I write this review as I download it. Tuesdays are fun days for me as I love to see what new game gog.com has to offer. I squealed in delight and had to make a double take to make sure I was seeing correctly. SimCity 2k was one of only three games on my childhood powermac (Syndicate and Themepark being the other two; yes, I had a blessed childhood), and it by far received more attention than anything. If you've played any of the series, you'll be quite comfortable here. Compared to 4 or 3k, you'll find this to be more simple, but you'll also find a more seamless experience, and one where building is put at the forefront. Easily one of the best games to come to good old games.
I'm a fan of strategy games. Age of Empires, Civilization, Call to Power, Command and Conquer, the list goes on and on; I love them all, real time or turn based. And my love started with a simple yet engrossing game called Master of Orion 2. MOO2 remains one of my favorite games, and I experienced true euphoria when I saw it in the news release on gog's front page. I instantly whipped out my credit card, and eagerly awaited the download to finish. From the quirky, futuristic music and sounds to the customizable ships, races, and colonies, this game has everything one could ever want or expect of a 4x stuffed into a simple and perfect package. If you've ever played a 4x game, you know what to expect: start out on your home turf, build up your starting turf while you explore you surroundings, colonize a few systems, meet the neighbors, get into an intergalactic war with your neighbors, destroy your neighbors and claim the neighborhood for yourself, rinse, and repeat until it's time to shower for work. You will get lost in this game. The variety of races allows for many different gameplay strategies to be prospected, or you can customize a race to desired traits (somewhat rare for a 4x game I've found). Space battles can be either controlled by you the user, or left up to the game to decide. There can be multiple planets in a system, all available for settling, and later you can tweak the planets for optimum growth. There is a certain balance to the gameplay that keeps it from ever getting frustrating, and I find myself hard pressed to ever curse the game for allowing a cheap move. I could go on with this giddy and shallow appraisal, but I can only skim the surface of how great this game is. If you're looking for a strategy game, end your search here. As an awesome bonus, the original Master of Orion is included, all for six bucks.
The majority of the games on this site came before my 'prime'. I started playing simulations on Simcity and never really grew out of them thanks to Sid Meiers. I never played Patrician 3 when it was in it's graphical or game play prime, I just randomly picked it because it sounded like fun and I got it in a two for one. I didn't expect much, and in doing so really underestimated how much fun it could be. I find most of the games on this site needing what I call the 'Nostalgia factor'. If you didn't play it in when it was on top, it's hard to get into years later. Not so with Patrican 3, I was completely enthralled for almost a month, and still very much involved for months after. This game is just too much fun for city-building, resource trading, diplomacy-craving dorks like me. Some of the gameplay aspects- such as the battles- seemed too simple to have to fight for more than two or three minutes; I remember a particularly annoying battle where I had to chase a pirate against the wind for five minutes, then he turned around and sailed with the wind to the other side of the screen while I could only match his speed and never close the distance. These minor nuisances are completely overshadowed by the real meat of the game as you expand your own trade empire. You start with a trade office in a single city with a single ship. You must outfit this ship with sailors (and later captains) and weapons for defense. You visit surrounding towns, selling what's needed there and buying what's in surplus. You build your own resource gathering and manufacturing plants in your home city, as well as warehouses. You build houses so your hometown grows faster to accommodate your labor needs. Your fleet grows, and you can group your ships together, perhaps a few quick, heavily armed ships protecting the cargo behemoth. You expand your trade offices to other cities so you can secure other raw materials for your own manufacturing. Your trading rank rises as your wealth and influence grow. Once you can get voted mayor of a specific city, you are tasked with that city's defense. The gameplay takes an upward and outward approach: as you rise the ranks, more becomes available to you. It has elements of Pharaoh and 1701 A.D. And thanks to GOG, it's DRM-free and easy to jump in.
