After getting your universe in order, so to speak, you get to play the game and the first thing you immediately notice is the full 3D graphics, a huge upgrade from the 2D look that the original Galactic Civilizations had. While everything is still played on a 2D plane, the graphical looks on the planets, ships and universe are very impressive. Of course it's not all looks. You have to start going up that technology tree by researching via lab, factories and more. There are a ton of different options you have to be aware of, especially in ship creation. You will be able to design your own ships with different hulls, weapons and more to choose from.

The planetary management system has gotten a chance from the original game to its sequel. Originally you could develop any planet you want with any kind of option you wanted. Not anymore for Galactic Civilizations II. The sequel actually rates planets you colonise from 0-47, with 47 being the biggest. The bigger the planet, the more terrain you can use. Those types of large planets tend to be rare, however and even with the big ones you can't make everything you need as you could in the original.