Sid Meier's Starships [Video Game Review]

Before buying this game, I had mixed feelings.
It was a Sid Meier game, it also had graphics that looked a bit outdated.

Now, see if the game actually looked like this...

Then they revealed that it was going to be a PC / Mobile (iPad) game. Warning alarms started blarring in my head.

However when I saw the $14.99 price tag, my resolve broke and I bought it on Steam.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Federation overview - galactic scale.

$14.99 is a really nice price point in a world of $59.99 games. Unfortunately, I've paid less for games that seem more in depth... but I've never bought any mobile games.

Fleet Combat - space in 2D...

This is the problem with Starships - it really seems to be a mobile game first and foremost. The management time of your Federation (Really? I wanted an Empire) is short and quick. It is obviously designed for mobile users. The combat sections are actually a bit longer, but not really complex. They also take place in 2D only in planetary systems that seem overrun with asteroids. Yet you build cities on these planets that should be death traps due to the interminable amounts of rocks that should be crushing them. It is a bit silly.

Science is super simple, no more tech trees. Just level up your ranks in things like 'Starfighters' or 'Laserguns.' (No, those are not their actual names, but that is what they are about.) Wonders are also really really simple. You just buy them. They cost a lot of metal, but all you need it to have the amount and you can get the wonder... that is if you have a planet that has access and no one else has already purchased it. There are some sick wonder combos in the game. That is one of the things about this game... nothing takes any time to do. Build a city with one click, build a wonder with one click, upgrade a star ship with on click.

This is a mobile game.

All that being said, it is stupidly addictive.
It is simple, it does sorta tie in with Civ V Beyond Earth, and it is cheap.
It is also stupidly simple, the AI can be dumb (as usual), and the graphics are a touch outdated.

So why did I give it 3.5 stars? It is actually fun. It is, as I've already stated, stupidly addictive. I was tempted to give it only 3 stars, but considering its price point and the addiction... I upped it one half star. It might be better on a mobile device... I do not know. I wish it was more involved, but it is not. Since last Thursday when it came out I've beaten the game three times, lost twice, and am currently in my sixth game. Quick, simple, addictive fun.