Gasp! Betrayal! The Last Federation Expansion Out
A new 4X-y layer
Oh sure, uniting the galaxy in a harmonious federation is a noble goal, but video games do ignobility so well. On Friday, Arcen Games released the first The Last Federation, adding a little skulduggery. Named Betrayed Hope, it brings a new mode where you're done with all that unifying guff, instead controlling a planet trying to wipe out everyone also. But if you're big on that 'holding hands and singing friendly songs, we're all better together' malarkey, the other big addition is a mode about trying to defend the system from an alien invasion.
The core 'Betrayal' mode makes TLF a lot more 4X-y, commanding armadas and ground armies, and doing the usual 4X-y things to wipe everyone out. That 'Invasion' mode, meanwhile, sees your solar system invaded by the alien Obscura, who wipe out one race and will take a huge effort to wipe out. Sounds splendid, that. The expansion also adds new ships, abilities, music tracks, and quests. Betrayal is £4.49 on Steam at the moment, thanks to a small discount. The Last Federation is on sale too, down to £6.75 with a far larger discount. Or they're £3.99 and £6.10 respectively on GOG.
They're a busy lot, Arcen Games. They're also having a crack at making a 4X strategy game without combat in Stars Beyond Reach, and last week released several patches for the base game to accompany the expansion's launch. These bring the full patch notes since v1.0 to over 61,000 words - "quite literally the length of a respectable novel" Arcen point out.