Master of Orion 2

Is still the masterpiece I remember. I picked it up during a Good Old Games sale a while ago, and it has been sitting idle all this time (along with a ton of other GoG games actually). I do that a lot. Buy these old classics on GoG during a sale period. Come on, a mere 1.99 $ for a computer game. Depending on the location, you spend more on a Coca Cola …

Anyway, playing Master of Orion 2 (MoO2) reminds me of the simple notion that modern 4x games still have a lot to learn. MoO2 is fast and very engaging. There is a lot of stuff to micromanage (if you prefer it that way), and the action is constant. Playing the game in strategic mode allows you to design your own ships, and this is where it really shines. It might take you some getting used to, but in all honesty it’s pretty straight-forward.

 

My playthrough at the moment.

Don’t mind the weird effect on the picture, that’s just me messing with the Google+ settings (I like pressing needless buttons). So what is this all about? The upper right corner of the map is where my planets are located. TAURUS, TABEN, WOZ, SOL and WAG. All systems that I ‘own’ and have a colonized planet in. The current game is well on its way, as you can see I have explored most of the map and met all the other alien races (AI).

The stage set, some races have been busier than others, and borders have been drawn. Wars have been started and millions of sentient beings have been slaughtered. My race (Human) has been lucky to have sat out the grunt of the wars. I was turtled up in the right corner of the map, and was able to progress and colonize without much hassle. Because of this, I’ve been able to research and build a pretty advanced armada, and I have a reliable relationships with two other races ( the green and yellow marked planets) (every race has its own colour btw).

I had started this game as a test game actually, to get to know the game again. Maybe I’ll do a Lets play series, but on a higher difficulty.