Decent graphics that go with the MoO theme well. The UI works fine, I have not had a problem with it. I found it easy enough to learn and navigate. Planet management is also easily understandable. Fleet management required me to look something up online(how to combine fleets), but otherwise it works well. Dipolomacy is a bit dull. The options are what we see in every 4X game and nothing more. The techs are definitely the same, for the most part , as they were in MoO 2. Warp points linking solar systems is different, but I like how it works. In MoO 2 the AI would send a bunch of different fleets all heading to one system. So you'd move ships into that system before the enemy would arrive. The enemy stops and goes somewhere else or picked a different solar system. This would repeat a lot. That was irritating. In this MoO they have to go through warp points which makes strategy more interesting and less headache. Battles. No longer turn based. You can pause combat to issue orders, but it does ruin the combat flow. So far I have been unable to figure out how the AI uses your chosen range parameters for a ships firing solution. The AI 'assistant' does not seem to pay too much attention to it. I've played three games so far. I played with a sort of leisurely approach to strategy. On hard I was killed off fairly quickly. My second attempt on difficulty normal I lost. My third game is currently on normal and I'm fairing better. As far as I can tell the AI handle its fleets well and defends the warp points connecting to its owned systems. So far I do not know how it manages its planets. Pirates are annoying pests instead of an interesting threat. You can turn them off as well as a few other options. If MoO was $40 or more I would not recommend it. At $29.99 it's a fair price.
I've been looking forward to Dead State. Decidedly I avoided any news about the game beyond the basics so I could find the game fresh and new. Sadly, i've been disappointed. Firstly, bugs. Lots of them. LOTS of them. Oy vey. I am a person who tries to do work arounds for bugs, or avoid them, etc. But there are just too many in the game that make me repeatedly have to reload or just stop playing in frustration. Secondly. Combat is dull. Very dull. No cover. Only standing; no sitting, kneeling, or prone(unless you've been knocked down). No shooting around corners. Guns have such a short range you're basically shooting at each other from 15 feet away IN THE OPEN. Very little randomness to locations. Same ones each game. Dialogue is repetitive. Characters are cliches. Random annoyance, who ever decided on the dialogue...you do not need to beat us over the head, yes we get that Anita was a truck driver and it made her tough. You do not need to tell us this repeatedly. The game progresses slowly, but in a good meandering. I'm talking play hours, not in game days. The stats used are decent. However you are only able to go scavenging if your first character, who you are in the game, is assigned to the scavenging party. As well since you become the leader you have to take points in negotiation and/or leadership. Meaning if you play a big bruiser or a fast marksman you're going to have a lot harder time in the game. This restricts a player from trying a variety of roles for different play throughs.
It was alright, I was able to finish it, but just barely. I wasn't very motivated to do so. The game's combat is mediocre. Get in cover, shoot. Try not to die getting into melee combat. Die trying to get into melee combat. The enemies are simple except for the 'bosses', but those weren't all that interesting. If you like a lot of bosses to fight, there were very few. Lots of group combat against a dumb AI. The dialogue is boring. The functioning of the people, raiders, etc. lost my suspension of disbelief. In a desolate landscape there sure seem to be A LOT of people just raiding everywhere. There is A LOT of childish humor, not the good kind. It actually takes you out of the game. For one thing you can loot human/animal solid waste and sell it to an explosive maker for a marked up price, repeatedly. There are a lot of detritus of civilization traders seem to want to buy. Like ferbies, broken items, snow globes, and 'toys' which look like dildos. A brothel is involved in a quest and apparently all the women stay naked, even when they greet you outside to ask for help. There is also another brothel in a city where apparently people come from far and wide to be noticed like movie stars so they can become prostitutes. Wishful thinking from the developers? Or just willful ignorance of real prostitution anywhere in the world presently or the past. I have no desire to play this game ever again. If I thought I'd get my money back I would try. I did play and finish, but just to finish the game. I really shouldn't have, so disgusted with a lot of the themes/attempts a humor which end up being dumb in the context of the game or out of it.
