sci-fi

I think the fact that I still play this game 10 years later says it all. Master of Orion II (MOO2) may be the best 4-X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) game I've ever played -- and that includes the other heavy hitter in this category, Civilization.

MOO2 is endlessly replayable. In addition to the numerous standard alien races (all of which you can play), there are nearly limitless combinations of custom races you can make. This alone allows you to challenge yourself over and over. Try a crippled race with multiple penalties and no bonuses. Or try taking bonuses you don't usually like.

And the ship-building! This could be a game in an of itself. Everything is customizable, from the size of ship, to its armament, even down to its name. You can concentrate on massive, Death Star-like constructs, or field a fleet of easily replaceable "missile boats". Or perhaps you prefer Wing Commander-style carrier-based combat? MOO2 can handle that as well (although you don't get to control the individual fighters, just the capital ships).

Add in the random events, various galaxy sizes, and Antaran attacks, and you have a game that never fails to entertain. MOO2 will still be on my hard drive 10 years from now.

I'm a huge fan of the Master of Orion games, and I've spent far too many hours in front of my computer playing this game and its predecessor. MoO1 may have been inferior graphically, and there WERE some major improvements in this sequel, but overall, it was a bit of a letdown.

This was, for the most part, the fault of the micromanagement. The AI, of course, was idiotic about what it chose to build, and that meant that, if I was expanding quickly, I'd have several planets that I'd have to go to every turn or so to build a nice queue for.

A large part of the fun of the first game was the fact that I didn't have to worry about those minutae. I just decided how much of a planet's income was to be spent on productivity, then went on worrying about the larger-scale problems; trade agreements, expansion, wars, etc.

A few friends and I spent a lot of time playing this as a multiplayer "hotseat" game, and near the end, when everyone had a lot of planets to worry about, turns took forever.

I'm anxiously awaiting MoO3, though I fear that the removal of the IFPs will mean that later turns will turn into micromanagement nightmares like in Battle At Antares.

This game is great! My boyfriend turned me onto it, and I LOVE IT! It has provided me with hours of enjoyment, trying out different races and different statistics. Very cool options to build ships, research facilities, industry facilities, and farming facilities. I also enjoy the different ways to win the game--beating the Antarans or conquering all the other races. The hot seat function is great as well, because you can play with friends. Definitely a game worth playing for anyone out there that likes Sci Fi.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and still am!