Stars! PC

Stars! is a cosmic strategy of the type "building a star empire" in which the detail of options related to economics and combat is almost exaggerated. This is an example of a game, which is impossible to pass by indifferently. Anyone who had the opportunity to see it immediately becomes a fervent supporter or (more often) opponent of it. Surprisingly, the two groups agree rather on the fact that at first glance the Stars! resembles the intersection of a spreadsheet and a statistical graphics program (Jeff McBride was one of the members of Microsoft's Excel team). This is where the differences in the assessment of the game between the supporters and the opponents appear. The latter think that the game is too complicated and time-consuming, and it's also a little bit graphical. Stars! is theoretically a game for both single and multiple players, but the weak AI of the computer makes playing alone uninteresting, the real fun starts only in the fight against living opponents.

Interesting facts:

• Some multiplayer games in Stars! last more than a year, so that players who played "only" a dozen or so games should be considered real veterans.
• Although the game is old, the minimum comfortable resolution to play is 1024x768, and really well played only at 1600x1200 resolution.

Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions regarding this description.

Last updated on 10 December 2007