When comparing EMPIRE: The Deck Building Strategy Game vs Starbase Orion, the Slant community recommends EMPIRE: The Deck Building Strategy Game for most people. In the question“What are the best 4X iOS games?” EMPIRE: The Deck Building Strategy Game is ranked 2nd while Starbase Orion is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose EMPIRE: The Deck Building Strategy Game is:
Empire features strategic gameplay, mixed with roguelike elements which require you to re-settle cities and a deep deck-building system.
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Pros
Pro Great roguelike gameplay and deck-building elements
Empire features strategic gameplay, mixed with roguelike elements which require you to re-settle cities and a deep deck-building system.
Pro Low price tag and no in-app purchases
Empire is available for $2,99 in the App Store, which makes it one of the cheaper games in its genre. The game also has no microtransactions or any other form of advertisement at all.
Pro Procedurally generated gameplay encounters ensure fresh gameplay
Every time you start a new game in Empire, it'll be different which makes for constant and fresh gameplay.
Pro Deep strategy
This is a fantastic game. If you enjoyed Master of Orion, you will love this. Single player mode is fun, but the real fun comes when you pit yourself against other players. Lots of ways to win. You can be a race of superintelligent aliens, a dark spy race, a race of hardened warriors, a race of traders. Lots of flexibility in the design of your race, wonderful tech system where each new tech really changes the play of the game. Can't be recommended highly enough for those with the patience to give a deep strategy game its due.
Pro Builds on the foundation of Master of Orion with great gameplay
Master of Orion was a wildly popular pc-game with a lot of interesting and unique gameplay elements, but hasn't aged very well. Thankfully, Starbase Orion can be seen as a spiritual successor and is based on the same elements that made Master of Orion great.
Pro Offers plenty of different gamemodes
Singleplayer and Multiplayer are both quite common in this genre, but Starbase Orion stands out from the competition thanks to a well-engaged community with additional modes for user leagues and tournaments.
Pro High replay value
The many different aspects of this game and the fact that Starbase Orion is filled with content and different gameplay scenario's also account to a high replay value.
Pro Compatible with older devices
Starbase Orion was released in 2011 and requires a device with iOS 5.1.1 or later. This low requirement makes the game very playable on older Apple devices.
Pro Good user interface and appealing visuals
Starbase Orion features an easy to use and accessible interface for simple and intuitive gameplay. The graphics are also quite nice for a 4X title.
Cons
Con Last updated 3 years ago
Con Limited lasting appeal
After going trough the game with the three different emperors, there's little reason to revisit Empire.
Con Difficult learning curve, sub-par tutorial
Just like the majority of 4X games, the learning curve to play Starbase Orion is quite high. Not everything is explained in the help pages.
Con High price tag
With a price tag of $7.99, Starbase Orion definitely isn't one of the cheaper options if you're looking to purchase a 4X strategy game.