1. XTRMNTR2K

   9

   Star Ruler is one of the rare examples of a pleasant surprise in today's gaming world. Back in August 2010 when it was released, I decided to pick this game up on a whim since the advertising text sounded promising enough and the price tag was more than fair.
   
   I have to admit that I was originally taken aback because of the obvious bugs and various shortcomings when I first ran this game. However, I decided to gave Star Ruler a second chance by playing some more, and visiting the official forum. It was there that I discovered how honest and open the developers were about their game, as well as determined to improve it as much as possible. After releasing numerous patches, always listening and replying to user feedback, Blind Mind Studios managed to polish this gem into the jewel it was meant to be. Star Ruler deserves more than just a 'first look', which usually focuses on presentation such as graphics and sound effects. While these are adequate and functional for a game of this scale, it is the underlying gameplay mechanics and mod-friendliness where it shines the brightest. Aside from this, Newtonian physics and free scalability (both of ships and the size of the galaxy you are playing in!) are but two points that really set SR aside from everything else on the market.
   
   While the official content delivered with the base game would net a score of around 8.0, the accessibility to modding of this game is easily among the best (10.0 points). So everyone looking for a great 4X game with a focus on expansion, research, combat and ship design should look no further. Star Ruler is both unique and affordable enough to be a 'must have' for any self-respecting fan of 4X games.… Expand

   • Helpful? 4 of 4 users said Yes.
2. 20k

   9

   This game has changed significantly since its release last year, including a slew of improvements to every aspect of the game, drastically improving the fun of gameplay and the performance of the game as well. The ship customisation allows you to create hulking death stars that blow up stars and planets in one shot, or create a hoard of tiny fighters to overwhelm your enemies defences (these inevitably get called "trolols" in the ship design when you play with friends :P) . You can also create squads of ships that all complement each other and form a good team, or simply create a ship bigger than your solar system with a trillion guns that obliterates everything within weapons distance from it. They take a while to build and a huge amount of technology so its still balanced
   If you played or read a review of the game when it was released, you should take another look at it because it is much, much better than it was then… Expand

   • Helpful? 5 of 5 users said Yes.
3. tehv

   9

   Most strategy games give you units with a preset design. Whatever the developers design and put into the game you have to use.
   I personally find this game appealing since you can customize every unit that you have in your fleet. From mobile base stations to mining barges. The game is fully customizable to YOUR liking and may seem incomplete for this very reason.
   The game is as fun as YOU make it, however there are a few reasons I marked it down.
   -If you don't have a high end computer the game can crash quite easily due to the amount of units and star systems in play. I couldn't finish one game because my computer couldn't handle it.
   -Some of the options are rather limited. For instance the scanner you can put onto ships is only used for scanning enemy ships. It would be useful for the scanner to be able to scan planets since you don't know what type a planet is until you colonize it.
   Otherwise this game is fun and time munching. I played for the first time and I was soo engrossed that I played for 2 hours straight without realizing it.
   It can get boring unless you sandbox it. But if you do, it can vastly increase your fun when you play for real.… Expand

   • Helpful? 1 of 1 users said Yes.
4. Furutta

   6

   Star Ruler is (as of this review (9/29/10)) a somewhat fun if incomplete game. While we often wonder if developers are releasing incomplete products, Blind Mind Studios is more than willing to admit that they released an incomplete game to start generating a cash flow, and are currently adding substantially to the features and options available in Star Ruler. What they've given us so far proves that Star Ruler could very well be the game that space strategy fans have been looking for, after all, who doesn't the ability to make any custom ship from a tiny fighter to something as big as a star?… Expand

   • Helpful? 7 of 8 users said Yes.

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