レビュー

• gamedeal user

  Feb 19, 2016

  I don't often write reviews, but I am going to try making a **large** one that basically says what's in it exactly, which should help anyone buy. Basically this is less like a review, more of an explanation, for people who see the price and wonder what it includes. I'm not that bothered about rating, just explaining what's available and hopefully giving Stardock something to think about if they ever read. --- Mercenaries is an expansion pack for Galactic Civilzations 3, named as the 'first' expansion due to the size increase from all previous content. It is in essence like the base game - Cool and fun, but pricey. However I would say the price is justified since there has been a focus on a 'funding' type role, and from the money towards Stardock even players of the base game have recieved nice new features including depth of field (something I REALLY wanted, it helps show scale well) as well as bug fixes and AI tweaks galore. The main additions of 'Mercenaries' are two new races complete with new ship styles and tech trees, a new campaign level, and of course the Galactic Bazaar where you can hire mercenaries. Also included are some new racial abilities like recieving one free merc per game. ____The Races____ 1. Torians An amphibian race, with a very useful tech tree to match (I had a few amphibian custom races over time that could use it). Visually they sit between Iridium, Iconians and Kyrnn, and after seeing enough of their structures you will get an 'elven' sort of vibe. I will say their ships put a smile on my face, like when people saw Iconians for the first time. Gold and green sort of theme and UI, nothing special but not bland either. 2. Arceans A fan favourite species, the Arceans have ships a bit like the Iridium especially in their shiny gold appearance. Arceans are known like the 'Anti-Drengin'. That is to say, they are hulking warriors that free slaves rather than take them. Love the might of the Drengin but don't like evil? Play as the Arceans. Oh, and the UI is alright, it's mainly sandy colours and it works well. ____Campaign____ The campaign scenario is better than nothing, in fact (I think) it's longer than any single base game mission. You play as the Torians as they free themselves from the Drengin, and will learn how to hire mercenaries and control the first amphibian race in GC3. Terrans and Arceans will appear, but they'll be more for interaction than actual combat support. Still more fun and more story than a 'New Game' skirmish! ____The Bazaar____ A survivor of a race from earlier in the series contacts you, offering a card-deck-looking screen of hirables. One unique merc is recruitable in the campaign scenario, and the rest are all bought with money and the galactic resources which are finally relevant. They are split into the three 'ages' of a game in increasing cost and power, and range from ex-pirates to unarmed miners. Mercenaries are chosen from a large pool, with more variation than always using the same recruits without the dull and buggy look a randomised ship would have. Mercenary and ship backgrounds are given too, which is immersive and allows you to hire people based on morality if you wish. ____New Ship Parts____ I'll keep this simple since many people just play the game. The new ship parts are cool; better than the Snathi parts. Not as numerous as the base game pieces, but there are two races and dozens of merc ships made from the new parts so you know there's enough! After writing that, I looked through and saw some cool Mercenary style parts like glowing signs and cargo crates, which are very useful for detail. Best Parts: - Very useful amphibian tech tree, which modifies how you play, like the Yor synthetic tree. - Arceans the star-faring Paladins. - New, useful pieces go beyond just hunks of metal and glass. - Whereas the Precursor Worlds DLC was tiny, this has even more than was planned. More pieces and tweaks have been made than were even revealed. - Mercenaries are more creative than "JubJub the Bounty Hunter". For example, I bought 'The Starlab', which is a movable orbital station that improves planetary research rates. How it could be improved: (Stardock pls) - Ability to toggle or alter the Bazaar in custom game setup, for people who don't want the galaxy drowning in Boba Fett in long matches after getting the DLC. - Bazaar salesman could possibly be a leader foreground. I know this is a very tiny thing, but it's also a tiny suggestion. I doubt he's the last remaining Korx outside the Syndicate. - If the price was slightly lowered when the staff and tools have been paid off after the big update, you might even get more buyers. I think that's it. Mercenaries doesn't make anything worse, and doesn't make many mistakes. TL;DR Mercenaries doesn't change the game so much as expands upon it. Mercenaries should maybe be toggleable, but otherwise this expansion gives more depth and play time to a game which just got graphical and gameplay upgrades for free. Not totally expecting this to be read, especially since it took so long to look at ships, generate new mercs e.t.c. that a ton of reviewers got in before me buuuuut I hope I helped someone decide on a purchase decision! Peace.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 22, 2016

  Oh dear. Stardock I love you but this is overpriced garbage (£14.99 at time of purchase). All this expansion adds is the Arcean and Torian races (which were surprisingly not in the base game) and the Mercenaries function, which allows you to buy some mercenaries which have differing effects (+5 bc per turn / massive scanner / starlab) etc to customise your initial start. It's slightly novel but has very little effect on the base game and there is still no easy management of starbases or useful management of planets. This is a really naff expansion pack and you will be disappointed. :/
• gamedeal user

  Jun 30, 2017

  I'm not keen on this expansion. First, it bothers me that I have to get a DLC to have two races that have been in the games since the beginning of the series. Secondly, I don't think this fits thematically. Play a game where everyone's just started FTL exploration...yet there's this vast, organized group of people offering advanced ships and their experienced captains? It bugs me from a writing perspective. The mercs themselves can be pretty impressive. There's an interesting assortment of abilities, from guys that are just nasty in combat, to armed survey ships, to ones giving onuses to research, production, etc. They can have a significant impact on the game. The downside is that if you want to try to ignore them, you really can't. You'll have to take advantage of the bazaar, because your enemies certainly will be.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 22, 2016

  For a $10 DLC, its good. 2 races, new mechanics, and a new campaign yay!
• gamedeal user

  Feb 19, 2016

  Adding mercenaries makes the early game more interesting, now putting all your effort into the early colony rush isn't your only option. It also brings income closer to production and research in value which again makes early choices more interesting. Also, just fyi about the 0 hours played, I put around 20 hours into the beta, haven't gotten to the release version yet.
• gamedeal user

  Jun 10, 2021

  Just thoroughly disappointed in the game. I expected more from a company that has been doing these kinds of games for this long.
• gamedeal user

  May 5, 2017

  Adds a great twist to the game. Some ships can be game changing. Do you go for resources needed to get a mercenary? Super expensive. Or do you focus on other things? Only to watch your enemies summon one who eats through your fleets. It's a balancing act.
• gamedeal user

  Aug 11, 2016

  The best expansion/DLC for GC3 so far. The mercenaries alone are worth the price IMO. Yes, you get two new races (Torian and Arcean) and their two new tech trees, with campaigns, and those are great. And I have to say, the Torian and Arcean ship designs are the best; I use them for my custom factions I like them so much. But the real gem here is the mercenaries. The mercenaries have some ships that really add a lot of flavor to the game. They're require cash and resources to buy, so they are really well-balanced. And because of the resource costs, you can't just splurge and buy all you want early in the game. You really have to pick and choose. They come in three tiers that are unlocked as you reach the three ages, so there's additional constraints on the more powerful ships. Some examples of mercs: A survey ship that earns +100 credits for every anomaly surveyed. Nice to have at the start of the game, or later when a galactic event triggers and anamolies are scattered everywhere. Ships that add +100% (or more) to Research, Wealth or Production. These ships are great when stationed on your homeworld or main wealth/research planets (or Precursor planets). The bonuses are fantastic and well-balanced with the resources required. A ship that can colonize extreme worlds (Barren, Water, Frozen) before you have the tech unlocked in the research tree. A ship that make a trade route that earns double. If it gets destroyed en route to the target world, it respawns back at your homeworld. And my personal favorite: a ship that earns +5 Malevolent Ideology points every time it, or the fleet it's in, wins a battle. And there's more. There's a whole host of combat ships with powerful offense/defense, etc. The only problem with most of the combat ships is that they are Escorts, which mean they get targeted first by your enemy's ships during a battle, so they tend to die first. You can offset that a bit by building Escorts yourself and having some in the same fleet, but it's no guarantee that your mercenary escort ship will still not be targeted first. I wish the mercs weren't listed as Escorts, but I think Stardock probably did it for balance reasons to keep them from being overpowered. I guess the best thing I can say about this expansion: I can't imagine playing GC3 now without it.
• gamedeal user

  Feb 20, 2016

  Mercenaries adds two new civilizations (The Arceans and Torians) and a galactic bazaar where you can purchase mercenary units as well as a new campaign scenario. The new civs are extremely well done and should be familliar to fans of previous entries in the series. They both have their own tech trees full of fun flavor and they have their own ships reflecting a certain unique aesthetic. The mercenary units are fun, and are the first attempt to have esentially hero units in the game. All of them have unique bonuses that you would not be able to get on a normal ship, and many of them also add bonuses to your entire fleet, or to a colony they are stationed at The new scenario was enjoyable, and you get a lot of fun interaction with the Terrans and Arceans. It is definitely worth a playthrough or two. The price might seem a bit steep but it is worth every penny. The mercenary units really add more to the game than they might appear to at first glance. To acquire the services of the mercenaries, they requires both money and certain resources (a certain mercenary may require 1 durantium and 1 elerium for example). This totally changes the dynamic of the game. It is now more important to earn money and to build starbases to mine those resources. Previously, there weren't really all that many uses for them. So this makes the rush to lock down your share of the galaxy's resouces much more important. It also changes how you approach the question of focusing on science, production or money, So, in short, this expansion is a great value for any Gal Civ III fan and I can easily recommend purchasing it even at full price.