StarDrive

Some omissions and flaws, but balanced by excellent alien races and ship design. A welcome addition to the crew.

Star Drive is a good start for a great 4X space imperium game. It just needs more flesh to all of the bones, something like Galactic Council from Master of Orion to give the game a focus. And please, mr Zero, do not go to the bottomless black hole of multiplayer development until the single player is as great as it has all the promises of being. [June 2013]

Even with its foibles, StarDrive is a rare treat for those with the fortitude to marshal past its rough spots; invest the time it takes to understand, and the galaxy has a lot to offer.

Zero Sum Games has created a worthy addition to the 4X genre. What is more - modders are already creating more and more cool modifications for StarDrive. Ergonomics and gameplay rules should be more user-friendly, but the game itself is far from boring or tiresome. 4X fans will be pleased.

It is not a bad game, it just is not a very good one.

If you’re a fan of RTS and strategy games, you can get a few good evenings out of StarDrive, just don’t expect the endless addiction and spotless interface of Civilization.

Star Drive is still a lot of potential.

Wait for a better discount, or wait until they’ve made some improvements to it. As it stands, there are bigger and better titles to be excited about.

It’s hard to justify recommending Stardrive over Galactic Civilizations 2, Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity, or AI War: Fleet Command when those games offer more content for less money. If you’re a big fan of space-themed 4X games, and find it on sale, I’d say you should pick it up. But everybody else is better off leaving this one for the space-bears.

Not the deepest 4x title out there, StarDrive regains complexity through real time space combat and well implemented ship customization. Oddly the launch version of the game is incomplete, full of glitches and needs urgent updates.

If you like games in the vein of Stars! or Master of Orion, you can sink into Stardrive for long hours. [02/2014, p.73]

For your first and second time, StarDrive brings a refreshing experience resembling Master of Orion. However, as soon as you understand its basic rules, the game is gone like through a Black Hole. [Issue#232]

It looks like StarDrive isn't completely finished at this time. The game is addictive and can keep you busy for hours and hours. Despite that, StarDrive lacks some features to really shine. If Zer0 Sum Games manages to fix these flaws, StarDrive can become a star in the sky.

A very ambitious undertaking, StarDrive has a lot of promise. There’s a lot the developer hopes to add, and he plans on supporting the game for the foreseeable future, but the package as it stands is a bit of a hard sell to all but the most patient and driven 4X fans.

A solid foundation, and an addictive experience at times, but the game needs more meat. This is especially true in the late game, where things get quite predictable.

StarDrive is a collection of solid ideas and features waiting to be unified by the necessary finishing touches.

This 4x space strategy game could have been something special, if it were finished.

Stardrive boasts a no-compromise approach to 4X strategy that is interesting enough. Its relatively simple in terms of management mechanics, but still requires the player to pay attention, since every element has a major impact on his game. On the contrary, the deep customization system of the ships needs to be studied meticulously to be handled with efficiency, on a per-case basis, because the economy doesn't really allow massive aramadas. All these make for a solid basis of a game but a lot still requires refinement (AI, interface, graphics optimisation...).

A number of features aim for the stars (sorry) but don’t always reach the target. So if you’re risk averse and want to settle into something mainstream, you’d best look elsewhere as you’re likely to see the rough edges instead of the potential for growth.

It doesn't add anything drastically new to the genre, and thus there isn't much reason why you should get it when titles like Galactic Civilization II are better and cheaper, or the contemporary Endless Space -- for all its flaws -- offers a more unique take on the 4X experience.

I love SciFi. And I can’t get enough of games like Sins of a Solar Empire. And that leaves me frustrated when I look an StarDrive and its’ wasted potential. It is ambitious, but fails to deliver on too many levels.

Hours in, I was a believer in StarDrive. I saw a hundreds of hours potentially flying by as I came up with genius new ship designs and fleet formations that would make the difference in sprawling, climactic battles. But none of that ever happened. I spent a lot of time getting attached to ships that would ultimately just be grains in a sandstorm. And once that disappointment had truly settled in, there was nothing left but a bunch of menus, and a cold, empty galaxy expanding endlessly around me.

StarDrive is not a bad a game, per se--but it's a lot like the games that came before it, and does little to differentiate itself from the pack. It has character, sure--what game with samurai bears wouldn’t?

Behind its nice alien species graphics, there's little more than a collection of bland, samey gameplay regardless of what race you play as, tedious ship customization, and an AI that seems set to galactic griefer mode. You're better off setting out to conquer an alternate 4X universe.