Millennia: Altered Destinies

The Good
This is a very innovative and original game, with an interesting and well-implemented premise. The concept of the game is so original, in fact, that had it not been for the annoying bugs and problems with it (read on) it would probably make a real classic people will regard with the same respect that got Civilization and Doom to where they are today.

• While graphics is not a very strong point in favor of this game, it's not really bad either. Sound, on the other hand, is where the game excels - excellent music (though MIDI in nature) and great sound effects add a lot to the general atmosphere of the game.
• An interesting, original story which is implemented very well in the game. A great introductory sequence does add a lot to the general understanding of this game and surely makes playing it more worthwhile.
• An original, if not very intuitive, control system with some original concepts - refuelling the ship is done by collecting particles from gas giants and feeding them to the ship's engine, however there's a risk involved and you may damage your ship.
• Agnus, the ship's AI, which is a nice gimmick.
• Your alter-ego, which is rarely encountered in the game but the encounters are ALWAYS interesting.
• Again, I feel I must emphasize - though can't really describe - the original gameplay concepts introduced in this game.

The Bad
Well, the controls are, as already stated, not very intuitive; the game tends to repeat itself a lot; it is extremely difficult; puzzles are sometimes really annoying; game runs horribly unstable (crashes a lot and will not run well under Windows) and a lot of small bugs (being stuck somewhere and for some reason not being able to leave the star system is a notable one) take away a lot from what could be one of the most interesting games ever.
Also, an overly simple and minimalistic space travel approach and planet management.

The Bottom Line
An interesting, original and innovative game which was not implemented the way it should and therefore disappeared without getting any attention at all.