Master of Orion

Master of Orion is a 4x turn-based space strategy game set in the same universe as the 1993 classic of the same name. Tested on an i7 gaming rig with 32GB RAM + 8GB VRAM. The good: -Graphics are supurb for the genre, with attention paid to small details. -Ship design is far less of a chore than in previous titles. -Modding community is vibrant and supported. -Smooth loading and short transitional times. -Nice animation & sound details for diplomatic interaction. -Tongue-in-cheek humour during "news snippets". The bad: -Game is pretty much a remake of Master of Orion 2, adding no new story to the mix. -Oversimplified AI reduces the challenge of both strategy & tactical combat. -"Star lanes" limit options for stellar travel, though alleviated by later tech. -Game has infrequent CTD bugs. The ugly: -Fleet balance for story-based invading forces can be overwhelming by force of numbers. -"Suprise" DRM and EULA for multiplayer connectivity limits online player base. -Oh hey, DLC. The summary: A major improvement over MoO 3, placing slightly lower than MoO 2 for development, though the addition of full animation and sound will definitely appeal to a wide player base. The score: 8/10 for single player 6/10 for multiplayer (DLC, EULA surprises)

I really enjoy this one. At current stage I find it really good. Not too many mechanics and I think even those who have not played Master of Orion games before will quickly pick it up. It's quite simple which is refreshing if your burned out with grand strategy games with many mechanics. Turns go quickly and this game doesn't really punish for expanding as fast as possible. Can't talk about multiplayer game, but if you want a good simple strategy game this is great. There's still enough options and races & interface looks really good. You also get relevant information quickly. Some negatives I found are that you need to renew trade treaties too often and pollution system is little too simple. Also colony bases like in MoO 2 would be great (ability to colonize other planets in system without building a colony ship. Bottom line: Solid game and as a MoO 2 veteran I'm really glad it's here. Definetely worth a try to any turn based strategy fan.

Master of Orion would've been a great game given time and patching. Unfortunately the devs abandoned it due to poor sales, which were probably due to the negative user reviews. It is true this game lacks layers of strategic depth compared to other 4x titles and if it were simplified anymore we'd be talking phone game territory. Having said that, the game has enough depth to still be great fun to play and definately worth a purchase. I have a great many hours in it. Pick it up on a sale and grab the "unofficial code patch" and "ultimate balance mod lite" from nexus mods. These two mods elimate the bugs and most of the balance issues, and pretty much make the game what I would've been if the devs still patched it.

I love Master of Orion 2 and hate MoO3 (just saying to give you general idea of my taste in games) and let me just tell you...this game is awesome. It is perfect mix of serious and yet not so serious (I love galaxy news network!). And this just works, thanks to this it escapes the trap of being pompous and heavy. You feel like you are creating your own story in the vain of Babylon 5 or Star Trek. Strategically it is simple but far from simplistic, perfect opening title for beginners and perfectly relaxing one for old veterans who want to have fun without drawing cost analysis for every movement. Just like older MoO this one does not try to be very complex, it is logical, easy to grasp with amazing visual style and climate, you will fall in love with ships, leader's reactions, you will burst with pride when you will establish your first colony (great landing videos, different for every type of planet so you immediately see with your own eyes how it will be for colonists). Many people write about Multiplayer but since I am very single player oriented I just do not care. Computer not only plays smart, it plays with personality. You feel every race being different and this just seals the deal. You are not playing chess with pieces looking like ships, you feel the world being alive, your decisions being remembered, other races reacting to everything that happens. For me this is it, I always wanted a game that is exactly this. Perfect mixture of complexity and approachability with graphic style that is to die for. Up until this point my favourite space strategy was MoO 2, but now... king is dead, long live the king!

I like the game, not to complicated, relaxing to play. Never tried Multiplayer, which is what most people seem to gripe about.