Having played the original LBA when I was a child, I was pleased to discover this remake. Overall, it's very good, especially considering the small size of the studio that worked on it. The art direction and the soundtrack are excellent, both modern and faithful to the charm of the original. The story has been largely preserved, with a few modern tweaks (Zoé the rebel) or additions that tie into LBA 2 (the astronomer who discovered a mysterious planet...). The only thing that slightly disappointed me was the gameplay. The controls have been modernized, which is nice and makes the game much easier to play. No need to switch modes anymore, and Twinsen can change direction while jumping. However, the enemies are still as limited as in the original game, which makes them very easy to defeat (especially when you unlock the additional bounces for the magic ball). The combat becomes rather uninteresting. I have fonder memories of LBA 2 on this point. On the other hand, there are a few odd sections that are strangely difficult due to the lack of precision with the ball (for example, destroying mutant eggs). Last small gripe: the default option in the main menu is "New Game" instead of "Continue"... I hope the team can continue to revive the franchise and do even better with the second one!
I knew MoO only by name until I purchased it on Gog. It reminded me of civilization and Imperium Galactica : rich yet accessible gameplay, many parameters, and this wonderful megalomaniac feeling of conquering the universe. I put only 4 stars because these games have some little flaws : - MoO 1 is my favorite, great gameplay, but I waste too much time because of the old interface (e.g. you can't move the tiny map view by putting the mouse on the edges) - MoO 2 has a more detailed planet management, which is too heavy in my opinion.
