This is a game that you have to play if you love the Strategy genere or you always wanted to and conquer planets command a ton of ships and conquering everything with and iron fist.... this game is for you! But, first of all, you must read the manual. If you don't do that, yo are lost. the game experience is funny, and the research tree, very big, but it's a deep, deep game...

A gem for 4X genre. Sword of the Stars combine Turn based empire management with Real Time battle. 4 Sentient races to choose from with their unique ships and technologies. Empire management seem simpler than other 4x titles out there, but the strenght lies in ship costumization and equiping the latest weapon tech. When enggaging in battle you can specify which part of enemy ship to shoot at, even destroying their turrets and ship parts (such as ship engine to render them immobile).

Each races has their own unique travel methods which greatly affect the strategy you play with them. Random events will keep you on your toes, as well as the coming of grand menace event that can even pull your hair out! With the addition of expansion packs, the game becoming more richer in content as well in gameplay giving it a high replay value!

A fun 4X game with some very unique races and a very in-depth research tree. Empire management is simple enough, but the interface could use some work. Combat on the other hand, that can get a little tricky. Still, if you're a fan of 4X games in space such as Galactic Civilizations and Master of Orion, then you should give this one a chance.

This game is mostly combat based, not the best of the genre but it is worth a try. The strategic is cut down to few possibilities and mostly the research is determinant on your performance in combat. Must be said: depending on the race you choose, you get a hard time at the beginning, so the difficulty is an issue. Nonetheless I recommend this and the expansions to those who love to design ships and take them in combat, pure and straight.

Controls are difficult. Space battles are a joke (why include them when they're so slow and unappealing?). But strangely addictive.

This is one of the many 4x type of games that take place in a sci-fi setting (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate). It's not a bad game, but it is a bit difficult. I haven't tried the expansion packs, which may improve the game, but I found both Galactic Civilizations II and Sins of a Solar Empire to be better. If you're interested, give the demo a try and see if you like it.

While the in-game tutorials are completely useless, the interface takes a lot of getting used to, and you pretty much just have to wing it when you're starting out, Sword of the Stars is an enjoyable space strategy game with a solid amount of depth. There are few to no bugs or crashes (at least, as of the latest version), the AI is competent and at times rather difficult, and playing with friends is always fun. Definitely worth looking into if you're a fan of space strategy games, especially since it's one of the few we've got anymore.

SotS is a title that surely captures a player in front of his PC for hours. It's an addictive space strategy with typical gamestyle, but it's still complex and dynamic enough to keep you playing it.

So, basically I'd give it these grades:

Gameplay 4/5

Video details 3/5 (Video details are not bad, it's just that I don't like the colorful spaceship designs)

Audio 4/5 (Music is ok, SFX are good)

Replayability 4.5/5

*Note, this review doesn't look at multiplayer!*

Sword of the Stars is a first rate grand strategy game. The game plays akin to the Total War series where the player command fleets of ships in a turn based strategic environment. Upon engaging an enemy fleet, the player is brough to a real time tactical map.

The scale has a unique dynamic. On the one hand, fleets are capped via "command points". These points can be increased through the use of certain command and control ships in a fleet. Using a dreadnought C&C ship (the largest) you can get some very spectacular battles. On the other truly epic fleet battles are limited because of the points system. In this respect, I'm comparing the tactical scale to Sins of a Solar Empire.

The core ships of a fleet will be your cruisers. However, all three classes of ships that can be built (destroyers, cruisers, dreadnoughts) are comprised of three component sections. These are the command section, mission, and engine. The different combinations of these section allow for an almost innumberable combination of possible ship designs. You cannot design custom ships, like in Galactic Civilizations, but you do get control over the section type and the weapons equipped to each hardpoint.

I've found that certain sections I rely on a lot and others I hardly use. This may just be my play style, but it does not make too much sense to me to use, say, a fire-control command section with an assault shuttle mission section. Instead, fire-control seems better paired with a blazer mission section. This may lead players to a certain habit or pattern in their ship designs.

When starting the game, you'll quickly find there is no traditional "campaign". Instead you can play through the "story" via about a dozen scenarios. Otherwise this is very much a skirmish/multiplayer game. I've personally only ever played skirmishes against the AI. The AI is challenging to fight against. Like most games, one AI faction seems to get all the CPU power because it'll do very well for itself while another AI will do very poorly. This is a weird flaw I've found in a number of strategy games I've played, and it appears here. The AI is dynamic though! It does react. For example, in my most recent game I went very missile heavy. The AI soon enough had begun installing point defenses on their ships to counter my missiles (as did I to counter their missile heavy ships!).

After several patches, v1.8 (the most recent) is very stable. If you were waiting to get this game until it was patched up nicely, now's the time to buy (especially if you time for holiday sales).

I´ve found myself trying this game for the first time thinking: can this game be any good? I´ve never really enjoyed sci-fi games but this one was the exception. It has a very nice interface, and it´s very easy to learn how to play... but that doesn´t mean the game is easy, au contraire, it´s rather difficult to master.

It has everything i like in my gaming experience: research, unit development, exploration, warrfare, diplomacy. It very complete and is very challenging, a bit too much at first; it takes a while to fully understand the whole game mechanics, and the tutorial is not very helpfull in that matter.

Its a very good game, the difficult at first may be a bit too much, and the tutorial could be more helpful in that regard. but has very nice graphics, is fun to play (which is very important for any game) and is very addictive. All in all a very good game totally recommended if you enjoy strategy games.

This is a game in which you NEED to read the manual. The game tells you to read the manual. The in-game tutorial is a bit basic. Once you get past the monumental learning curve, though, you will find a decent game here.

This is a old classic game that still holds up very well, even today. They interface isn't the best per say but the gameplay is quite enjoyable and the combat is fun indeed.

Have you ever imagine how it would be to a Cosmic Ruler? Ruling whole Universe and... more? I bet you did. Then wait no more, grab this, install and play! Sophisticated interface, economics, mechanics, overall (plus ship) design and much more. You still there?

excellent 4x strategy game. many choices, many decisions. you can design your own ships as you like and your research gives you more and more stuff to put on the ships.

as it's a few years old the graphics are not state of the art, but the battles still look nice and the GUI is ok. also, it's a strategy game not a shooter so the graphics are not everything :)

with the dlc's that are available you get even more stuff (diplomacy options, reasearch fields, ship equipment......).

at the current prices the DLC's are a "must have" to get the full potential of the game.

Sword of the Stars is a classic 4X game and is hard not to recommend, especially since I got it for free with a promo I got from GamersGate and Paradox, thanks! The game is a little out of date now but it still is a fun game that will just make time fly by. Don't miss this game and pick it up!

Although it feels rather shallow due to its simplified nature and focus on combat, Sword of the Stars still manages to be oddly engaging. There are some very interesting design decisions: each race has their own method of inter-system travel, the tech tree is partly randomised, and there are (often brutal) random events. These factors force you to think on your feet and work with what you have, rather than resorting to the same old methods every game.

Unfortunately, there are also some pretty boneheaded design decisions to balance out the clever ones: success in combat relies more on technology than tactics, the UI is mediocre at best and downright obstructive at worst, and there's no way to refit an existing ship. The latter is especially irritating due to the rate at which you need to modify and update designs. Within ten turns your fleets can be rendered obsolescent, so you either spend a lot of time scrapping and replacing ships and having to reorganise formations, or you end up throwing masses of hopelessly outdated ships away in the hope that the enemy will shoot at them instead of your modern ones. As a result, games go from daring expansionism and close-to-the-wire skirmishes, trying to weigh up whether you need point defences or improved engines before a new threat throws your plans into disarray, to endlessly scuttling and replacing ships.

Still, it's curiously engaging, and I still keep playing it. Might have something to do with the fact that there's a gun that fires small asteroids and about the same size as the ship it's strapped to. If that's not worth a £9, I don't know what is.

It's a very good turn-based strategy game. It is a space-opera, but the gameplay is like Civilization.

I have only week one problem: the interface. But it is not unplayable at all!

It is still a good game for such an old one, one problem is that it focuses too much on combat and not enough on other aspects that most other space 4x games embrace.

This game is deep. It uses the 4x4 system. Even though I just started playing the game it is allot of fun and have burnt a lot of hours on it. I am definitely looking forward to the sequel which just came out. The original graphics are OK, but the strategy is on an epic scale.

Well,not as great as Master of Orion or Galactic Civilizations,mostly because it just seems that this game is a simplified version of these two classics.It's still pretty challenging,the playable races differ from one another significantly enough to give Sword of the Stars plenty of replay value and people who are into 4X genre will definitely enjoy this game.

Good game and hard as nails even on easy. The AI is almost like a human player and is constantly adapting. A solid experience for sure.

Probably one of the funnest 4X games I've played in a while, and it has an awesomely great customization of ship designs as well, which makes it that much more replayable.

An average Master of Orion-like game which is sometimes painful to play due to the weird GUI and the lack of possible actions & no recap screens. The battle fight screen is also quite difficult to use and worst of all not very helpful to win a battle.

Still the game is enjoyable anyway but not as good as others (like GalCiv2 & Master of Orion 1 & 2). You will loose lots of time with such games which is a sign it is not that bad. :)

A good strategy game, for strategy fans. If you are not used to the genre, stay away from it or you will get seriously lost. Though the tutorial explains well the turn-based part (fleet management, research and colonize planets), it doesnt even touch the battle feature, which means you will either have to search the web for a guide or learn it on your own. Also not a game for people with little time to play it, as a single 1v1 match may last several hours. Other than that, its very enjoyable once you know the basics.

The vanilla version of SotS is an intriguing game. When I first played it I was expecting a typical 4x along the lines of Civilization. However when I read the manual and realized just how important "random events" are in this game I was perplexed. After being on the receiving end of multiple "slavers", "von neumanns", and asteroids visits however, I understood what it meant.

Everything in this game has something random tied to it, whether it be your targeting computers on your ship or whether or not you can get the next tech on the tree it all depends on chance. Maybe to much. Random is good but Sots takes it to a whole nother level.

The gameplay is fairly good, fleet control sometimes doesnt respond the way you think it does however. The overall strategy is lacking somewhat, although the fighting makes up for it.

Sword of the Stars offers complex game play that can be a little overwhelming at times. The depth is good and by making the strategic mode turn based instead of real time it gives it a much more controlled game play feel. I would recommend reading through the manual to get a better idea and grasp on the mechanics of it.

A space 4X game by some of the guys behind Homeworld. Compared to Master of Orion, GalCiv or even Homeworld, this game feels too simple and at the same time you don't really know what your supposed to do (lack of stats and detailled descriptions of the effects of various items). The ship design could have been a good idea, but most designs are a no-brainer and you always end up with the same ships.

Brilliant strategy game - complex and its well worth getting the complete collection or the expansion packs (Born of Blood, A Murder of crows and Argos Naval Yard).

Simply the best 4X game of the last 5 years

The game is interesting because of the strategy that has went into this game. I'm a huge fan of strategy games. Most people don't remember a series called Close Combat, which involved you using numerous soldiers with intricate strategies to win. This game reminds me of that and that's the type of games I'm looking to play. Also, Paradox Interactive just keeps putting out good strategy games. Two thumbs up!

This game is a blast!!, totally a must have in every strategy games collections, Sword of the Stars is a space 4X game developed by Kerberos Productions.[2] In the game the player chooses one of four unique races to form an interstellar empire and conquer the galaxy. In order to win, the player must expand territory by colonizing new star systems, exploit the resources available to his colonies, design and build starships, and improve their empire's technology through research.

Sword of the Stars consists of turn based strategic gameplay highlighted by real time battles. Each of the four races has a unique method of strategic movement among other differentiators. Also the game provides a high amount of randomness from technology availability, to map features, to large scale independent threats. Sword of the Stars is fully multiplayer capable allowing players to leave and enter the game at-will. Finally a detailed ship design system and the simulation of combat using a physics based engine instead of probability calculation, provides a large variety in combat engagements.

The game is turn-based with battles played out in real-time, similar to the Total War series of strategy games. In the latest version of the game, there are six different alien races to choose from, each with its unique form of faster-than-light travel and preferred technologies. These races include humans, insect-like Hivers, dolphin-like Liir, reptilian Tarkas, marsupial Zuul, and the crow-like Morrigi. Each of the races has been supplied with a detailed history and back story that adds flavor to the game.

The goal with Sword of the Stars was to create a relatively fast-paced multiplayer-focused game. To that end, there are timers in place to limit the duration of strategic turns, as well as the duration of the battles, which are fought in real-time. When a player leaves, he or she is replaced by an AI that is given specific orders as to how to continue play. Any game can be saved and then later continued, both on-line and off-line.

if you can buy the expansions, they add a lot of fun and deep gameplay, this game dont go to let you down try it, it really worth his price

This is a game that you have to play if you love the Strategy genere or you always wanted to and conquer planets command a ton of ships and conquering everything with and iron fist.... this game is for you!

A game for people who like 4X games, sword of the stars, removes a lot of 'civic' options and really gets to the crux of the matter, space combat! And that's where it really shines, the game is pretty much all about building ships and trying to climb the technology tree to create bigger better ships or combat units. Nothing wrong with that IF you like it that way. Good as long as you keep that in mind!

This to me is the best 4x game to come out in quite a while. Its target is individuals that are are looking for complexity in strategy/tactics, but not in spreadsheets of data.

You can pick up the complete pack for very little cash these days so you should head in that direction if you want to check this out. The game is so good, I have converted friends that use to only play FPS games into the world of 4x turn based games using this game. Be warned this game is a, "please just one more turn before I go do something else game," basically addictive!

I found it very very good & fun for a year now I need the sequel, which is soon out :).

Some say it is simple, that is arguable as it's mostly the gui that's simple, there is some complex game mechanics, so it's both simple and well developed/deep imho.

While it starts as a simplistic entry to the genre, SOTS really begins to shine with the later additions of the expansion packs. These add depth of economy, diplomacy, and new technologies, while also adding new and distinct races to the already diverse set.

While it lacks some of the depth of play of, for example, Master of Orion II, it is more polished, with no obvious breaks to game balance.

Impatiently awaiting the sequel.

This really is a fantastic game, though it took me a couple tries to really get into it. The expansions make it a truly classic game that shouldn't be missed.

Planetary management is done right, in my opinion -- you have control over it, but you aren't forced to micromanage every last structure. In some ways it's similiar to Master of Orion (the original, not 2 or 3), while the tactical, real-time (pausable) space combat is a lot like a simplified Homeworld, just without resource gathering.

Some of the race voiceovers are funny for a time, others constantly grate on my ears. Naturally, they can be turned off.

Simplistic 4x game. Good starting point but not worth it for more advanced players (don't expect Master of Orion 2 here). Reasonable graphics. Nice idea that each race has its own method of FTL travel. Expansions may well add needed depth.

Good game, made better by expansions.

Be aware that gameplay changes as you update through patches and expansions.

4X game is probably the type of game i like best, when it all started with Master of orion. And Sword of the Stars is for sure the best 4X game actually on the market. With all its add-ons, that i urge you to buy ;) you will get hours, well even weeks, or months ! of playtime for a single game.

The diplomacy (in the latest add-ons Argos Naval Shipyard, that you can also find on gamersgate) is now very good, more challenging.

Micromanagement is well done, it will please the newcomer to this kind of game or even the experience 4x player.

Space battles are really fun (i've always wanted a 4X game with such space battle since Lucasarts Rebellion).

In short, totally addictive.

The original SOTS... hard to believe that it's been this long since release, and I'm still playing it (with expansions) on a regular basis. If you are at all interested in sci-fi 4x games, do yourself a favor and pick up the ultimate collection. Hit the tutorials, look at the developer forums, and prepare to peel back the layers of strategy in this game.

The game is well made and thought out, but does get tiring after a few weeks or so. I would definitely get the expansion packs to increase replayablity. The added aspects are well worth it.

This game is terrible. Over the years I've played MOO2, MOO3, GalCiv II, Imperium Galactica I, Imperium Galactica II, and I have to say that there really isn't any game here.

I purchased Sword of the Stars with Born in Blood, and I can't even play a scenario on this thing. It's just a bunch of custom games with no storyline or anything else for that matter. There is no planetary management, fleet management, economy management, or anything else. Just build some fleets and research stuff and that's the only thing there is to do in this game except to keep hitting the end turn button.

Again, this game is just plain BORING! Purchase something else.

From Scorpogee, "Sword of the Stars is the work of Kerberos Productions and features building massive space fleets that are used to lay waste to your enemies and capture or destroy their bases of operations. Setting up is very customizable. There are four different species that have their own unique abilities. Each has its own strategy, and you can control how many races will be in any open-ended scenario. Money can be set up, and colony startup can be from a single planet to more. I like the challenge of beginning with a single planet and expanding from that point. If you don’t want to create your own scenario, scripted ones have been created from a few dozen planets to a massive universe of hundreds. Each has certain goals that will keep your interest for a long time. Co-op and competitive play online is also available."

I bought this game with all the expansions, and together they seem to make a whole game. Without all of the expansion I feel the game would be lacking and tedious, though the game seems to get repetitive after just a few days.

Sword of the Stars should be bought along with Born of Blood (the first expansion for it). SotS alone is a fine game, but the UI is a little on the sparse side, whereas BoB adds a lot of the community requested changes, and adds a ton of excellent additions that dramatically increase the fun of playing this game! SotS is easily one of my all-time-classic games, now taking a seat besides Civilization and TotalWar as a crowning achievement in computer gaming!

Sword of the stars was addictive for a few weeks, after that I had little desire to play it again. Soon I would like to get the expansions because they look as if to bring a whole new stack of weapons and technology which would make it a whole lo better than before.

This game is well made and designed, however it gets tedious very quickly. I think the main fault is the player interface. It's not terrible, I would rate it a 6 out of 10 (4 being unplayable); it could have done with some automation, player assistance and better ways to view the 3D universe.

Due to the fact that I think making the game interface better would have been quite a challenge, and as there is a dearth of games in this genre, I am compelled to give it a 4 of 5, because it is obvious to me that the developers put in hard work and cared about what they were making.