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The power of the ancients is now yours to command..

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 52 / 53
Date: November 09, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is wonderful. Those of you who played the original MOO will find gameplay similar but with expanded options, while folks new to the series will likely enjoy the politicking and pestering that goes on in the average game. A few general comments and then some specifics:

MOO:2 is a galatic strategic adventure game. You pick from one of nearly a dozen races, each with its own benefits or drawbacks (The klackons, industrious space-ants, excel at production but are as dumb as bricks; ethereal Psilons float about learning with amazing rapidity but struggling to produce the ships necessary to defend themselves, while charming and wily Humans play folks against one another). A new feature allows you to customize your own race from the scores of options characterizing the pre-packaged ones. Want enormous planets? Make your race Aquatic and Subterranean. Insanely productive? Cybernetic, Tolerant (ignores pollution effects), +2 Production. The possibilities are staggering, and by buying a lot of negatives, one can afford an equal number of wonderful positives.

Each star system, unlike MOO:1, has a number of planets, most of which you can land on initially. Unlike MOO:1, you will not need to learn different _types_ of colonization for different planets (radiated, barren, toxic, etc.). However, you still need to research how to make them more fruitful. Along the way you receive the option to hire both planetary governors and ship leaders, effectively Heroes for your forces. Placing a good planetary leader in a system with a half-dozen habitable planets can double your empire's food, research, and/or industry production.

Other additional features such as multiple 'special' worlds guarded by nasty beasts, in addition to Orion itself, as well as the ability to purchase (eventually) robotic workers allows for great customization, and lets races rebound from setbacks. MOO:2 even allows you the option to let the computer calculate all the fleet battles nearly instantly, so you don't have to sit through a 2 hour fight involving stasis fields and boarding parties. However, you may only choose this option _before_ starting a given game, and cannot turn it off afterwards. Long fights may get annoying, but I find it far more useful to know _why_ you lost, not just that you did.

All in all, MOO:2 is a very engrossing strategy game, particularly for sci-fi buffs. Note however that while it has aged well, you may need to turn down the graphics accelerator on your computer to keep it from freezing up if you have a new one. Details on how should be included in the help files that come with the game.

Civilization in the Stars

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 24 / 24
Date: December 30, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game well over three years ago. It still is one of my favorite games. I always go back to it for a good time. MOO2 is one of those games that you aren't guranteed to win just because you are playing. If you don't carefully balance production, ship-building (you have to play tactical combat rather than strategic), and expansion, the AI will stomp a mudhole in you. If for that reason alone, the game is great. It is never the same. Each of the different races CAN win, but I'm sure you'd like to create your own race. You have to get this game, it will never play the same twice. You'll lose more than once; it's great. Especially today, I bought it when it first came out... Now it's a bargain and a steal... If you throw in for the "Official Strategy Guide" you have it made. The Strategy Guide won't help you win, but it can help guide you in the right direction. Enjoy !!

Deserves to be #1 Game of All Time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 25 / 26
Date: October 22, 2000
Author: Amazon User

MOO2 is (almost) everything that a serious sci-fi gamer like myself could want in a game. But let's break it down, shall we?

1.)Combat-The only flaw in the game occurs here. Ground battles are not fought and commanded by the player; the results are dice-rolled with modifiers. Being a fan of RTS like StarCraft, I would have much preferred to personally lead my armies to sweeping victories. Aerial combat, however, is acceptable, if not amazing. You should also be able to give orders to groups of starships. During one titanic battle, I actually took an hour for my first turn, there were so many ships and so many targets.

2.) Diplomacy-The one little flaw in this is the multi-player facet, in which you can't simply "chat" with other players. Otherwise, very practical. I especially enjoy the "Threaten" option as a way of bullying smaller empires into giving me some tribute. New players, keep in mind-it's VERY hard to bluff with this.

3.) Economics-Again, a very practical, realistic approach was taken to this. You can conceivably build one of each building you've researched on a planet, but the maintenance costs drives your taxes to new heights so you can stop yourself from going into negative values. This was my only recurring nightmare until I realized my flawed startegy, and began using some planets as foodstuff-producers and others as industrial magnates.

4.) Science-Research of new technologies is what will really tilt the game in favor of one race or another. "Creative" races have an extreme advantage in that they research every possible venue in a field, whereas normal races have to pick one and "Non-Creative" races don't even have a choice. I tried playing with a regular race once, and it was tough enough even on "Easy" that I decided to stick with "Creative" races.

5.) Spies-My one argument with the spy system is that, like ships and buildings, you have to "build" spies, whereas in the first one, that sort of micromanagement doesn't take place. You just say, "Ok, spy on them." Otherwise, it is an excellent engine with little room for improvement.

6.) Overall-Like I said above, a Must-Have for any hard-core gamer. But unlike games like The Operational Art of War and Jane's Fleet Command, MOO2 has a good re-play value. The amount of variety you can introduce by changing the variability in using the race-customization engine, number of races, the size of the galaxy, the difficulty, and the starting tech level all contribute to the game so that no two games can ever really be alike. I've had this game for years and keep coming back for more.

Simply the best game of its genre

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: September 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

This game, and the first, are just simply the best turn based space based strategy games ever! By today's standards, the graffics are dated, but this game was never about pretty screen shots, it is about solid strategy and resource management.

What is the greatest feature of this game is re-playability and customization. You have (if I recall) ten races to begin with, all with different inate abilities, e.g. research, ship combat, ground combat, omniscience, trade, diplomacy, etc., and if that is not enough, you can make a custom race.

Besides the different races' abilities, there is the aspect of ship design, perhaps my favorite. You can come with an infinite number of ship design combinations, anything from size, shape, the number and types of weapons, direction of fire, sheilding, armor, tractor beams, and so on. I also love that as your technology increases you can make modifications to your existing weapons, e.g. shield or armor piercing, auto fire, continuous.

Finally there is the aspect of randomization. Every new game starts with a new map of the galaxy, making the strategic considerations different every time. There are also random events, good and bad, like earthquakes, space monsters, space pirates, plagues, shifts in orbit, industrial accidents, super novas, attempted assinations, weddings, and the list goes on and on. Also, in Moo2, the Antarans attack you randomly, and there is a final show down with them on their home turf (alternate dimension) as an alternate game end to conquering everyone or being elected to "master of the galaxy."

I am leaving some things out, but trust me on this one, even though this is an old game, if you do not own it, buy it. My only question is WHERE IS THE SEQUEL?!

Simply the Best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: August 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

My son bought this game a couple of years ago, and its strategic complexities in an easy to understand interface made me a big fan as well. We have lots of computer games, but we continue to come back to this one. Caution: It's very addictive!

Good Old

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: July 06, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I used to spent hours and hours playing the first Orion. The second one is just as enjoyable and time consuming. If you are one of the few remaining fans of turn based strategy gaming - this is probably the last good title released before everything became real time. The rules are just the same as any of the Microprose titles - build colonies, ammass resources and technologies, build armies, destroy opponents. The AI is really frustrating to play against, especially at higher levels and random events are often cruel. Combined, those factors allow for re-playing the game dozens of times. The rules of tactical combat have been made more sophisticated in this version resulting in very lenghty battles - something I don't enjoy a lot. Also frustrating is the absolute inability to protect planets in the later stages of the game - the defensive technologies pale against the powerfull attack ships which have as many hit points as two or three battlestations. On the other hand, the ability to customize races and the need to choose amongst alternative technologies are great improvements.

I'd buy it again if I lost it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: July 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The thing I love the most is designing the player races and designing ships. You can play dozens of games with totally different strategies each time. Flexible ship design. Tons of research topics with none that are pointless. Sometimes combat in a really big game with tons of ships can get mundane but there's a autocalculator that is very fair and won't cheat you. Great graphics(especially the female warrior race ; > I haven't been able to get a multiplayer game started on LAN or through player matching though, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, I'm sure it'd rule if I could though. But I kept going back to this game again and again because it was a new experience everytime I played.

Very addictive game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: April 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I can't begin to say how many HOURS of my life I've WASTED on this game!

It's a little bit like a cross between Chess and Monopoly, but in a Star Wars world. It's a turn based strategy game. You're the Emperor of a budding space-faring civilization, one of up to eight.

You expand your colonies out into space and have to deal with the other civilizations doing the same. You can spy on them, trade technology, make treaties, or declar war. Your resources have to be split between doing research, production, building ships, and growing food. Too much of one and not enough of another can prove fatal. One thing becomes obvious after a while--technology wins! If your ships are two or three levels more advanced than your enemy, they're no match. Of course, the opposite is also true! And they might declar war on YOU.

If you like turn-based strategy games and conquering the galaxy sounds interesting, this is the game for you. If you haven't played the previous version (Master of Orion), the learning curve might be a little slow, especially to get used to all of the game's nuances and details, but it's well worth it! The user interface is easy to use and intuitive. Right-clicking on items gives details.

Just beware! Once you get the hang of Master of Orion 2, it can become very habit forming! I *sure* got my money's worth out of this game! :) And now that it has a couple of years under its belt, it's a real bargain.

By the way, sadly, the latest sequel, Master of Orion 3, is a big let-down. Master of Orion 2 is actually a much better game. Until they either give MoO3 a major overhaul or completely rebuild it, I very much recommend skipping MoO3 and stick with MoO2.

Will you be the Master of Orion?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: June 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game is great! My boyfriend turned me onto it, and I LOVE IT! It has provided me with hours of enjoyment, trying out different races and different statistics. Very cool options to build ships, research facilities, industry facilities, and farming facilities. I also enjoy the different ways to win the game--beating the Antarans or conquering all the other races. The hot seat function is great as well, because you can play with friends. Definitely a game worth playing for anyone out there that likes Sci Fi.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have, and still am!

The one game that is always on my hard drive.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: January 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Many games have come and gone off my hard drive. Sim City, Star Command, Warhammer, Baldur's Gate were all played, loved and finally forgotten. But there is one game that has stayed on my hard drive for the better part of 10 years. That game is Master or Orion II (MOO2).

MOO2 is a turn based strategy game. The player is rules a galactic civilization with fleets to maintain, planets to govern and technology to research. The player competes with up to 7 other civilizations for resources and leadership of the galxay. Dealing with the other civilizations can be done through diplomacy, war or more likely a combination of the two. There is an eigth race called the Anatarians that randomly appear and raid planets. Dealing with them is one of the hardest and funnest elements of the game.

MOO2 has a very simple interface and I found it had a very easy learning curve. It is possible to have a hundred worlds under your control but micro management is not necessary as you can let the computer manage any number of your worlds for you. The ship to ship combat is also very fun and if you play long enough the battles can be huge.

The graphics are a bit dated as the game is now about 10 years old, but they were well done for the time and hold my interest still. MOO2's greatest virtues are its playability and its replay value. This is the type of strategy game that will hold your attention for hours. I have started games early in the morning and before I know it it is dark outside. I've burned entire days with this video game. The replay value is tremendous. No two games are ever the same, you can play differnet races (even customize races), start at different tech levels or even different size galaxies. Sky is the limit.

If you can get your hands on a copy of this game you will not be sorry. This game has my highest recommendation.

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