Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.