Overcome the Odds in AI War 2: Terminator Chess in Space

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Game of Galactic Chess
3. Overcoming the Odds
4. Resources in Air War 2
5. Simplification of Resource Gathering and Ship Building
6. AI Progress
7. Difficulty Levels in Air War 2
8. Ship Combinations and Upgrades
9. Defensive Gameplay
10. Other Structures on the Map
11. Modding in Air War 2
12. Verdict and Final Thoughts

Air War 2: Overcoming the Odds in a Game of Galactic Chess

Air War 2 is a game that challenges players to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds in a game of galactic chess against an AI opponent. In this game, players start with a single pawn while the enemy controls the whole board and has more than a full set of pieces. The galaxy is enslaved, humanity is nothing but a small remnant, and every minute and move is a game where the ultimate survival of the human race is at stake.

The Game of Galactic Chess

In Air War 2, players take pieces trying to find a way to corner the enemy king, but with each move, the enemy set of pieces gets reinforced. Players take a particularly important figure, improving their position, but the enemy introduces a new strategy and gets five new pieces to replace the one taken. The situation seems more and more hopeless, and players realize that a frontal confrontation is something they want to avoid.

Now imagine playing a game of galactic chess against the AI, where You start with a single pawn but the enemy starts controlling the whole board and having more than a full set of pieces. Air War 2 is a game about overcoming odds that are stacked against you, with the only hope of success resting in your own unimportance, in the minuscule nature of your own forces compared to the legions the AI controls.

Overcoming the Odds

The AI in Air War 2 is cold and rational, and there is no need to devote an overwhelming force on an unimportant, weak, and small target. The best strategy is a guerrilla war, an image of weakness behind which players can build their strength until it's time to strike at the heart of the AI. An open war is Never advisable and rarely viable.

The game is played on a galactic map of your choice, consisting of interconnected planets that are under AI control. The goal is to eliminate the AI's main command HQ, but on the way there, players have to liberate additional planets to gain the many things they will need to achieve this goal.

Resources in Air War 2

The game is Based around a few resources: metal, energy, and science. Metal is generated through special mining stations attached to planets, energy is mainly generated by command centers that players claim planets with, and science is a finite resource gained through planet liberation and is used for a few things, the most important probably tech upgrades. There are also hacking points, another finite resource gained through planet liberation and used for many useful hacking actions that can help players in their struggle against the AI.

Simplification of Resource Gathering and Ship Building

Air War 2 made a commendable step and introduced a few features that are really not making the game any simpler than its predecessors but probably easier to handle. Air War 2 has shifted the focus more to a macro kind of game, removing many of the features that were more micro-intensive in Air War.

Fleets now have flagships that will automatically rebuild and spawn ships if factories are in range. A flat amount of science is gathered over time when players take over an AI planet without needing to build labs. Command stations can now be built without actually getting a colony shipped to the system. Hacking is now mostly tied to a flagship that is doing the actual work.

AI Progress

AI progress is probably the most important mechanic in the game. AI progress is a value that is raised or lowered by players' actual actions against the AI. It's a very simple but effective system. Players raise the AI progress by aggressive actions against the AI, like destroying one of its command stations to liberate a planet. Every such action increases the AI progress score, which measures the AI response to players' actions. The higher the score, the more Attention the AI devotes to players' destruction. Therefore, the optimal way is to Raise players' AI progress as little as possible and to use the opportunities of hacking and destroying special AI installations to keep players' AI progress as low as possible. High AI score basically means that the AI will dedicate more forces to players' destruction or pull forces from other theaters of war with extragalactic war forces, which are seen as the real war machines the AI uses when it's serious about destroying somebody.

Difficulty Levels in Air War 2

One of the things the AI War franchise is known for is the difficulty. The difficulty ranges from difficulty 1 to 10, where 7 is seen as the place where the game really begins and where the AI is challenging. Everything below is intended as a way to test things and learn the game, while difficulty is hard and seven are seen as the real challenging ones. An interesting system is that difficulty 10 is intended to be unbeatable by the devs, and every time someone actually manages to beat a level 10 AI, it is seen as a bug. The dev appreciates reports of such victories and usually addresses the way the level 10 AI was beaten.

Ship Combinations and Upgrades

There are far too many ships in Air War 2 for me to pretend that I'm familiar with all of them, and for the sake of this review, it is just important to point out that ship combinations and the way of upgrading them by spending science lead to many possible combinations and different gameplay styles, which are suited to countering some specific plays by different types of AI as well as differentiating players' own style of gameplay.

Defensive Gameplay

The defensive gameplay is mostly centered around turrets and mines. Planets have specific turret caps that can be further upgraded by capturing certain structures, using battle stations, and other methods. Strategic placement and foresight are very important, but even the most sophisticated defensive system has little chance of stemming the AI tide if the AI progress is too high. In players' specific game, it is rather satisfying to see waves upon waves of AI crash on their defensive lines, and when there is enough of a defense to stop their enemies.

Other Structures on the Map

Other structures can be found on the map, and some of these can be used to call in other factions into the galaxy. Sometimes, they can be forced as friendly to players, such as human resistance fighters, which will come in two systems to aid them. Morriders will raid the AI but players as well. Metal-eating aliens are very keen on meeting the massive fleet of the AI. Nanobots, golems, ancient alien races featured in the Aspire, the UFC, all these things provide players with a different way to deal with the challenges posed by the AI.

Modding in Air War 2

One thing that I appreciate in any game is modding, and there seems to be a thriving modding scene for Air War 2. I haven't really gotten around to trying many Mods, but the mod I can recommend is the excellent civilian industry mod, which adds another faction that can be released on the galaxy of players' choice, basically a whole civilian sector that will help players with the AI by building its own fleet and trading network. This mod ships with the game along with some others and can be enabled in the options.

Verdict and Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I have to say that I was surprised by the fact of how addicting the gameplay loop is. It looks rather simplistic sometimes, more chess-like, but it keeps players interested, and before they know it, they find themselves playing 10-hour matches against the higher AI difficulties, trying to find a way to pull the plug out of that AI that's been taunting them for a while. I would highly recommend the game, and it is well worth the money asked for, and it certainly will reward players with a lot of fun if they actually stick with it and learn the basics.

Highlights

• Air War 2 is a game about overcoming odds that are stacked against players, with the only hope of success resting in their own unimportance, in the minuscule nature of their own forces compared to the legions the AI controls.
• The game is played on a galactic map of players' choice, consisting of interconnected planets that are under AI control. The goal is to eliminate the AI's main command HQ, but on the way there, players have to liberate additional planets to gain the many things they will need to achieve this goal.
• AI progress is probably the most important mechanic in the game. The higher the score, the more attention the AI devotes to players' destruction. Therefore, the optimal way is to raise players' AI progress as little as possible and to use the opportunities of hacking and destroying special AI installations to keep players' AI progress as low as possible.
• Ship combinations and the way of upgrading them by spending science lead to many possible combinations and different gameplay styles, which are suited to countering some specific plays by different types of AI as well as differentiating players' own style of gameplay.
• The defensive gameplay is mostly centered around turrets and mines. Planets have specific turret caps that can be further upgraded by capturing certain structures, using battle stations, and other methods.

FAQ

Q: What is Air War 2? A: Air War 2 is a game that challenges players to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds in a game of galactic chess against an AI opponent.

Q: What is the goal of Air War 2? A: The goal is to eliminate the AI's main command HQ, but on the way there, players have to liberate additional planets to gain the many things they will need to achieve this goal.

Q: What is AI progress in Air War 2? A: AI progress is a value that is raised or lowered by players' actual actions against the AI. The higher the score, the more attention the AI devotes to players' destruction.

Q: What is the defensive gameplay like in Air War 2? A: The defensive gameplay is mostly centered around turrets and mines. Planets have specific turret caps that can be further upgraded by capturing certain structures, using battle stations, and other methods.

Q: Is there modding in Air War 2? A: Yes, there is modding in Air War 2, and there seems to be a thriving modding scene for the game.