This week Critical Reception column looks at the overall game reviewers' reception to recent release of 4X (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) space exploration in independent developer Stardock's Galactic Civilizations II: The Dreadlords, which it both developed and published for the PC. In this extract, we look at the review consensus for the PC title: "Considering that the original Galactic Civilizations outsold the then much-anticipated (but ultimately disappointing and poorly rated) third iteration of the original 4X space game Master of Orion, a sequel was only natural, and looked forward to with considerable expectation. And, according to reviewers, it does not disappoint, scoring an average rating of 88% according to game review compilation website GameTab.com. In terms of bang for the buck, Galactic Civilizations 2 offers "tons of gameplay", according to Yahoo! Games' Mike Smith, while being priced $10 lower than the bulk of new PC titles, and offering a fresh look at a genre that's been relatively undersupplied in recent years." You can now read the full Gamasutra column on the subject, including lots more information on how the major game review sites treated the new PC title (no registration required, please feel free to link to the article from external websites).