Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar is everything an expansion should be. Nix that. Galactic Civilizations II: Dark Avatar is everything a full-blown sequel should be, and more. But the good folks at Stardock, never ones to skimp in any gaming endeavor, took it upon themselves to deliver to their customers one of the most meaty “expansions” that I’ve ever seen grace a franchise. And all this for a title that was already my favorite 4X strategy game of all time. Sure, I’m gushing with praise, and yes, I’m a GalCiv fanboy. But here is a title that deserves every bit of it.

The improvements to Galactic Civilizations II begin from the ground up, with Dark Avatar sporting some very nice new graphics. Pretty much every ship and unit got a makeover, with each race getting their own unique look. Fans of the shipbuilder will quickly see that many new add-ons and templates are available, making it all the more simple to tailor that perfect look to cast over the galaxy. The tech tree also got a welcome makeover, with many of the similar techs now grouped into a much sleeker layout. The interface is as solid as ever, with a few tweaks here and there to add some polish.

Of course, Galactic Civilizations is not about graphics, it’s about gameplay, and Dark Avatar adds oodles in that department. Like all good expansions, a few new races are introduced, but all the races get some nifty additions to truly make them unique. Each race now gets a special ability, a little something that subtly changes their play style. Well, some of them are a little less than subtle, but all of them add some nice flavor. While I haven’t had enough time with them all yet to see if they balance well, I do worry that some of the more combat-friendly abilities seem very powerful.

If the new races are not to a player’s liking, they can always design their own custom race, complete with their own abilities, talents, and ship designs. And taking things a step further, players can also custom design their own competition, allowing for any number of geeked-out galactic battles set in whatever sci-fi franchise the mind can dream up.

Once the races hit the galaxy and the game actually starts, several more improvements are made apparent. First off, the old colony-rush tactic just isn’t as easy as it once was. About half of the habitable planets are now hostile environments, requiring some rather extensive research before players can even land their ships and set up shop. Players must decide whether or not to charge down the “Extreme colonization” branch of the tech tree, possibly falling behind in the arms or influence races. I haven’t figured out a solid tactic myself, and have had success (and some impressive failures) hinge on this very strategic point.

The planets themselves are a little better balanced, quality-wise. Those “super-planets” are now much rarer, so I found myself grabbing low-class planets much more often than before. Thankfully, these lower-class planets seem to be a lot more upgradeable with the planetary improvement tech branch, so they do catch up eventually. I very seldom ended up with a total dud of a planet.

But, for those planets that may not be the best, there is hope in the form of asteroi...