Mac Game of the Week: Endless Space is a beautiful space-faring 4X strategy game
There's no question that iOS games tend to be a little more oriented towards the quicker and the easier, so when I head back to the Mac platform looking for a game to spotlight, I like to go a little more cerebral. And Endless Space, as you can probably tell from the screenshot above, is definitely that. It's a 4X strategy game, where the four Xs are actually Es that stand for "eXploration, eXpand, eXploit and eXterminate." As with most games of this type (Civ and Galactic Civilizations are probably my two favorite examples), Endless Space is a turn-based strategy title, where you expand a space-faring civilization out into a galaxy full of various resources and enemies, designed to either help or hinder you on your journey.
It's a complicated game, to be sure: There are complex systems of taxation and population to take care of, and the ships that you build and fly around the universe can be customized and tweaked to your heart's content. And the title is certainly apt: Not only is the universe you'll discover very large indeed, but the tech tree itself is practically endless, and the game is almost infinitely replayable as well.
Endless Space isn't for the faint of heart -- if browsing through stat screens trying to get as much information as possible before making a major decision about which planet to colonize next isn't all that appealing to you, then maybe you're in the mood for something a little targeted towards the reflexes rather than the mind. But if you are looking for a cerebral, space-based title on the Mac, Endless Space is it. Plus, this week on Steam it's on sale for half off, so you can pick up the basic edition (in a Steam Play version, which means you get it for both PC and Mac) for as low as US$14.99. Enjoy.
