Master of Orion

This mixture of Master of Orion 2 and 3 coupled with Galactic Civilizations IV is quite nice.

I played a lot of MOO2 as a teen, and this is definitely a modern successor. While I have a few quibbles with the changes made (i.e., the warp-path system), none of them are deal-breakers. I still enjoy it, but recommend you get the Community Patches.

I've enjoyed MOO since MOO2 back in 1997. This new version is fun and a decent update to the original. I've been told other 4x games are better, this version of MOO is dated and doesn't add anything new, but I haven't found another game I enjoy as much.

"What I kill stays dead" <Diablo II Assassin; about Blood Raven> This was the most expected game for me, even though I knew it had 98% chance of being finished off with a one strong high precision crush. So, when I had the chance to buy it and play, I prepared a keyboard and a blank file to remember any pros or cons I encounter, and then post them as a review. I abandoned that idea when cons overflowed the second A4 page. Here is the short formula: this game is as good as it could be with a designer as a game developer, not an engineer. Here are the highlights: 1. The start of the game. You have 2 scouts and a settler. You travel around the map, find tribal encampments and get gold, tech and additional scouts for finding them first. Then you build a worker and start building improvements. In case someone's still wondering, the gameplay is charcoal-copied from Civilization. I'm not saying "inspired by", nor even "replicated" or "remade". "Charcoal-copied"; 2. A scientist produces 1 point of science. Why? Right — to make the value go real with ANY modifier; 3. Mass Driver has 10 DPS (not the actual value). Cool, how much is that vs. the Class I Field? 9? 3? 0? 4.5? All these are possible. With the fire rate we COULD calculate it, but I'm not sure they gave us the rate of fire; 4. Technology screen has 98% fancy painting and 2% useful info. As you may have guessed, you must mouse over to get it. Why bother? — says the screen — It's not worth it! He is right; 5. Ships have no individuality (used to be the keystone of the MoO series, right?). They are like resources, counted in numbers. 6. Most technologies are available, ALL key technologies are availabe, all races play the same. 7. The best one for the last. Assume you are firing a torpedo at moving target. A nasty equation system has to be solved, that oft yields several answers. Which one to choose? Maybe, one at random? Wondering why is this relevant? You must have never seen ships firing torpedoes backwards!

One of the best space themed 4x available for beginners to get into the genre. Only downside is that official support and updates ended in 2017. Download the UCP (unofficial code patch) for additional bug fixes.