Victory at Antares

It took a year, but I finally beat the MASTER OF ORION remake.

I opted for the Defeat Antarans victory path, and I sent a fleet of 88 ships to attack the Antaran homeworld. It was a brutal fight – by the time it was done, I only had 22 ships left. All my escort-class ships (frigates and destroyers) were gone, and only half of my heavy cruisers, battleships, and titans were left. But that is traditional naval doctrine – the escorts are supposed to protect the heavier capital ships, and they did. While my escorts soaked up fire from the Antaran fleet, my heavy ships pounded the Antaran vessels to pieces. I won the battle, and with it the game.

It’s a really great game. I hardly ever finish computer games any more, since I’m busy with my books, so if I finish a game I really like it. I don’t know why the reviews were only middling. It combines the best of the original MASTER OF ORION and MASTER OF ORION II from the 1990s, sands off some of the rougher management edges, and wraps it all up in nice shiny graphics and an excellent soundtrack. And it’s a huge, huge game. If you play in a Huge Galaxy with eight enemy races, I think a single game could take literally months to finish.

Next time around I think I’m going with a Medium galaxy. 🙂

-JM