just filling in others about whats out there.

I'd say they are all apples to oranges (to peaches ). I'll take all 3, myself...