Master of Orion

"One Of The Classics"

I still go back to this game when I'm board.

Master of Orion's worst quality is its abbreviation. After all, who would read about a game called MOO and go out to hunt for it? Lets just hope those who didn't try to get Orion will change their minds after reading all the good reviews for the game, of which this is one.

PLOT - 6/10

Plot is not one of Orion's stronger points, but it's a turn based strategy game, so plot's not important. Basically, you're the immortal leader of whichever space age race you choose, and you must lead your race to victory so that you can become leader of the galaxy and, eventually, Master of Orion. I decided not to mark this down any points, because it has a good enough reason to have a weak story. However, I marked it up one mark because the development team at least tried to make a story, and because of all of the finfics.

GRAPHICS - 7/10

Not much I can say on the graphics. Fine for its time, but there's no point in commenting on it by todays standards. The aliens look quite good, though, if not particularly believeable.

SOUND - 7/10

The sound was actually pretty good. A few tunes from the game can get a little catchy, but none of them get annoying. The sound effects aren't bad either, better than some I've heard from that era. It depends on what you consider to be bad music, but you probably won't be turning off the speakers.

GAMEPLAY AND FUN - 9/10

The gameplay is better than your standard Turn Based Strategy, with a good diplomacy model and well done enemy AI, except a few flaws. I would match this game as just as good as Civilization, but I'm sure many others could disagree. The game has two most. The main one is the usual map screen, where you build ships, explore and conquer planets, interact with other races, and more. The second mode is the battle screen. This is displayed when two opposing ships meet for combat. Here you can control your ships, telling them where to move, when to attack, what to attack and more. It's definately a more in depth battle system than most. Another advantage Orion has over Civilization is the ability to create your own ships. Instead of gaining new units as you discover new technologies, you gain new parts, such as weapons, propulsion, battle computers, etc. On the ship creation screen, you choose a ship size, then put whatever parts you have researched onto it. You can't just put the best of everything on your ships, though, as each ship size only has a certain amount of space. This system adds more depth to the game, which is always a bonus. Through it all, though, the game remains fun, and while you may get tired of it after a while, the chances are you'll be coming back for more again at some point.

OVERALL - 8/10

On the whole Orion was a very good game with a few flaws. If you decide to get this game* it will be a wise choice.

*You can get Master Of Orion free at the NerdHerd site. Search for it on Yahoo.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/02/03, Updated 05/02/03