Master of Orion

The Good
During the early 90's (where has the time gone?) Microprose was simply a hit machine. Pirates, Civ, X-Com, Railroad Tycoon, and of course Master Of Orion. In some ways you could call this game CIV in space. However I dont think it does this title justice. In many ways this title takes a complex and sometimes boring Catagory (space) and turns it into a easy to learn and fun game. MOO has all the classic marks of a legend. Its easy to learn, addictive, constantly challengeing, replayable, Different gameplay (i.e. the game can be played in many differnt ways), great music, and terrific design. A great deal of attention and talent went into MOO and it shows.

The Bad
Not a great deal, some of the ship views were a little bad.

A part of me would have liked to be able to research all the different tech, however the fact you cant makes you want to trade and do business with other allens.

The Bottom Line
Great classic, Highly recommended

The Good
This is a challenging strategy game and the challenge was the best part about it for me. At first, the impossible level really did seem impossible. So figuring out how to beat the game using the right combination of planetary resource allocation, research strategy, ship design, diplomacy, and trade was major fun.

Reading game guides and tips beforehand will spoil the challenge. Eventually, you'll figure out many ways to beat the game, but that was also when the game lost its appeal for me.

The Bad
I like to play a "huge" galaxy, but after taking over 40-50 plants or so, it becomes tedious to micro manage. The program could have been better written so that a human player could more easily handle all the planets at once.

The Bottom Line
Awesome player vs computer strategy game.

Good game interface. Passable graphics. Minimal sound effects (but at least it's not annoying). Play this game for the challenge, not for the bells and whistles.

The Good
This game had me up wayyy pat my bedtime so many times it isn't even funny. I even played a game from the time I got up until early the next morning. <ahem> on with the review. The ability to custom build ships with all sorts of combinations gave your fleets a personal touch unequalled elsewhere (well, except in Master Of Orion II). the endless debates over small ships vs. large, more nukes or more lasers, what planets to turn into factories, etc. kept me going continuously. the diplomatic system seemed a lot more realistic than in Civilization. instead of declaring wars seemingly at random, the other empires would watch to see if you were massing ships at their borders, would start to like you when you attacked their enemies, and would generally be nice if you weren't being threatening, depending on their attitudes. the tech system gave you advantages with every advance, and often had me tearing my hair out wondering if I should devote more to weapons or construction techs (more armor). The advantages of warping across the galaxy fast enough to outrace an invading fleet were undeniable. the planetary management, with its sliding bars of planetary resource management, had me tweaking my planets endlessly for best effect. Oh, and lets not forget about getting ready for that showdown with the guardian of Orion. oh, yeah. It also had the best manual I've seen in a computer game.

The Bad
The micromanagement of a lot of planets gets tedious, especially when the game settings don't do things the way you like, and you forget which planets you have set to special projects.

The Bottom Line
It's the most fun I've had with any space game, and will suck you into its depths if you let it. Building a space empire was never so much fun.