User Reviews (1 - 11 of 121)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Good Game... Better Patched

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 9
Date: June 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game, while great in promise even in orginal release, had many flaws. The majority of those were fixed in the recent patch, and several more are supposed to be fixed int he next patch. Because of this, Moo3 has become a much better game than once-it-was. However, it is not (to MANY people's dissapointment) Master of Orion 2.5 - it is, in many ways, a brand new game. THis game is about macromanagement, and includes many AI-driven improvements to make macromanagement the preffered way to play. This is especially clear in the MPlayer arena - if you don't like this game, try taking it MPlayer, where it truly begins to shine.

Just what you'd expect

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: April 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is great, in my opinion, but it's obvious some people won't like it. But, you don't have to read much to know if you'd like it or not. Basically, if you think you'll like it, you will. Very complicated, very big.

MOO 3 - A great game of grand strategy and macro management

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 13
Date: August 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

So... after waiting for a good long time after it came out, having been dissuaded very strongly by the horrendous critiques of the game post-release, I purchased the game last week.

Quick review:

Does it deserve to be called MOO3? NO.

Is it terribly addictive and fun? YES.

Long Review:

Aside from the name "Masters of Orion 3" this could have been entitled anything, and the races re-named and it would have been fine and dandy. This is, in fact, a VERY different game than the first two beloved MOO games. In MOO 1 and 2, the interface was clear, simple and you had direct control over all things.

MOO 3 on the other hand is a completely different game. The first couple of games you will howl in frustration as you realize your prople are a little more free-spirited and independant than your MOO 1 and 2 citizens, and you cannot quite Stalinisticly relocate them across the universe on whim. You will also find the terror of the fact that your ship captains and task force admirals also have minds of their own and don't have time in the heat of real time battle to listen to some bumbling head of state. :oo

It really is a game about policy directives. They should call it Space Administrator.... and that's the way I love it! :) I am really starting to appreciate the beauty of this game. And while most things have been impersonalized and drawn further away from your control.... some things are improved upon: Spies now have individual names and missions they are trained for. Inserting and extracting them in enemy territory is challenging... but even if they get caught.. sometimes they escape! :D

Some problems with the game include certain blue-grey on blue-grey tab menus... which for the first couple of games you think are just part of the background art. :p Also, the controls are incredibly counter-intuitive. One thing you will miss from MOO1/2 is turn-by-turn space battles. Now they are in fairly FAST real time situations. One con related to this is that the task forces you build have very set parameters (the combination of ships you can have) and I am not quite sure what the rationale is for this.

Armies are alot more fun... no more generic soldiers landing, but companies with mobile and marine attachments as well as command and psy-op components. You usually have to fight to land and secure some groung and then fight sector by sector. Oh, did I mention that individual planets have different sectors?

The story is VERY important to playing game and enjoying it. Before you play, I would read the whole manual/story. You will note that it is a solipsistic power trip of recasting the MOO universe into their scheme of things and to explain why none of the alien races look like they did in the previous games, or some are missing.... but it is still in good fun.

The manual is flawed.
The Galactic encyclopedia is useless.
It hasn't been patched in a year.
The learning curve is steep.

But I am honestly having more fun with this game than I have any other strategy game since Europa Universalis 2 or MOO2. :)

One of the best game out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: April 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I just started to play Lords of the realm 3 and have been playing many more games lately (every month a new one). At the same time i've been playing MOO3 continuously for the last 6 months. With the patch 1.25, it's been my favorite game. There are fantastic games out there (Rise of Nations, GALCIV or CIV3 just to mention a few). However, none of these is as deep or have given me so much room for imagination. I am still learning the game, which is great. I guess if chess came out today, it would get the same bad reviews.

Master of Orion 3 (Mac)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 19
Date: March 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is extrememly fun to play. As being one of the people who helped to test this games marketability I have found that many of the features are very impressive.
For example, the raced of humans in this game has the Lycanthropy technology research which allows certain ground troops to transform into werewolves! yeah! Also, You can dig up fossils and use their DNA to create dinosaurs that will attack any person who invades your planets. Besides the excrutiating wait you all must go thru, I must say that this game is well worth the wait. But until it comes out, dream on my friends, dream on.

How to understand the previous ratings

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 12
Date: July 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Well... Say that people usually don't like spending hours to learn and are not really patient to get to action. Like strategy games? Like complex games? Like micro-management? Would sacrifice graphics for the content of the game? If you answered yes to the previous 4 questions you will give 5 stars to that game for each 'no' take off one star, the last star is just overall satisfaction.

Genius is sometimes misunderstood

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: December 10, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game well after it was made available despite being a MOO & MOO2 addict. Why? The reviews for this game were horrendous. I bought it only because I saw it on sale for $10.
It turned out to be the best game I ever played. I started thinking to myself why did I love it so much, and think it was going to be as great as it should've been when hardly anyone else did?
1) The aliens aren't the same as they are in MOO or MOO2. While they have the same names, appearances and abilities are only vaguely similar.
2) The interface is very different than MOO & MOO2 though it does have some elements of each.
3) I had already been told this game was bad, and it was hard to learn so I was prepared the reality that this wasn't just going to be MOO2 with better graphics and sound.
4) Everything, I mean everything you could've wanted to control can be controlled which also has frustrated many. It takes quite a long time to learn how to play this game the way it was meant to be played. I spent at least 2 whole days behind the computer to figure it out, and I'm still learning. I bet a year from now, even after dedicated playing will I still learn some things. The first day wasn't fun at all. By the 2nd day I started to figure it out. By the 3rd day I was playing to the point where it was 6am and I still hadn't gone to sleep yet.
I think the immensity of the game is the biggest reason why people have been frustrated. A rough analogy is comparing this game to a fine wine. While the previous games were like soda. Wine requires dedication and years of drinking to fully appreciate. Everyone will love soda, which tastes good immediately. Few will like a fine dry wine. That's not to say the MOO3 haters are wrong. This game is not for the shoot em' uppers or those wanting immediate gratification.
Further, the game while having many similarities in "mathetmatics" (research points, credits, food, etc), the interface is very very different than that of MOO2. I think this turned off devouted MOO2 fans because they had to learn to "walk" again.
But therein also lies its strength. Its going to be the biggest, most sophisticated game you've played. The gloves are off people. Sometimes you got to take 1 step back to take 3 steps forward. Although the basics are the same the interface is very different and you got to figure it out. It was frustrating hitting the turn button while not fully understanding it, but at the same time the AI does the micromanaging for you.
With time you will be able to micromanage actually quite quickly, but in the beginning you will be forced to have the AI do it because you won't fully understand how to play the game.
If you have this game or are planning on getting it, I suggest you give yourself at least a few days and goto the MOO3 boards to learn how to play it. Also download the latest patches. Unfortunately the manual won't teach you what you need to fully know.
While I love this game, to some degree the harsh complaints are warranted because the manual doesn't properly teach you how to play the game. Goto some MOO3 boards and ask around. The graphics too are somewhat mediocre, though the strategy and gameplay are 2nd to none, and that's the most important thing. There are some things that I feel need some polishing up, but considering this is the only game I know of that utilizes this level of complexity, far more than the previous MOO's and over similar games like Civilization, its still breathtaking to play this game at its full potential.
I always wanted a MOO for the big braniacs who wanted to control everything on a level of complexity that blows the others out of the water. I think this is it people, but I also think this is the same reason why many were turned off by it.

A hidden Gem

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 11
Date: December 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Most of you are probably speedy gamers who don't have time to sit down and ACTUALLY spend time doing work each turn managing a universe-wide empire, and sitting through it for a few hours. Of course, if you ARE a speedy gamer, then you should definitely turn back. However, if you want an amazing TBS that takes into into amazing detail, then this game is for you. The graphics are as good as they should be, however I wished they could have had the option of higher than 800x600, but it did get the job done. I thought the technology matrix could have been more manageable, but it was a relief that I didn't have to be barraged with tons of choices to make. The ability to customize any race, as well as having more races than in MOO2, give the game a interesting boost. Spies are also very important, except when trying to spy the New Orions (who are the dominant race in the empire that are near impossible to destroy). I wish they could have had more cut-scenes, but that may also have made the game annoying and much longer. The Sound was VERY annoying, always having the same sound again and again, but I turned the sound off and I found it much easier to pay attention. The sheer intensity of managing ninety planets during the end was quickly overpowered by the feeling of power I got from dominating the universe. If you find it too long, just let the AI take control; it doesn't hurt. So I give this 5/5 stars, not only because I AM a true MOO fan, but because this is the best MOO yet, may it be long.

Succeeds at standing out.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 14
Date: January 08, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When reading the majority of reviews, both here and elsewhere, I have to ask: Why is there so much open hostility directed toward this game and its developers? It's not just that people dislike it, but they convey a sense of revulsion toward it. I couldn't understand this, but now I think it's because most people have no idea how to even play this game.

To quote a fellow reviewer, "Genius is sometimes misunderstood". They're absolutely right, too. Despite its flaws, and it does have them (What game doesn't?), MOO3 is ingeniously designed. The sheer amount of depth is incredible. Yes folks, I said depth, not complexity. Once you understand the game, getting around the interface and controlling your empire is a snap. The trick is getting to that point. Without a doubt, it's a steep learning curve, but it's a highly rewarding one too.

I'm sure that the main reason people hate this game is because they never 'got it', so to speak. This is *not* MOO, or MOO2. One of MOO2's greatest faults was the sheer amount of micromanagement that accompanied it. Once you had a few dozen planets, handling them all yourself was truly an exhausting task.

Well, that's been done away with in MOO3. Every planet has a Viceroy who will make economic decisions for you, if you wish. They'll also handle the construction of your planets' infrastructure as well as ship building. A primary complaint is "All you have to do is hit the turn button". Well, that's a complete falsehood, and a ridiculous one too. You can outline what are called "Development Plans", which will tell Viceroys how to develop certain planets. You want their primary focus on a mineral rich world to be mining? Just say so in the Dev Plan. How about military development on a frontier world? You got it. You just have to give them some instructions, that's all. They act quite intelligently if you give them something to go on. Trust me, once you've got 20+ planets, you'll be glad that they each have someone governing them. It gives you the time to micromanage your core planets, or get a powerful fleet assembled. The Viceroy AI is a welcome improvement.

The economic model is quite complex, but fortunately you don't have to understand what all goes on under the hood. Some users have written beginner's guides to the game, and one of the developers has even written a guide to the game's economic model and how it works. And it does work. The game is not 'broken', 'unplayable', or 'seriously flawed'. Complaints about diplomacy have been addressed in a patch, which fixes an error in the code that caused the AI to sometimes spontaneously declare war then break it off, over and over. In fact the most recent patch, aside from fixing the bugs, also adds a lot of new features/improvements as well (including a build que lock for your planets). It's now much better than it was on release, and is deserving of five stars in my opinion.

Don't let the 1-star, 'this game is terrible, because I don't like it', reviews sway your decision. The only people I know personally who don't like MOO3 either aren't fans of TBS games, or have never played past turn 30. This game won't blow you away. The graphics do their job, quite well too, but they aren't terriffic. The point is that this game has achieved what very few today actually strive for: Depth. This is one you can sit down with and really get into. You just have to be open-minded and willing to tackle its learning curve. But once you do, I doubt you'll settle for anything less.

Serendipity

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 11
Date: November 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I liked MOO2 but wasn't a really committed player. MOO2 frequently locked up in W2000 which made 100+ turns kinda painful.

Overall it was fun. On to MOO3.

Up to recently, I had heard LOTS of bad press about how the developer messed up MOO3 and changed into some particularly bad.

I avoided the game until it dropped into the bargin bin range ($5.00). I just got the game last week from an Amazon seller and wow. The game is fun.

If you like the grand strategy of MOO2 it is here. Things are definitely different from MOO2 but given a chance they are not bad. If you havn't played MOO2 and want a game of grand strategy with some tatical combat, you ought to try MOO3.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions