User Reviews (1 - 11 of 36)

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A risk not worth taking

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 26
Date: July 15, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I'm not much for video games, but world conquest has always had a certain appeal, so I happily purchased this CD-ROM yesterday. Thankfully, the store made an exception to its return policy...

This, dear reader, is awful software.

For whatever reason, this game would not function properly. After spending the better part of fifteen minutes flipping through a useless instruction booklet just to learn how to configure the game to play by the board game's rules (which, by the way, are not the default), I could not save the settings. Figuring this may have been my fault somehow, I started the game anyway.

Bad idea. After struggling with the poorly documented, counter-intuitive, and incredibly gaudy controls for quite some time, I finally got to a decent strategic position and tried to save my game. I suppose Risk is allergic to FAT32, because it would not save to disk. Irritated, I played on, and one of the computer players suddenly stopped playing and gave control of its armies to me... apparently it had better things to do.

Even if you think my computer troubles are somehow self-imposed, I would strongly urge you not to purchase this game. The AI is weak, the graphics distract from game play, and configuration is a nightmare. Don't ask about Ultimate Risk or Internet play... it wasn't worth my time to find out, and it isn't worth yours.

Don't Bother

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: December 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Don't buy this game. The dice rolls are not random, I can tell what the dice will land on even before they stop spinning. When a computer gets backed into a corner they begin rolling 6's left and right. Once I had 1 computer batallion slaughter 14 of my batallions...that just doesn't happen in real life.
Only buy this game if you want hours of frustration.

Flat No

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

The box says multiplayer so I brought this one home to play on an impromptu 2 player network along with a friend. Unfortunately, multiplayer means "3 or more players" which is written nowhere on the outside of the box. Sooo, in a nutshell my 1 friend and I are hosed. No stars here!

Not Very Fun

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: January 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This game gets old after playing about five times. The options may sound great, but the game offers a lot and delievers very little. The battle sequences in the Ultimate mode are (to put mildly) crap. The same old 3D video sequences over and over. I wouldn't have bought it, if i could change the past.

If you don't mind the guillotine...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 13
Date: February 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Risk is kinda fun, but they didn't need the gulliontine shot at the end. This version is not for kids under 18 in my mind. If you can handle the idea of beheading the enemy at the end of every game, this game's for you. Otherwise, go buy another version. Ratings are pretty weak on most violent video games. My back cover says 9 to 49. I think this is because anyone over 49 was raised with values, and they wouldn't like the killing part that was added on to the game. Try Risk II. I don't have that one.

'95 computer version better

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 15
Date: January 27, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I am the biggest Risk fan out there, and the original Risk version is my favorite computer game, which I play constantly. A few years ago, they released Risk II which ultimately lost all that was good about the original game. It seems they decided to start over, and came out with a new version of Risk I, which seems promising, but is also ultimately disappointing. I am not sure why they took such a big step back from the '95 release with this 'update'. But there are a few things that I really like about it:

POSITIVES:
-The game has an ongoing voice-over/commentary that sounds like Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) and which adds a great deal of fun. It is the best new feature. Unfortunately, the commentary is very limited, so you repeatedly hear the same comments over and over and over and over again. In the next release, I hope they expand the dialogue library.

-The game lets you choose which generals you play against, and each general (allegedly) fights differently. Unfortunately, in practice, they don't. The computer AI in the '95 was DRAMATICALLY more intelligent than this version, even if I selected the most brilliant generals. In fact, I think it is impossible to lose a game in this version. the '95 version, on some maps, like North America, it was extremely challenging to ever win.

NEGATIVES:

-The AI is really dumb and it is impossible to lose.

-They give you only one map you can play off of. The '95 version had 5 maps to choose from. Let's hope they come out with an expansion pack.

-You cannot view what card you were given at the end of your battle until the start of your next turn. The '95 version didn't have this restriction.

-You are forced to play with the ever-increasing point format to the cards. The first time a set of cards is turned in, you get 4 armies, then 6, then 8, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. Because the only map they provide has so few countries, there is virtually no way for the game to go beyond 7 or 8 turns if you play against multiple generals.

OVERALL
I hope they come out with an expansion pack for this version that includes more maps, and improves the AI and commentary tracks, and gameplay options. If they do this, then this could be a classic. As it stands now, it seems more like a good start. Until then, you should find a copy of the '95 version. It's still the best version available.

Limited Challenge

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 13 / 13
Date: December 28, 2007
Author: Amazon User

For folks that grew up on the basic game, this is a fun way to revisit the past. Unfortunately the computer opponents do not provide enough of a challenge to keep a person coming back. Overall, I prefer the 1996 release of the game with enhancements (multiple maps, terrain, and objectives) that offer variety and increasing challenges. I'm puzzled by the step back?

Could Have Been Better

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 27 / 29
Date: May 22, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Of all the war/strategy games in existence probably only a few are recognized by just about everybody: Chess, Battleship, and, of course, Risk. Hasbro Interactive's version is a mixed bag; while parts of it seem spot-on, others fall short. This newest computer incarnation is certainly the best looking version; with resolutions up to 1024x768, rich colors, and good artwork, there is little to complain about in the eye-candy department. Unfortunately, the user interface is a bit obtuse and the skimpy manual doesn't help much; it tells you something is possible, but doesn't explain how. Even so, a bit of persistence should let you get into the gameplay.

Game options are extensive, with both variations on classic Risk and a new, expanded set of options called Ultimate Risk. In the classic form you can play with the U.S. or European rules, choose from several different maps, or even turn on "fog of war" amongst other options. Ultimate Risk adds things like leaders, POWs, and a card-based combat system rather reminiscent of an advanced form of rock-paper-scissors. While some of these options seemed quite interesting at first, they are hampered by Risk's biggest flaw: poor pacing; things either seem to drag on or to go too quickly, with little user control. This is particularly a problem on some of the new maps, which have many more territories than the classic boardgame does.

Even with the negatives, though, the game can still be fun. There are enough options that even if you don't like all the game alternatives, any Risk fan should find something worthy of play. For me it was surprisingly the straight classic game; simple and fast and an opponent who always wants to play.

A Game On War

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: April 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Risk is about a large world war, were you pick what kind of game you want and even play online. It's fun, but you can get really ... at anything your fighting when the computers are taking over your countries like hungry people eating turkey. You can pick what kind of map you want, there is 4, World, Classic, Europain, and North America. I think they put way to much pieces of land in North America and Europain, but thats what I think. You can just like in Clue pick what dice you want, Classic Dice or Ultimate Dice, I go for the classic dice.

Computers are too hard, I try and play like 5 games and I lost all of them first or second in place, even on easy. The flags ..., they need some reasonable flags to play with because I can only tell like 3 out of the 6 countries, all the others mysterious. You can play American rules or Europe Rules, I prefer Europe rules. If you lose, they show the same thing, your head getting chopped off, and to every computer and player! The winner gets a last scene special, which is cool because it's different. But you think they could call the countries your facing and you your name, they just go on what color you are.
Graphics:9/10
Fun:4/10
Gameplay:7/10
Sound:5/10
Overall:6/10

Good, but after a while boring

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 12 / 21
Date: November 13, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game at a book fair because I thougt it looked like the best game ever. It's not. When I first got it I played it forever because it was so cool choosing battle tactics for your men instead of just sending them in like in the board game. After a week or so the excitment died down because it's the same old stuff, fight your enemy, watch them die, then do it again. I think the graphics are extemely good and I really like it when you die and you get executed. However, the speed of the graphics kept changing on my computer and I'm not sure why. Overall though, it's only an okay game.

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