Galactic Reign (Free) - Outwitters' Windows Counterpart?

[CombatEX]

Platforms: Windows 8, Windows Phone

No, I haven't played it since I don't have a Windows Phone or Windows 8 so I cannot recommend it personally. However, I thought this game looked interesting and it has some remarkable similarities to Outwitters from what I've gathered. As such I thought that it was worth sharing to Outwitters fans who may be able to play it. It's free, so why not give it a shot if you can? =)



- Play for free with one of the factions and pay $4.99 to unlock the complete game (like the Uber pack)
- No pay-to-win microtransactions
- Universal app (buy once, play on any compatible platform)
- TBS with the same kind of asynchronous multiplayer as Outwitters
- Games are a reasonable length (in Outwitters the average game is between 20-30 turns while Galactic Reign is apparently around 15-16 turns though it is probably too early to know what it will stabilize at. Point is that it doesn't drag on forever like some TBS games)

I can't speak for the gameplay itself since I am unable to play it, but it looks good and at least WinSource seemed to think well of it.

"Galactic Reign is one of the best titles available for Windows Phone and Windows RT/8 and I would recommend having it in your library" - Matt Rawson (WinSource)

More Info
- Galactic Reign Overview/Tutorial
- WinSource Review
- Top Tier Tactics Review
- Windows Phone Central Tagged Articles


Sounds surprisingly similar to Outwitters. It's a TBS that doesn't fall into the trap of extremely long games (besides SvS!). It also has a fair business model that is much like Outwitters' and has been received glowing accolades from critics and consumers (from what I've read so far). Now the only thing left is for it to fall on its face when it comes to financial success.

If any of you manage to play it let me know how it is! Hopefully it's not as good as these reviews make it out to be so I don't feel bad about not being able to play! *kidding* (kind of ^^)

[Alvendor]

What's up with microsoft making great strategy game exclusive to their systems? They bought up Skulls of the Shogan too to prevent it from reaching iOS.

Its not like turn based strategy games will turn millions of people to buy a windows phone...

[Ser Purple Wolf]

They say you must "outwit" your opponent in the youtube video

I'd be interested if I had either the phone or windows 8, but I don't :/

[CombatEX]

(03-20-2013 08:43 AM)Alvendor Wrote:  What's up with microsoft making great strategy game exclusive to their systems? They bought up Skulls of the Shogan too to prevent it from reaching iOS.

Its not like turn based strategy games will turn millions of people to buy a windows phone...

I agree it's unfortunate. I can understand making games like Halo exclusive, but a TBS? That's not a hardware seller.

(03-20-2013 09:34 AM)Ser Purple Wolf Wrote:  They say you must "outwit" your opponent in the youtube video

I'd be interested if I had either the phone or windows 8, but I don't :/

Yea I noticed that too! 0:10 "You must use your forces to out outwit your opponent..." =)

[TheGreatErenan]

I got a Nokia Lumia recently. I'll try it out.

[CombatEX]

Yay! Let us know how it is =)

[TheGreatErenan]

Still only on turn 5 of my first game, but so far I am enjoying it. Very different from Outwitters, however. Not at all the same thing.

You have resource collection from your colonized planets, which is nice. Both players choose their actions for each turn simultaneously and then once both players submit their turns, the game progresses. Not so much looking at what your opponent did for his turn and then reacting, but rather trying to guess what your opponent will do on the current turn and choosing appropriate countermeasures. It's like a much more robust version of the basic Rock, Paper, Scissors mechanic. You are limited to four fleets at a time, but your individual fleets can apparently grow arbitrarily large. The battle calculation and rendering seems interesting.

I like it. I think I'll keep it and play it some more.

[CombatEX]

Cool! Thanks for the info. Now I want to play it even more =) The battle rendering seems quite impressive especially considering that you can play it on a phone.

By the way, I didn't mean to imply that gameplay-wise the games were all that comparable. Galactic Reign does look quite different judging from the introduction video. I just meant that they are both TBS with high production values, similarly fair payment models, and were received well by reviewers.

[TheGreatErenan]

Played a few more turns. Two fun things that happen in this game:

1. Arms races - You can see enemy fleets on adjacent planets to your own, and you can see the general value level of those fleets. So you spend your resources trying to make sure your own fleets are strong enough to defend if they should attack. This results in both fleets growing like crazy.
2. Reinforcements - I had a fun moment when there was an enemy fleet prepared to attack one of my planets where I had a relatively small fleet. Luckily, I had a stronger fleet on a planet adjacent to that one that my enemy couldn't see. So I moved it forward to help out in case he attacked. He did, and I destroyed him. So you have to consider whether your enemy might have reinforcements lurking somewhere that you're not aware of.
   

In general, this game is all about resource management. Do I spend my resources building my fleets, or do I colonize a planet, or do I conduct research into additional ship types, better weapons, and enhancements (cloaking devices, increased rate-of-fire modules, etc.)?

[Mag!cGuy]

Downloading trial version (it costs 4 euros! On windows 8 at least)