Master of Orion 1+2

On par with more modern titles such as 'Reach for the Stars', MOO2 has aged very nicely. The user interface surprised me, often a single right mouse click brought up a useful box with 3 sentences of useful information. The UI was so good it seemed to be context sensitive, a feat even modern games have trouble achieving. There is no 'right' way to play, so you have a lot of options as to how your 4X experience plays out.

As I sit here playing the original Master of Orion on my 42inch LCD, the beautiful pixels on my screen bring a tear to my eye. This game is, without a doubt, one of the top five games of my childhood. Even to this day, many many years after its release, it still captivates me. The original Master of Orion is the perfect balance of strategic gameplay and simplicity. In this turn-based strategy games you must decide how to use your turns to better your civilization. You get to choose a starting civilization that has different bonuses wether it be a bonus to production, espionage, or technology, among others. Each turn allows you to produce ships, research, build defenses, up your population, or explore nearby star systems. Bottom line is this game is well worth the $5.99 price tag. Easily, hours upon hours of quality entertainment.

These two games are in the very small group of games that I can play over and over. Then come back years later to play them again.

Master of Orion and its sequel serve as the standard by which all other sci-fi 4x strategy games should be measured. Combining complex strategy with an easy to learn interface and set of game mechanics, the MoO series highlights everything I love about strategy and galactic conquest. Some "classic" titles don't hold up when you revisit them a decade or more later, but that's not the case here. Master of Orion 1+2 is as great today as it was in the mid-90s. If you're a strategy fan and you haven't played these yet, buy right now.

It is too addictive, you play "one more turn" and notice that you played 3hours.