AI War 2

Platform(s): PC
Genre: Strategy
Developer: Arcen Games

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'AI War 2' Multiplayer Mode And Zenith Onslaught Expansion Later This Month

by Rainier on May 6, 2021 @ 7:15 p.m. PDT

AI War 2 is a grand strategy/RTS hybrid against an overwhelming, inhuman enemy who has conquered the galaxy.

The enemy has made only a single error: underestimating you. You must steal as much technology as you can, take enough territory to fortify your bases and launch your attacks. But every conquest you make turns the attention of the AI ever more in your direction... so choose your targets with care.

AI War 2 is the epic sequel to 2009's space strategy hit, AI War: Fleet Command -- critically acclaimed for its dastardly AI and totaling nearly 2 million units sold, with more than 650,000 base game sales and 1.15m expansion purchases made to date.

Face off against a more advanced version of the original AI, who once again has captured the entire galaxy leaving you only a tiny planet to yourself. Then strike out and find a way to cleverly outwit it nonetheless. All the new capturables, larger fleets, and hacking abilities are sure to help. (You're going to need it.)

Or immerse yourself in a far more complicated galactic struggle involving the nanocaust, macrophages, dyson spheres, and more. Other factions each have their own goals, rules, units, and entirely unique economies. Make the scenario complicated enough and it can become "World War XV is in progress, you're in a tiny farm in the middle of it, nobody likes you, but if you can just kill that one giant angry enemy leader this will all be over."

If that sounds over the top -- and frankly that bit is wearying to us to imagine even though some people seek it out -- then take a break and maybe hack the all-consuming computer virus to be your ally, and convince the star-sized alien hives to watch your back as you take on a suddenly-less-arrogant AI.

On May 18, 2021, Arcen Games will launch AI War 2's Zenith Onslaught expansion for $9.99 along with AI War 2's multiplayer mode as a free update for all owners of the base game!

In this universe, the Zenith are long dead; only the mindless automatons called Golems are left behind, toiling away millennia after the fall of their civilization. But what of other universes? A universe where the Zenith still live would not likely be one in which humans could have flourished and taken to the stars. Multiverse theory has been around for hundreds of years, since back on Old Earth. It had never been tested. Then one day in the middle of our war with the AI, the first of an oncoming horde of Zenith came through from a neighboring universe. To them this was a post-apocalyptic starscape littered with the corpses of their kin. These are Zenith in their prime, confused as to the state of affairs in our galaxy, and not exactly pleased with their findings. Zenith Onslaught is the second expansion for AI War 2. It's focused on making the galaxy feel rich and complex and changeable in new ways. It primarily provides Zenith-based factions that have their own agendas independent of humanity, unlike The Spire Rises, where all the factions were much more interested in the player (for good or ill).

Major New Factions

  • The exciting Dark Zenith can be set to invade at some point. They then set up their own economy, allying with the Dark Spire if they are also enabled. These can really make even the AI sweat.
  • The powerful Zenith Architrave, fresh into our universe and desperate to get back to their own galaxy-spanning war. Minor diplomacy may be possible.
  • The frightening Zenith Miner, which first sends out probes, and later tries to mine entire planets into pieces. Has a special taste for Dyson Spheres. Hack them for fun and profit.

New Ships En Masse

  • 15 new and elite ships, Cruisers, now seed the galaxy that can greatly enhance your fleet. These powerful ships are both extremely powerful in their own right but each possesses a special feature based on their weapon tech. Two of these can only found by stealing Zenith technology.
  • 11 new Outguard to recruit to humanity's side, each with their own unique contribution, from the Trojan Horse that hides in plain sight before releasing its hidden drone army to the Cornucopia that supercharges your metal generation when you need it the most.
  • 7 new mines, such as the reactive dummy that attracts enemy fire and returns a portion back to the sender, and a reworking of the original to grant every weapon tech their own.
  • And many new strikecraft, frigates, and stationkeepers to further expand humanity's arsenal! As well as new variants of the base-game golems!

Other Major Features

  • Nomad Planets make a triumphant return from the original AI War, with options for entire Nomad Galaxies. And yes, you can still become death, destroyer of worlds.
  • Wormhole borers, dangerous tools in the hands of the AI that allow them to tunnel behind your defenses.
  • 10 devious new AI types.
  • 2 new map styles.

Key Fetures:

  • Many optional factions, each with their own goals and strategies, create a living galaxy.
  • A new Fleets system gives you even more ships than before, and allows you to customize your empire more than ever.
  • A ton of map types, and with a lot of sub-options to make them even more varied.
  • Outguard to hire, factions to ally with, and oodles of targets to capture or hack --with the AI or aliens.
  • Warden, Hunter, and Praetorian Guard sub-fleets of the AI provide for new challenges (and sometimes opportunities) in how both you and the AI interact with each other.
  • Crazy moddability, with many levers available in easily-accessible XML.

AI War 2 is available on PC (Steam) for $19.99.


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