They’ve even included new starting positions for those who’ve wanted more variation when it comes to gamestarts. The expansion brings with it lots of new goodies, including an expanded economic system, new diplomatic missions, new ship types, weapons and other parts, and space station modules.

Not one to rest on their laurels, developer Egosoft has recently released the game’s first full-fledged expansion, X4: Split Vendetta. One of the other things that I appreciate about the game is that you can pilot just about any ship that you see, from the nimblest scout on up to large capital vessels. Once you do learn the ropes, however, X4 opens up into a beautifully-crafted game, full-on plenty of role-playing opportunities and a vast, immersive universe with a completely simulated NPC economy.

The few short tutorials don’t do the game much justice so I found myself frequently looking online for independent guides, etc. The first 20 or so hours of the game involved just learning the basics with regards to the game mechanics. I’d thought that Elite Dangerous was complex when I first tried that game but X4 has it beat (at least for me). X4: Foundations is a gaming experience that sucks you in and doesn’t let go.