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Introduction:
The Master of Orion series have been regarded as some of the greatest games to ever grace the PC. With this in mind, Master of Orion 3 has quite a lot of hype to live up to. With years in the making, Quicksilver Software has taken its time to enhance and streamline its powerful game system. With a fresh new look, tons of new options and a host of new races, MoO3 is set to rock the strategy genre once again and show gamers that space IS the final frontier.

Concept:
Master of Orion 3 follows the evolution of 16 galactic civilizations, all of which in some way have been influenced by a powerful race called the Antarans. These races include every type of intelligent life from standard humanoids to silicon crystals and accommodate just about every kind of play style imaginable. This diversity makes for interesting matches and combinations of stratagem.

The story of MoO3 includes thousands of years of history and follows the Antaran's rise to power and their eventual demise at the hands of galactic alliance and their own genetic meddling. The story, too long to print in this review, is fairly engrossing and lends a sense of history to the MoO3 universe. This sense enters into diplomatic relationships that the player will forge throughout their reign, and can affect how computer-controlled opponents react to a situation.

Although gathering alliances and trading peacefully is an important aspect of the game, every session eventually boils down to one thing. War is an unavoidable fact, and many battles must be fought to secure ones place in the universe. No matter how one gets to it, the goal at the end of the game is simple: DOMINANCE.

Concept: 5/5 Stars

Gameplay:
The first game session can be scary--the amount of information provided about every aspect of the game is intimidating and can confuse some new players. Although it is nice to have it handy, most of the information is pretty unnecessary and will not be needed to play. It is highly recommended to take the tour of the game the first time through to get an idea of how the game plays. Even MoO2 veterans may want to go through the help menu and learn about all the new features.

The game is controlled through a series of windows and is played on a turn-by-turn basis. With an interface somewhat akin to Star Trek, Master of Orion 3 has multiple slide-out panels that display the various options and information about any particular subject. After a little use, this windowing system becomes second-nature and can easily be navigated.

Every player, human or computer controlled, begins with one planet to rule. Players begin with limited technology and a very small space force to explore their domain. The Technology panel allows a player to establish priority rates for each of their specific areas of study. Although the computer automatically balances these levels, it can be advantageous to alter funding slightly towards a players strong-point. Everything from energy weapons to advanced physics is available for research, and as new technologies and theories are discovered in various field, new advances become available. Because much of the research progress and discovery is randomized, this means that every player quickly begins to differentiate from the others. Limiting other player's knowledge of technologies or gifting them to an ally can be a very good tool in the search for conquest.

Space travel is initially slow, and expanding out to other planets can take time. The first few turns of each game session are mostly spent fine tuning the society, and establishing a game-plan. Using the Finance control panel can change the taxation rates and other government features that alter income and civil happiness. Raising the taxes can give a player that extra boost the economy needs, but will upset any people effected. On the other hand, as taxes drop happiness and productivity rise. It is very important to keep a good balance of financing.

Much like Sid Meier's Civilization, Master of Orion allows the player to manage their government as they see fit. Although the game generally begins with Democracy, the government can be altered at any time to help the player's strategy. Government leaders that join the cause can also be managed from the Government panel. MoO3 has a large list of leaders for each race, and each leader can bring different advances and hindrances to the government. Think of these like the "heroes" of the game.

Once new races have been found, and communications have been established, the Foreign Office panel will allow the player to contact their diplomats. Using this tool, different options can be used to push subjects or talk war and alliances with other races. It is very important to manage relations with ones friends and enemies. If friends are left alone for too long, relations can grow stale and can cause friction.

The computer controlled players generally act very smart, and coldly calculate each action. When relating to their human counter-parts, however, they can react very strangely. Some alliances can quickly deteriorate into aggression and sometimes players will receive angry and confusing messages from an ally ambassador for little or no reason. This can be very frustrating when all the time invested in building an ally's trust is dashed by a single random event.

Also, starship manufacturing and control is very difficult and is not explained at any length by either the game manual or help section. Although a player can use the Ship Yard section to design new starship models, ordering specific ships for specific tasks in not available. Also, players may quickly be confused about how to colonize planets. MoO3 grants the option of letting the computer hand-pick colonies, but this takes away any real feeling of command when it comes to expansion.

Space combat can be played out in a variety of different fashions. Players can choose to enter into combat and control the fight, simply watch the fight and admire their fleet, or bypass any real-time action and just get the outcome immediately. The third option can save a lot of time when forces are greatly mismatched.

As far as control is concerned, real-time combat plays out very much like any other RTS. This makes it very easy for new players to quickly get into the game system and command their own forces. Master of Orion 3 makes good use of the established game styles players are used to and found they did not have to re-invent the wheel on something like an RTS interface.

Watching a fight can be thrilling for the player if they really don't know how to navigate combat but want to enjoy a good battle. Unfortunately, it has a major flaw that can drive you up the wall. While watching, all commands are unavailable-including retreat/resign. This means that if either the opponent is running or if your forces are beaten to a point where they are trying to avoid the enemy, these combat rounds can last up to TEN MINUTES. There is no way to leave if you are watching a battle and the action goes sour.

All-in-all, the Master of Orion 3 gameplay is extremely addicting and can have you playing for hours on end. The main problem is that it is overly-complicated and can easily confuse and frustrate players who are looking for a simple strategy game. In MoO3's defense, the series has always been known for its level of detail and anyone playing it should not be expecting an easy ride. Master of Orion 3 is a thinking-man's strategy game and anyone looking for Civilization in space should try Alpha Centauri. For everyone who is looking for a more comprehensive and engrossing game, Master of Orion 3 is just the ticket.

Gameplay: 5/5 Stars

Graphics:
From the interface for the space combat to what is being controlled there, all graphics are appropriate and clean. Graphics are crisp, and close-ups of planets and starships are well done. As far as the real-time combat is concerned, everything is played out on a two-dimensional "board" and battle effects are enough to make a player realize what's happening. This is a game that knows what it is, and does not strive to clutter up an otherwise perfect game with tons of shameless eye-candy. Master of Orion 3 is the perfect combination of next generation graphics and classic simplicity.

My most major concern is that the movies that play from time to time, even on a high-end system, can be jerky. In the age of 128MB graphics cards, someone MUST have invented a decent FMV codec. Outside of this small flaw, which can make meeting with diplomats a little awkward, the game plays perfectly.

Graphics: 4/5 Stars

Audio:
The audio quality and clarity in MoO3 is impressive, and really enhances the mood of the game. The music is soft and atmospheric and does not distract the player from the task at hand with any inappropriately loud or obnoxious sound. Every race has its own language and tone which increases the realism of each ambassador and brings each creature to life. The time and thought that Quicksilver put into each race can be heard with their various dialects. No sound seems out of place; sound effects give a good feel to the weapons or effects that they are associated with.

Audio: 4/5 Stars

Final Words:
Warning: Master of Orion 3 can quickly become an addiction. Minutes turn to hours as you vie for power against the other races of the universe. Although it may not be the friendliest game, MoO3 is packed with options and accessories that can keep you entertained for months. Just like a good game of Monopoly or Risk, a "quick" game session can last hours on end. Just like every kind of turn-based strategy game, MoO3 is not for everyone-it requires vast amounts of patience and strategic know-how. For those that apply, get ready for one hell of a good time.

Total Score: 4.5/5 Stars
Excellent Game

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