M.A.X. is a game I find myself coming back to every few years. Its concept is so simple that I'm amazed that no-one has really attempted something comparable. It's not a perfect game, but here's what keeps me coming back to it: Resource Scarcity - One of the best ever at this. You're set on a planet with very little information or resources, you need to explore the surrounding area to find critical supplies of minerals, fuel, and gold in order to build the facilities you need to get a competitive advantage over your enemies. You also need to create a series of connectors and vehicles to transport these critical materials to different parts of your complex. You need to pool your resources and decide where you focus your development: defensive fixed structures and land mines? a fast-deploying air transport fleet? large numbers of lightly-armored scouts in an attempt to quickly beat an opponent? research facilities to broadly improve your entire complex? You can't do it all, so plan ahead. Initial Balance - The interplay between ground troops, air units, naval units, and fixed structures is terrific. There is no obvious path or unit to victory allowing you time to compensate for setbacks. Upgrade - Every unit has its initial benefits and drawbacks, but with the gold upgrade system you can create anything you want. Super-robust missile launchers? Speedy tanks? Devastatingly powerful gunships? All doable--for a price. There are drawbacks beyond the normal audio-visual quirks of a game this age: the game isn't 100% stable, the AI can be lacking at all but the most powerful levels, and the UI could be streamlined more, but I do recommend this for a few hours to solid gameplay. In conclusion: this is a good strategy game, and I hope folks to design strategy games give this a try. It's enlightening. M.A.X.2 is a massive disappointment--I wouldn't even bother firing it up. You may be concerned about paying for just one recommended game, but I believe it is worth it.
Let me preface this by saying I'm not a big first-person shooter fan--I've probably played a half-dozen titles in my life. This game is quirky, it has a number of faults and gamey exploits, and was dated even in 2003. It has a single-player story line that's so melodramatic that it's actually funny. Despite that, it was one of the most entertaining ways to waste countless hours with friends. For all of its faults, the game has a lot of things that go *boom* and little else. Sometimes that's all you need. With this game, I learned there are few things more entertaining than to trap a friend into a gamey exploit and hear them scream at you in frustration. It only takes a few minutes for a complete novice to catch up to speed, so it's an ideal game for newbies into the FPS genre. IF you can convince a couple of friends to shell out $6, it can be a fun multi-player experience. If you're a serious FPS player, you might be disappointed.
