Review: Galactic Civilizations 2
Stardock Systems is back, with an all new incarnation of their space based turn-based strategy classic, Galactic Civilizations II: Dread Lords. The Geeks have spent the last month putting this new version through its paces to see how it stacks up against its forbearers and the competition.
For those unfamiliar with Stardock and the Galactic Civilizations franchize, a bit of history is due here. GalCiv (as it is commonly referred to) started out in the mid 1990’s as one of the top games for IBM’s OS/2 Operating System. The game was well received as a fun, encompassing game, with extremely powerful AI opponents that did not cheat (unlike the AI found in similar games such as Sid Meier’s Civilization series.) In the 2001-2002 timeframe Stardock released an updated version for the Windows platform with improved graphics, but much the same game play as the original (Brad Wardell, head of Stardock once mentioned that it took the Windows platform that long to catch up to the multithreaded capabilities of OS/2 and the AI system in GalCiv is heavily multithreaded.) GalCiv 2: Dread Lords continues the franchise, incorporating all the things that made the original game work, while adding several interesting features.
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Mvix advertises their MV-5000U Multimedia Center as the next evolution in portable entertainment which enables watching movies, home videos, digital photos and listening to music through your TV or home-theater system or even in your automobile. The device can also be used as a USB 2.0 external hard drive as well. Check out what the Geeks thought about this scaled down portable replacement for a HTPC (Home Theater Personal Computer) by reading on. 
The Slappa PSP Complete Case successfully protected our PSP last week, so today the Geeks tested Slappa’s smaller Playstation Portable (PSP) case called the HardBody Case. We have been testing Slappa products for quite some time now and Slappa has garnered our respect for making high quality protection systems for various geek gear. Read on to see if this trend continues… 
The Geeks have played with several Slappa products over the years and have never been disappointed with the various products they sell that “protect your digital gear.” Today, we will test the Slappa tagline by putting a Sony Playstation Portable at risk in the PSP Complete Case. If the PSP survives the tests today, we’ll then test the PSP in their HardBody Case for the PSP. Check out our thoughts on the Slappa PSP Complete Case by reading on. 
iPods are perfect gizmos for getting through the drudgery of workouts allowing your mind to wander to the music, but what if your workouts consist of water sports or swimming or anything more extreme that a stationary bike and treadmill? 
