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
First of I liked the gameplay, it is just wonderful. You can pick from about 9 different races, all with their various strenghs and weaknesses. You then pick your name and your homeworld's name, and a color for your flag and ships. You then go into the main gamescreen where you control the game. There you can colonize worlds and build ships and send fleets to do war on the other races. You win by being elected govener of the universe. If you like strategy games you'll like Master of Orion.

The Bad
At times it was irritating that the diplomacy was as limited as it is, but thats a small complaint.

The Bottom Line
Master of Orion is a great game, that is easy to learn, but hard to master, as the old maxim goes. Definently a game that any strategy gamer should own, and if you like sci-fi games, this should be in your game library.

The Good
Seems like everyone with the exception of Tony Van like this one :-)

This is a really classic game. I accidentally got this from someone back in -- I think it was '94, checked it out and loved it ever since. It's a bit hard to get used to the interface (as in most MicroProse games), but once you got used to it you'll never let go. The graphics are but OK and the music is practically non-existant, but it didn't stop this game from presenting the gamer with AMAZINGLY addictive gameplay. It is one of the most addictive games I ever played, along with the classic Civilization and Master of Magic, I just couldn't let go of it.

The strategy is great and innovative (they fixed the lack of colony manipulation in Master of Orion 2), and the combat is really great by any standard. The Guardian is also a great gimmick and adds a lot of flavour to the game.

It is a classic game which should be played by everyone.

The Bad
Well, as I already mentioned, the colony manipulation/evolution is rather neglected (which was fixed in the sequel), and there is practically no music. The sound effects are cool though.

The Bottom Line
A classic game. Play it. Now. Or you'll go to hell.