Uses two-dimensional "sprites", 2D images created and used on a flat plane, as opposed to the three-dimensional models or environments found in 3D games.
4X is a genre of strategy-based games in which players control an empire and "eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate". Emphasis is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of non-military routes to supremacy. Games can take a long time to complete since the amount of micromanagement needed to sustain an empire increases as the empire grows.
