Galactic Civilizations final expansion, and clearly the best. If you're a fan of 4X games, you must play this game.
It's that good!
From the recreated 3D models of starships, to the improved AI balance, to the musical score, everything about Twilight has been reviewed, reshaped, and recompiled into a truly wholesome 4X game. There are, in fact, so many noticeable changes that if you choose not to buy the $30 expansion game, all I could say to you is +whack+, why?
I've played aggressive, militaristic, evil races, all the way to ethereal, technophile races with great success in Dark Avatar many times over. I've gotten quite used to the AI's approach to galactic domination and the ramifications of avoiding opponent interaction. What Twilight hands you is a better reason to stay on top of each turn than the previous lineage of games. Each turn can bring you an edge. Each technology tree is shaped differently. Each race has its own unique characteristics.
Many game improvements to playability exist as well. Stardock notes that the ship 3D models are more detailed than in Dark Avatar, and they certainly are. My system handles the graphical details quite well, so it's hard to verify Stardock's claim of improved game speed when rendering multiple 3D objects later in the game. That aside, the higher degree of detail makes for a more enjoyable gameplay experience. You can more quickly identify a race's ship by glance, for one.
The planets and their screens also get a nice face lift. The image map of each planet is more uniquely and cleanly illustrated. The planetary improvements are also quite a bit more detailed, and although some of the names have changed, you get used to it. The goofy planet invasion screen has been replaced by an updated version as well.
But my favorite improvement of all is the more closely reactive/proactive AI. In Dark Avatar, it was much easier to glide around the galaxy, picking up anomalies and building starbases like weeds popping out of your nice front lawn. You could count on the AI opponents missing obvious methods to improve themselves, leaving certain resources largely untapped. In Twilight of the Arnor, the gameplayer must focus his/her mind much more on selecting where to build resource starbases, and protecting them by balancing starships, defensive systems, and diplomacy. Starbases seem to take a more dominant role in Twilight, combining their power with nearby planets better. Planetary production always got a boost from a nearby economic starbase, but game balance seems more effectively shifted in your favor here. Utilizing starbases that augment your territorial advantage like placing economic and influence bases near higher class planets seems to draw more tourists to your part of the galaxy. And since money is big, the more tourists you attract, the lower you can set your tax rate to keep your taxpayers happy. In real life terms, it's called "new money" meaning money from outside your tax base.
I guess the only thing wrong with Twilight of the Arnor is hearing that this will be the last update to this wonderful game. Stardock recently released Sins of the Solar Empire, a 3D real time game that has immense potential, so I guess I saw it coming. It's a shame though... Turn based games have fallen out of favor in the past few years, ever since Sid Meier's Civilization juggernaut has begun fading from playtime. I just wish Stardock wouldn't end things prematurely.
Finally, I'd like to point out that Stardock did leave the last chapter of this saga unwritten, so to speak. They include many useful editors to this game that allow players to quickly change just about anything substantive in the game and upload it so others can go shopping for unique mods. This is a very smart move, even though no further official development will take place. It allows gamers to breathe new life into an already stable, proven gameplay system. And further, it develops a bond between producer and player that will likely result in the continued success of Stardock games.
So go out and buy this expansion right away. It's a beautiful sunset to a warm summer's day.