Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares: The Official Strategy Guide (Secrets of the Games Series) [Paperback]

John Possidente (Author), Dave Ellis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Secrets of the Games Series | Publication Date: November 20, 1996

Exploration, discovery, and strong leadership are the keys to building a thriving empire; however, expanding your influence is difficult when the whole galaxy is out to get you! Master
of Orion II: Battle at Antares - The Official Strategy Guide
offers effective leadership strategies for a struggling emperor with no allies. Inside this guide you'll find:
Proven techniques for establishing and developng successful colonies
Tried and true tips on evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of all thirteen alien races
Potent military and diplomatic strategies
Sound advice for dealing with the xenophobic Antarans
And ton more!!!
Making Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares -- The Official Strategy Guide your guidebook to galactic conquest will be your first of many adept decisions as an interstellar MOO2 emperor.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Rule the galaxy with aplomb. . . .

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Prima Games (November 20, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761502734
• ISBN-13: 978-0761502739
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #694,607 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most useful strategy guide I've read., March 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares: The Official Strategy Guide (Secrets of the Games Series) (Paperback)

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares is a very difficult strategy game intent on making the colonization of the galaxy as realistic as possible. The Strategy Guide assists you in doing just that.

The main force of influence in the Strategy Guide is the explanation of every little bitty thing inside of the game. The technologies for Research are completely explained in detail, in addition to suggestions being given for what to choose and at what time to choose them. The alien "Picks" option that allows you to customize aliens is completely explained and suggestions for alien creation are put forth. However, the writers have a bent for challenging themselves, which I highly suggest to veteran players of the game.

All in all, it explains the entire campaign necessary to bring down those pesky Antarans and how to best keep a Space Eel from spawning. Give it a peek sometime. You won't be disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely helpful!, August 2, 2001

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares: The Official Strategy Guide (Secrets of the Games Series) (Paperback)

This guide (which I found at a half-price bookstore) is very helpful. I use it often. My copy of MOO II did not include a printed manual, so I wanted a some sort of hard copy. There are a few minor mistakes in the printing, but is a great guide!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great Game Terrible Guide, April 19, 2007

By 

GoodRead65 (Southern California USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares: The Official Strategy Guide (Secrets of the Games Series) (Paperback)

I recently dug out this classic game and the worthless guide I'm currently reviewing.

This book is simply a glorified version of the game manual. Its "hints and tips" amount to little more than creating data tables of the various weapons, environments, et al in the game. There is very little, if any, actual advice on how to win the game.

What really got me was the advice that, if one is having difficulty playing in a small universe or with a certain species...the author's don't tell you how to win in said environment, but rather suggest changing to a larger universe or trying an easier species. How enlightening. It fails to suggest strategies if one is low on money or behind in research or militarily, etc, etc, etc. This constitutes a guide!?! It also fails to suggest favorable ship types/combinations as the first game's guide did. It basically says, "It's up to you." This book is a failure on every level.

Truly, this book is not worth the paper it's written on. It was written by individuals who worked on the games development but who, obviously, didn't actually *play* the game. If you do happen to need help with this truly great game, look online. You'll find much better help there. This is the last Prima hint book I'll ever spend money on.