14 DAY TRIAL // The third or fourth mission I got from one of the planets I was trying to impress was an escort one and that's when I came very close to abandoning my campaign just because I hate the concept and I suspected that the actual gameplay centered around it would make me mad.
The enemy managed to blow up the civilian ship I was supposed to protect in about three turns, but that was probably mainly because I was still exploring the possibilities of the combat system in Sid Meier's Starships rather than because the actual design was bad.
I got through 2 or 3 incomplete campaigns in the turn-based strategy title from Firaxis before I once again had to escort a ship out of trouble, and the second time around, I found the experience more pleasurable, probably because I could rely on four upgraded ships in order to make sure that I protected the civilians.
Most of the missions that are included in Starships are well designed and introduce some interesting tactical puzzles, especially when fleets on both sides have upgrades and can use advanced tech like fighters and stealth.
When the involved factions have managed to claim all the initial neutral systems, the title moves into a new phase and the nature of the battles also changes.
Big fleets and plenty of options
At first, two or three ships seem to be enough to deal with most of the threats that Sid Meier's Starships can deliver, but once there are no more open systems to try and impress, gamers will need to invade another federation.
That's when numbers begin to count, especially if the enemy has managed to construct defensive bots.
I suspect that the computer-controlled factions in Starships get a little bit of help when they are attacked by human gamers in order to put up a defense, and that means the battles turn into contests of attrition and a sizeable amount of energy is required to get from the systems on the outskirts to a capital and take it out.
This end game of conquest, with no missions and limited interaction with the other leaders, is the weakest part of the new Firaxis title because it feels repetitive and cold, even if the actual combat is still enjoyable.
