The digital download services out there seem to be entering a golden age. Steam, coming from Valve, already has a pretty large library and big titles, like STALKER: Clear Sky, are getting released on Steam at the same time they are available in retail stores. Now Stardock is pushing hard for its own digital download platform, Impulse, to get to a similar level of service.

 

Now Stardock is saying that 2K Games are getting added to the Impulse library so, if you like some of the older titles created under the direction of Sid Meier, then get busy, as you can download games like Civilization III, Sid Meier's Railroads!, an excellent remake of the old Railroads game, Sid Meier's Pirates! and the often overlooked Shattered Union.

 

Apart from the new games, the platform is getting some performance updates too and Stardock Chief Executive Officer Brad Wardell says that faster loading time and quicker downloads are part of the Phase 2 update.

 

Wardell says that the platform will be shortly getting Achievements, an affiliate program, and that the eagerly awaited 1.1 update for real time strategy title Sins of a Solar Empire will become available in the next few weeks. The new update will be offered exclusively through Impulse as a way of promoting use of the service.

 

Next February is scheduled to see the release of the Phase 3 update for Impulse, but it seems that until then Stardock will try to get more publishers and developers to offer their games for download. With 2K Games now available it would be nice to see if Rockstar is interested in maybe bringing a title like Grand Theft Auto IV for the PC to the digital download platform. For now, Impulse seems like a less populated version of Steam, but the upcoming changes could differentiate it from the Valve service.