14 DAY TRIAL // Developer Zero Sum Games and publisher Iceberg Interactive have announced that the sequel to last year's 4X strategy game StarDrive will be coming to Steam and other digital distribution channels, as well as in boxed retail form, in September 2014.
Initially seen by some as the second coming of Jesus, which in 4X terms is something along the lines of a proper spiritual successor to Master of Orion 2, StarDrive was received with mixed reactions when it finally came out, leaving many players unsatisfied due to the expectations build-up during the game's beta phase and receiving mediocre review scores.
The upcoming sequel will see an evolved core gameplay experience, with the introduction of a turn-based strategic layer. Players can expect a space exploration and conquest game with real-time combat, where they will be able to build immense space empires and command massive fleets in battle with the game's nine alien races and pirate factions, exploring the galaxy's lore and uncovering its secrets.
Players have an extensive tech tree to research, sprawling across hundreds of different technology upgrades, including race-specific ones, and will be able to use the custom ship design mode in order to outfit their fleet with the latest developments and recruit unique heroes to govern over their worlds and ships before heading into challenging real-time battles that feature impressive visuals and sound effects.
Developer Zero Sum Games plans to integrate Steam Workshop support into StarDrive 2, allowing its users to seamlessly generate and publish custom content for the game.
"We believe that fans of this genre will rejoice when they get their hands on StarDrive 2. It will bring them back to the golden age of 4X gaming with familiar strategic gameplay while using the full power of the Unity game engine to push AAA visuals," DiCicco concluded.
The game will be available for PC, Mac and Linux, going for a suggested retail price of $30 / €22, and owners of the original StarDrive will be awarded with a loyalty discount of 33 percent for StarDrive 2.