Rating: 
Summary: Micromanagement Hell
Review: I tried the demo and found this to be a truely awful game. The question you would normally ask at this point is "Why did you buy it?"Because we are using it to investigate products with awful user interfaces as part of a class project. By comparing this game with the two prior Master of Orion games, we can understand what happened and how the problems can be avoided. As a case study in bad design, it's excellent. As a playable game, it's awful. A specific example: It's a space conquest game, so you would expect to need to create ships. Many ships, many times, on a lot of planets. You must go through at least 5 levels of menus to build a ship, on every planet where you wish to build a ship. The rest of the operations you would normally perform as a would-be space ruler are equally difficult. I wish they had spent less time on the flashy graphics and more time testing how users would use the game.
Rating:
Summary: Worst Game of it's type.
Review: This is the worst game of its type. Save your money. Graphics are about 15 years out of date. Manual is just a story that takes places at the end of Moo2. The only thing you will ever fight is troop transports... LOL. What a joke. Glad my friend gave me his copy. Oh, nice cover art on the box.
Rating: 
Summary: Surpasses MoO2... if you get through the first days...
Review: Let me start with saying that when I bought MoO3 it eventually proved to be as addictive as MoO2, but it certainly took some time and initial frustration to get there. Since MoO2 was such a big hit, it was up to the game designers to make a fully improved version for the next release. To me, they succeeded in several parts, but disappointed in others, with the main problem being that a lot of the improvements were sought in adding more detail. Of course this can be interesting, but most gamers do not desire a more complex version of MoO2 but rather a revamped and improved one. No wonder many of the respondents here are frustated about the complexity and the time it takes to get through the initial frustrations. Nevertheless, I stuck with the game for the good part of a weekend and I am convinced that it is pretty decent game after you get the hang of it. Bear with me to see what I believe are the pro's and con's of this installment. Pro's:
- The development plan structure allows you to stay away from micromanaging planets, so you can concentrate more on the interesting stuff in the game
- The space combat system uses task forces and selection of attack-type, making the guiding of space combat much easier and realistic. Although the interface looks tiny and amateuristic at first, it does the job of fighting space battles well. By zooming and panning a lot, the action improves significantly
- The existance of mobilization centers allows composing fleets at any system (that has one), thus negating moving around ships all the time. This definitely enhances the value of strategically positioned systems
- The importance of ground combat has increased, which I would say is more realistic. A planet is not easily conquered (the downside of this and the previous point is of course the game has to be won through attrition warfare, which is a lengthy affaire)
- Each race has a slightly different technology tree, making the importance of spies and technology exchange (even) more relevant. Con's:
- The guidebook is poorly structured with the background story in-between the explanation of the game functions. Many key items of the interface and way the program works are not explained and can be found only by trial-and-error. This ensures that using the viceroys and planet production effectively is a disaster at first. The game is complex, and will take a steep learning curve to get going. This will certainly not appeal to everyone - The AI quality for your viceroys (and arguably for your opponents) is shabby at best. Although you can state development plans for your planets which bring focus in its development, it is cumbersome to define and choose the appropriate plan for a planet since the computer determines the development plan type for you. What the AI puts in your building cues and builds on the ground is certainly not the optimum. The AI can be turned off per planet, but this will bring you back to micromanaging again
- Ships cannot be upgraded. (Since this makes life easier it could also be an advantage)
- Diplomacy has no real impact in the game; ignore it and nothing special will happen
- The graphics used are nowhere near what is expected from similar games. This certainly should have been better, even for a game where this has not the emphasis
- Running through all your planets to check build-up and production takes too much clicking around.
- It is best to use a high-end system to play the game in a reasonable pace; calculations and space combat have impact on playability for low-end systems Some remarks in previous reviews are simply not true, but can only be found after some playing time:
- The diplomacy engine badly requires the latest patch, but after installment is not too bad (but still rather irrelevant)
- Although planets can only cue 3 items to build, these can be locked and therefore do not require attention after you have determined the goods that should be produced
- There are quick-build buttons for formation of armies and task forces which are quite handy and take a lot of work out of your hands
- There is defensive intelligence, but it is now part of the "oppressometer" All in all, we have a game that eventually is a remarkable look-alike of MoO2 with some nice improvements in non-micromanagement and space combat. If you stick with it, you will see the extras of this release, but I believe the gamedesigners should have done a better job in playability, graphics and AI intelligence. So if you are an MoO2 fan and are willing to take time and get used to it, go out and buy it. Otherwise, wait for MoO4, which hopefully does not add more detail but solves the issues of this release.
Rating:
Summary: Very disappointed
Review: I watched the developement of this game carefully for several years. I waited through the delays. I was worried by the reviews. I was terribly disappointed by the game. I love turn based space strategy games. I played Master of Orion II all night or all weekend more times than I can remember. It has to be my favorite game of all time. There are a lot of people like me, so when Quicksilver decided to make a sequel, a lot of people had very high hopes. MOO3 has more aliens, more tech, more planets, a bigger galaxy, more ships, and more customization options than MOO2. It also has tools that are supposed to make it easier to manage, like viceroys, real time space combat that mostly runs itself, and auto play features. Yet the bottom line is, the game just isn't fun. There are a lot of numbers, a lot of spreadsheets, and a lot of bad UI. There is not the fun or light hearted graphics like in MOO2, and even though a game a MOO2 could take 10 or 20 hours, a game of MOO3 can take much longer. Even with a small galaxy. If you have waited as long as I have waited, you will have to buy the game whether you have been warned off or not. I did. But you won't enjoy it. It is just too boring, frustrating, and tedious.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good but has fatal flaws, could be so much better
Review: Well, I bought this game on the reviews that say, "If you like a complex, deep, thought-provoking complex, turn-based strategy game, you'll love it!" Bad idea... It has some of those parts like the ability to zone planets and allocate specific amounts of money to many areas. The parts of the game like that really have serious potential for micromanagement and control but then there are the problems... - The "Task forces" are extremely cumbersome and the inability to update is a major migraine - The diplomacy stinks and seems to have no effect whatsoever on game play, is difficult to understand, and the AI's make peace, declare war, make peace, declare war, every other turn and at random. - The Senate is a great idea but you can't propose any really meaningful bills only inane stuff like "Praise New Orions" or "Declare total war on Farenzurno", none of which ever pass anyway. - "Combat" could have been cool with in real-time but is more accurately a bunch of gray points shooting lines at each other (which of course, you really can't control anyway). In addition, the units are way off with the missile ships just blowing everything out of the water. - In addition, the ground combat is really arcane and difficult. It takes a thousand clicks to make a ground force and once the troops land, the whole force disappears for a few turns and must be redeployed. - You have to click through 5 screens just to check up on what the wholly inefficient viceroys are doing and keep them from building 52 troop transports (without any troops) - The game is really easy, as it seems the enemy AI does nothing against you yet it takes way too much time to destroy even one of their planets. - Oh yeah, and the manual is really almost useless. Half of it is just a cheap sci-fi story recounting events since the last game. Any the rest is a cursory examination of the interface. - Finally, the graphics are super-outdated. There are about 3 gray on gray barely recognizable graphics for the ships. Space combat is points and lines and ground combat is a colored orb glowing and pulsating randomly. (An exception is the diplomacy graphics, which are actually quite good) All this really makes a game with great potential, little payoff.
Rating: 
Summary: Succeeds at standing out.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable (I mean unbelievably bad)!
Review: I unfortunately purchased MOO3 when it was eventually released, happened to be surfing Amazon.com tonight, and decided to read some of the reviews of MOO3. After reading a number of them (especially the favorable ones), I felt compelled to submit this review of MOO3 as hopefully the final word on this game. I waited on pins and needles waiting for MOO3 to be released (after a number of release delays). When it was delivered, I read most of the manual, except for most of the excessively expansive storyline. If I wanted all of that, I would pick up a Card, Herbert, or Weber novel. And then I loaded MOO3 and started playing it at the hardest level. Many hours later, all the while disregarding nonsensical diplomatic messages, protecting my borders with invincible fleets (which I couldn't upgrade and still haven't figured out how to), micromanaging the game to an unbelievable degree (which is necessary because the queue only allows a three future projects at a time), and generally expanding my empire, I quit only after sending the maximum amount of full battle fleets against the Orions to their deaths even after inflicting enormous damage. So I started again at the hardest level, and did it again. This game suffers innumerable deficiencies. It's not a matter of being a slow gamer or a fast gamer. I appreciate and enjoy both kinds of gaming. This game is terrible, and frankly I read the positive reviews and wonder how much those authors were paid to write them. MOO2 is the game to which all turn based strategy games are compared, and the makers of MOO3 must know that it would be compared to MOO2 in such a fashion. As such, their release of MOO3 is an insult to the genuis that is MOO2. MOO3 is properly placed as a prequel to MOO and MOO2. That way, the trilogy improves in quality and enjoyment with each release. And in the unlikely event there is an MOO4, I hope the makers learn from their mistakes of MOO3. At least with this long-time MOO2 fan, they have a lot of redemption after their release of MOO3. I will further wait for the gamer reviews before any such purchase. Fool me once, shame on you: fool me twice, shame on me!
Rating:
Summary: Worst 4X game ever?
Review: This game is so terrible that it's amazing it was ever released. Many of this game's positive reviewers have speculated that perhaps those who don't like the game simply haven't taken the time to thoroughly understand it. Let me assure you, this isn't the case. The more time you spend with this game, the more you come to realize how egregiously flawed it is. There are far, far too many flaws for me to offer a complete list, so I'll just mention the one that I find the most hilarious. The game claims to have an advanced diplomacy model, but the diplomacy appears to have absolutely no connection to the rest of the game. I can carpet bomb an enemy's planet, killing millions of his citizens, and the next turn his ambassador shows up to...offer me a trade treaty? What the heck? Equally bizarre is the way that races will declare war, then peace, then war, peace, etc. every few turns for no apparent reason. It's kind of funny at first, but eventually you just start ignoring the other ambassadors. Save your money. They should have to pay people to play this one.
Rating:
Summary: A hidden Gem
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Genius is sometimes misunderstood
Review: 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.
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