Category: Mac Gaming Alliance

This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

Publisher	SSI
Tested on	PowerMac 7500/120Mhz
Gameplay	5 / 5 apples
Graphics & Sound	4 / 5 apples
Interface	5 / 5 apples
Difficulty	5 / 5 apples
Bugs	5 / 5 apples
Overall	5 / 5 apples
Reviewed by	Ian Russell

Imperialism is a game of development and conquest like Civilization, but in Imperialism you conquer the world in style. The game, set in the 19th century, focuses not so much on brute force military domination as expansion through economic development, trade, diplomacy and finesse. Of course, for you hard core war gamers out there, you can crush your enemies under the treads of your tanks and take every battle down to the tactical level, fighting out your individual battles unit to unit, saber to bayonet, if you want. This game features a sophisticated AI, some of the most advanced computer diplomacy for the genre and a wonderfully crafted economic model, each of which compliments the other beautifully into a tightly woven strategy game not to be missed.

Gameplay & Interface

Gameplay in Imperialism is its finest asset. Your empire operates in a complicated web of material and monetary interdependencies. It is usually not until late in the game that your country becomes completely self sufficient. In this respect, it is very unlike Civilization or Colonization. You simply cannot afford to run your country like an island with your foreign relations limited to the end of a gun. This web of economic interdependency is nicely complimented with a sophisticated diplomatic AI that will boycott you economically if you appear too aggressive or attack you militarily if you become too weak. In every case, the player must balance his desire for military conquest against the likely response by the international community upon whom he depends for raw materials and monetary income, without which he cannot build reinforcements for his armies, upgrade his factories or train new workers. All the while, the player must woo smaller countries into his protection so that he can develop more dependable economic ties to them to secure his future production in the war torn days to come.

The game typically goes through several phases. There is an initial exponential growth phase (usually typified by the flat part of the exponential growth curve) in which the player tries to build domestic infrastructure, trading relationships and industrial capacity as quickly as possible. Once local supplies of materials become inadequate to your needs, the game progress to its second phase, which is intensely political. All of the major countries compete for advantageous trade agreements with the lesser countries, with an eye towards making them colonial protectorates. How well you succeeded in early phases of the game can influence how well you can take advantage of the added resources made available from your colonies. When all of the lesser countries have chosen sides, the game enters a late stage zerosum end game in which the battle lines have been drawn and every gain is another major power’s loss. If you have not already won by this point (every ten years, the countries vote for the most dominant player in the game) then the Napoleonic conquests begin. Great armies mobilize, major power alliances can shift and bend, and you might find yourself warring with another country far longer than you wish to in order to protect hard won alliances which keep your shores safe from aggression.

Almost every aspect of Imperialism is rich with diversity. In contrast to Civ’s single settler unit, Imperialism has a prospector, a miner, a farmer, a rancher, a lumberjack, an enginner, a wildcatter and a developer who’s sole job it is to buy land in other countries for development, with the ultimate hope that these countries will then sell those resources to you of course, they might not! Likewise there are eight land military units plus two technological upgrades for each unit type which can significantly alter tactics during battle, and up to eight different naval unit types at any given time. Finally, you develop eight different factories to produce different types of goods for export to pay for your expenditures. There are approximately twenty commodities in all, to be bought, sold, traded, shipped and refined. I never felt short changed or oversimplified in any area, except perhaps for naval units. There is no tactical engine for naval units. Battles just happen and you find out about it later. You won’t be capping any T’s in this game.

The Imperialism interface is very clean and uncomplicated, allowing you to focus on the game’s best features: strategy, diplomacy and empire building. The programmers worked hard to eliminate the rampant micromanagement present in most strategic games. They did so by reducing the number of micromanageable economic centers to one, your capital. All the rest manage their own affairs and simply add their economic output to your transportation network for transport to your capital city for processing and refinement. Your military units move in groups as armies, which may be divided and combined as necessary, greatly simplifying the task of piece movement. All diplomacy is handled in a diplomacy window, which is accessible from a single click just about anywhere. Likewise, trade and production each have their own easily accessible windows which allow for quick adjustment of production and trade to feed your growing empire. You do not have to wait for the computer opponents to move at all. All moves are handled simultaneously, much like in diplomacy. Battle reports are concise and informative and you have the option of micromanaging the land battles yourself if you like. Technological development seems slower than in civilization, but considering the historical time period the game covers (mid 19th century to early 20th century), and that turn lengths are measured in months and not decades, that is to be expected. The technology advances are real, for example square frame timbering for mines or rifling for guns, not like the contrived advances in Colonization.

Graphics & Sound

The graphics and sound in Imperialism are unexceptional. They are not bad, nor do they detract from the gameplay, but they lack any special eye candy that modern gaming afficionados might find interesting, such as rippling water, a detailed 3D interface, or impressive special effects. Views are usually either 2D or 3D with a rather flat appearance. The maps are obviously hex based, with no attempt to hide the grid like in Warcraft, Conquest of the New World or Command and Conquer. Perhaps simply to address criticisms such as these (small though they may be), there are several video clips which break into the game from time to time which can certainly be classified eye and ear candy. The sounds is not smashing. In a quality pair of headphones, it is clear that the sound sampling rate in these video clips is not 22 kHz, or possibly the soundtrack went through a hiss laden cassette tape at one point! Unfortunately, these video clips don’t really add much to the game, and after the initial viewing, just serve to delay your progress. Fortunately, they don’t appear very often and can be dismissed with a single mouse click to get back to the real business at hand, which is quite interesting indeed! Let it be clear that for all its unexceptional aesthetic qualities, the graphics are very functional, and do not detract from the game in any way. In some ways, their simplicity is a boon to the game, an extension of a simple and well thought out interface.

Difficulty & Replayability

Imperialism is a challenging game, with an array of difficulty levels to challenge conquerors of all levels — from the Napoleans of the world to timid knights easily defeated by shrubbery. Challenges come from all sides. You will be faced with an initially severely constrained economic system and raw materials shortages. Diplomacy is expensive and you will need money. For that you need goods to sell. You will have to locate and transport raw materials to the capital, build factories to process them and ships to sell the processed goods. Mines will need to be dug, fields plowed, trees chopped, oil drilled for, and railroads and ships built. Lastly, you will need to provide for your defense and ultimately develop a military industrial complex which can satisfy the needs of a great military power. In each case, having the right allies is key to your success. They supply raw materials, buy your products, sometimes protect your shores, boycott and blockade your enemy and help you conquer enemy lands.

Imperialism has a fairly high replay value, but it could be better. Chiefly detracting from the replay value is the lack of computer opponent diversity — all the computer opponents play identically. Fortunately, Imperialism can be played over the net against human opponents which should resolve this problem, or would if you could find other macintosh players. Currently, Imperialism does not allow you to play against people on Wintel machines — despite the fact that both versions come in the same box. Fortunately, if you do have access to an x86 clone, then you can use your CD to play Imperialism on it. No need to buy an extra copy.

Caveats

The CD must be in the drive to play the game. Users without a CD-ROM drive, such as most powerbook users, can use the CD, Disk Copy and a borrowed CD-ROM drive to make a 115 MB disk image to replace the CD. The mac version of the game will not play networked games against the PC version of the game. Networked games may be played by TCP/IP or Appletalk. The CD comes with both x86 and PowerMac versions on it. This means that whatever computer you buy next, the game will run. It also means that you may have to look in the PC games area to find it in your favorite computer superstore. I encountered no bugs to speak of.

Conclusion

Imperialism is a must play. Its intricacies are complex and nuances subtle and its economic and diplomatic components cannot be ignored, so it may not be for players who live for brute force combat alone. For these people, there are other SSI products like Panzer General. Imperialism is perhaps the most interesting game from the Civilization genre I have ever played, and comes highly recommended. It’s interface is clean and micro-managment is kept to a minimum. Even late in the game, turns continue to move quickly. The computer AI is sophisticated and well integrated into the game. However, I expect that where the game truly shines brightest is in multiplayer play. Better start searching for macintosh players though, since SSI did not see fit to make net games with PC players a possibility.

For a list of mac and PC Imperialism net players and forming net games, check http://www.concentric.net/~tfumia/Imperialism.shtml

Find a copy

Imperialism has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Imperialism on Amazon.

Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

Publisher	MacSoft
Tested on	PowerMac 7600/120
Gameplay	3 / 5 apples
Graphics & Sound	4 / 5 apples
Interface	2 / 5 apples
Difficulty	4 / 5 apples
Bugs	4 / 5 apples
Overall	3 / 5 apples
Reviewed by	Cale Corbett

Gameplay

Master of Orion II is saddled with the same sort of baggage many games of its genre: clunky interface and distinct lack of originality. I will touch more on the interface issues later in the review, but for now, let’s focus on the aspect of originality. Not only is Master of Orion II very much like other space and land-based strategic games (like Civilizations I & II), it is hauntingly similar to the original Master of Orion. Granted, the graphics, sounds and gameplay in general has improved over the original, it is not a radical enough departure to entice this rather jaded gamer into calling it “insanely great.” Yet, given all that, it is still a fun game to play and has provided me with hours of visceral thrills in the past two weeks.

The game has varying levels of difficulty, from a hand-holding level to a level that only the most masochistic gamer could tolerate.

One serious issue for gameplay for seemingly hundreds of Macintosh Master of Orion II players has been the glacial pace at which the game seems to crawl in many places. Many have complained the mouse pointer jerks and jumps around the screen. Others have noted that the further the game progresses, especially with larger galaxies and more players, the longer it takes for control to be returned to the gamer. Some have reported lags of two minutes or more on relatively new and speedy Macintoshes. A few have pointed out that turning off Virtual Memory speeds game play significantly, but for many with little RAM this is not always an option.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics and sound in this game are polished, refined and professional. The game is spiced up with the occasional scene of a planet being bombarded, massive fleets of enemy vessels pulling up alongside your system and other little surprise morsels thrown in for good measure. The sound is smooth, clear and crisp. Unlike most games of this type, the background music is not annoying and distracting.

Interface

The interface is rated rather low for two important reasons. One, the interface is clunky, PC-like and two, the Finder is conspicuously absent during game play. You are literally stuck with quitting the game to get back to the Finder unless you have installed a third party application-switching extension. Such issues may be complete non-issues for PC gamers, but we Mac gamers expect a little something more from our games, a pleasant and easy to use interface.

Difficulty and Replayability

This game has (as noted above) varying levels of difficulty, with enough to keep all but the most serious strategy gameplayer hopping. Given that the game has so many levels, races and the option to create your own custom race (with various abilities and disabilities) you can expect to have many hours of rewarding gameplay. If nothing else, experimenting and battling with the many thousands of spacecraft combinations alone could consume years.

Bugs

Many 68k Mac gamers have reported Type 28 errors while playing Master of Orion II, particularly when changing production targets. I have seen very few, if any, similar complaints from PowerMac users. Overall, this is a stable, and competent port.

Conclusion

This game is a decent, solid, if rather uninspired creation. It is no secret from the interface or the gameplay that it is a PC port. However, it is a fun, engaging and sometimes downright engrossing distraction from daily life. If you enjoy games of this type, pick it up.

Find a copy

Master of Orion II has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Master of Orion II on Amazon.

Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.

This post has affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.

From the archive: this review first ran on the Mac Gaming Alliance (MGA), the Mac games site that lived here on DimensionZ in the late 1990s. It was published around 1998 and is reproduced as originally written. More in the Mac Gaming Alliance archive.

Publisher	Bungie
Tested on	StarMax 4000/200 with Techworks Power3Dfx card
Gameplay	3 / 5 apples
Interface	3 / 5 apples
Difficulty	2 / 5 apples
Bugs	3 / 5 apples
Overall	3 / 5 apples
Reviewed by	Marty Dodge

Myth is Bungie’s new big game for both the PC and the Mac. The hype said it was going to be the best thing since…well since the invention of the computer game. Does it live up to the hype? Well no, and yes depending on what you want from a game. Graphically it is an amazing piece of work. There is nothing quite like lowering your camera close enough to see one of the characters on the screen being hacked apart by one or other of the evil nasties about.

I do have a few gripes:

1. The difficulty ratings seem to be useless and do not matter one bit. I could see no difference between timid and normal. The learning curve on Myth is way too long and will annoy anyone with a real job who does not have hours and hours to learn it. If you have the time and use some of the guides on-line the game gets quite enjoyable in the end. But getting to a level of competence required to make it fun is really annoying. I really hate having to do the same level 10 times before getting it right. The game controls are fiddly as well.

2. Your men are way too stupid. The dwarf seems to have an equal or better chance of killing himself before the enemy. If you were a dwarf and you had a baddie with a sword chasing you, you would run like hell when the baddies get close. In fact none of the men in this game seem to have any intelligence at all. They will stand still and get slaughtered to a man. Unless you tell them to run. Surely, that should happen almost automatically and the player should have hard time getting them back if they run off. In most war games this is called: failing morale. The enemy seem to be much brighter than then men you are given. Most of them are undead, as well. In real life I would go back to base camp and kill whomever gave me all archers for the second mission: “Traitors Gate”. Long range weapons in a heavily wooded area: yea right.

3. My last annoyance is the fact that one is not able to play the “Fallen Lords.” One of the great things about Warcraft II, the game which Myth will be compared to most frequently, is that one is able to play the “baddies.” I find it much more fun to make the human’s lives a misery. Frankly there is nothing better than slaughtering a whole load of your human opponents and then raising them from the dead in order to send them back against their horrified comrades.

I have a 3DFX card and the game is amazing to watch, the opening sequence looks as if it is from a Disney epic. Combat is incredible to watch as you see your men slaughtered to a man. The fact you can swing the “camera” around to see all angles of the action is pretty impressive. It does sometime however seem that you are merely a bystander watching the action as it unfolds with little or no input. For instance, as far as I can tell, telling your men to retreat only serves in turning the back to the enemy allowing them to be killed more quickly. “Retreat” should mean: run like hell.

I made several attempts at LAN (Appletalk) play and managed to succeed in getting it working only once. The only time the multiplayer function worked was when I left all the settings on default. Any adjustments and the “joiner” froze. Seeing as Myth is from Bungie, experts at Mac based LAN games, my difficulties were disappointing. My PC friends are always amazed at the speed and ease of setting up LAN games with Marathon.

Ultimately I think Bungie made an excellent attempt taking strategy games to a higher level. Myth misses the mark. A bit too “graphics over gameplay” for my liking. Many of my complaints may well be corrected in subsequent versions of the game. I used a “gold” review copy from Softline here in the UK. Bungie is an excellent game company and I am in no doubt that they will take a keen interest in any criticism of the game. There are rumors about that there will be an update on-line sometime in the next week. It is my hope great hope that Myth II, which there will no doubt be, will prove an amazing game that will blow away anything in its path. I am afraid that until then, for sheer strategy enjoyment (esp. multiplayer), give me Warcraft II anytime.

Find a copy

Myth: The Fallen Lords has been out of print for years, but used copies of the original Mac release still turn up, and some classics have been re-released for modern systems. Search for Myth: The Fallen Lords on Amazon.

Ratings use the MGA’s original 1–5 apple scale. Prices, system requirements and web links in this review are from the time it was written.