Product Description

New Republic Intelligence (NRI):An organization that is the successor to the old network of Rebel spies and other interim groups such as the Senate Interplanetary Intelligence Network (SPIN). In the New Republic goverment, the NRI falls under the jurisdiction of the General Ministry. The headquarters of the NRI lies deep within Coruscant, although they have safe houses throughout the galaxy on planets such Corellia and Wayland. ... Read more

Features

• Expanded and enhanced use of the lightsaber features a slew of attack and defense moves
• Tap into the powers of the Force including Jump, Push, Jedi Mind Tricks and more
• Employ combat or stealth, depending on the situation. When a fight is necessary, be at the ready with an arsenal of weapons: stun baton, Bryar blast pistol, blaster rifle to name but a few.
• Explore breathtaking Star Wars locales--Cloud City, the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, Nar Shaddaa, the smugglers' moon--plus some never-before-seen locations
• Multi-player options including, deathmatch, saber-only deathmatch, and team capture the flag.

Reviews (337)

THE BEST STAR WARS COMBAT GAME EVER!!!
I LOVE THIS GAME TOO MUCH!!! BUT WHICH IS BETTER=OUTCAST OR ACADEMY!!!!!

Mac users can be Jedi!
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is one of the first games I bought for my Mac.Gameplay is challenging and fun!The single player storyline is entertaining and pulls you into the game and keeps you there.After a slow start with no Force Powers or light saber, you really will begin to feel like a Jedi Knight.Kyle Katarn's character is one of the best characters I've seen in any game, and could easily be a film character in a Star Wars movie.Some of the most memorable levels for me are fighting as a Jedi alongside Jedi Master Luke Skywalker against a half dozen or so Reborn Dark Jedi, fighting criminals in Nar Shadaa where you really must make use of your arsenal of cool weapons, and the two key battles against Tavion and Desann.I have other, newer games, but Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is the game I keep coming back to play.

The multiplayer matches are fairly standard Quake 3 Arena fare, with one exception, the one-on-one Lightsaber Duel.You may think you're a Jedi Knight after dispatching hundereds of storm troopers and Dark Jedi in the single player game, but the real creative battles happen in Lightsaber Duels against real people online.Just please remember to fight with honor and bow before combat.

Jedi Outcast has reasonable system requirements will play well on any modern G4 or G5 Mac.

Jedi Academy
As other people have said, the plot for one-player mode is very...Well, almsot pathetic. It left me confused, it didn't explain alot. But the game is still enjoyable, the graphics are OK.

In Multi-Player, you can fight other players. You can choose what you want you charecter to look like and change it as much as you want and pick your light saber. My only complaint about Multi-player mode is everyone there is rude. Well, almost everyone. There are certain clubs and "cults" where they go around calling non-members of their club/cult "Lamers".

Overall, it's a pretty good game.

Lightsabers, now that's different!
I am by no means a hardcore gamer, but for any fan of shooters, this is a great one, and it gives you a chance to get away from just shooting a bunch of goons (in this case, stormtroopers).Instead you can run around with a lightsaber and hack everything up ( I did this rather gleefully).For a game as old as this one is, it looks good, I'm not sure how it compares to a game using an unmodified Quake III engine but it looks almost as good as Star Trek: Elite Force 2, which is undoubtedly the best Quake game out there.

Still the best Star Wars game out there
To date, I've played almost all of the Star Wars games released- starting way, way back at the black & white DOS game where your primary (and only) goal is to center your crosshairs on a weaving TIE fighter and blow it up with a push of the fire button. I'm a former flight sim fanatic (not so much now, due to the sad state of the genre), a current RPG fanatic, and I absolutely detest FPS games. This is largely due to the fact I get splattered whenever I join a deathmatch, but is also because these games generally lack even a remote semblance of a storyline and characterization.

Having said that, and keeping in mind that I've also played the excellent X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X vs. TIE, X-Wing Alliance, Knights of the Old Republic, &c (I could go on for quite a while with this) one must add extra weight to the fact that I really like Jedi Outcast. And yes, I am aware that it's a shooter. So the big question, of course, is why?

First and foremost, this FPS actually has a plot and characters. Not only that, but it has GOOD plot and characters- so much so that they have actually been inducted into Star Wars canon.* This is an honor no other Star Wars game has yet been able to claim. In fact, the storyline is so good that you will hardly notice that you're not really seeing any new kinds of enemies (stormtroopers and other Imperial slime are still the general fare).

The sound and look is superbly done. Voice acting is top notch, and instead of having full motion video cutscenes with horrible dubbing (as in the first Jedi Knight) they've used the game engine to fill in the blanks. And yes, it actually looks quite good- even compared to current games. Great attention to detail is a key factor in the presentation- when you walk into a cantina, you'll hear the familiar music from the Mos Eisley Cantina in Episode IV. The locations are varied and magnificent, with some taken from the movies (e.g. Cloud City on Bespin) and others from the expanded universe (e.g. Nar Shaddaa).

Now, though I'm a lousy FPS player, I still know enough to say that the weapons are very cool. There's the standard rocket launcher, sniper rifle, close-range grease gun, and default pistol. All have very unique looks and effects, and strengths and weaknesses. Most have an alternate fire mode, which can add interesting functionality (e.g. laser tripwires on mines).

And then, of course, we have the lightsaber and the Force. I cannot overstate how cool these are, and it's impossible to really describe it here. All I can say is that you've really got to play it, and that if you get good with both, two things will happen: you won't use your guns anymore, and you'll really feel like a Jedi master.

The level design is excellent, with puzzles that make you feel smart when you figure them out, but also don't take a total genius to solve. As with the other Jedi Knight, there are secret areas that hold extra power-ups that can seriously aid in your cause. There's also many interesting objectives that require unique interaction with the environment. For example, you'll at one point have the chance to commandeer an AT-ST and run amok through the jungles of Yavin 4, blowing up stormtroopers as you go. How cool is that?

Though I don't use multiplayer mode often (yes, I like this game, but I still get wasted in deathmatches) I have seen enough of it to say that it's comparable to any other FPS out there. There's no vehicles in multiplay, but who needs those when you have the Force? You can challenge others to one-on-one saber duels, play Star Wars-imbued variants of familiar games like capture the flag, and snipe honorlessly at passing Jedi from a balcony.

Given its long, excellent campaign and flawless presentation, Jedi Outcast comes with the highest recommendation. Even if you're not a Star Wars fan, its compelling story and great arsenal of weaponswill appeal to the FPS fanatic. Jedi Outcast is also one heck of a deal now, and still looks great despite its age. Go, and may the Force be with you!

*Specifically, Kyle Katarn is universally recognized as the guy who stole the plans for the first Death Star. ... Read more

Product Description

SimCity™ 4, features new simulation and graphics engines, new regional game play and thenew ability to track the lives of individual Sims as they go about their daily routine, SimCity 4 isthe most realistic, powerful and personal SimCity experience ever. Lay the groundwork for theircities by molding mountains, carving valleys, seeding forests and laying rivers. Build a worldclasscity with stadiums, airports, universities, and real-world landmarks. Feel the rhythm of thecity: peaceful protests and rowdy riots, noontime crowds and nighttime calm. Control everyaspect of your city and see the results for better or worse.

• Sculpt mountains, gouge valleys, seed forests, and bring forth animals to create a world allyour own.
• Summon volcanoes, release tornados, and call down meteors and lightning.
• Build a world class city with stadiums, airports, universities, and real-world landmarks.
• Deploy emergency vehicles and join in the action as they battle blazes, mobs, and more.
• Place your Sims in your city to get the inside scoop on what's going on around town.
• Connect a massive region of SimCities, each sharing and competing for resources.

Features

• Create and control the most life-like metropolis you can imagine
• Take your Sims from "The Sims" into your SimCity
• Dispatch police cruisers to fight crime, send out the Mayor's limo to quell a rioting mob, or cap an erupting volcano threatening your citizens
• Form mountains, carve valleys, plant forests, raise oceans, and more
• From mellow traffic flow to commuter hell, noontime crowds to nighttime calm, partygoers to troublemakers, the movement in your city is ever-changing and unpredictable

Reviews (28)

Should be Crash City not Sim City
I bought this game for my son and I am now spending many minutes a day rebooting his MAC computer. The game locks up the entire system and requires a hard reboot each time. If this was an automobile from GM of Ford the roads would be littered with wrecked cars. Don't waste you money.

Great game, but you need a patch to fix a performance issue
I played all the previous versions of Sim City back in my bad oldWindows days and really enjoy the game.But for some reason this version will paralyze even a fast Mac.I'm running this on an iMac 1.8GHz G5 with 1GB of memory, and after about 10 minutes of play I have to quit and restart the game because the response becomes impossibly slow.Very frustrating.Haven't tried the updater yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

UPDATE (Apr 05): Installed the updater and it appears to have fixed the slow response problem.

Very Good...if it has update!
I have noticed many people have said just how bad Sim City 4 is. The thing to solve these problems is to get the updater It will make Sim City much better!

Graphics not a problem...if you fix them!
Lots of these reviews complain about the graphics on this Mac version.I had the same problems too - unexpected crashes and VERY slow game performance, on a pretty new G5 tower.

Doing two things will fix these issues.In the game's video/display options panel, switch off the page scrolling, and reduce the graphic detail.That's all it took to have this game running great.The manual should cover these quirks but it doesn't.

One final tip - learn the keyboard commands (found on the back of the manual) as it will speed up gameplay hugely, and totally compensates for no scrolling.

Not worth it!
Ok so i was a fan of Sim City 2000 which I found a demo of on a CD I didnt know i had. So I put it in and played Sim City 2000...and played and played and so on so I soon got the full thing. I became addicted to it. When Sim City 4 came out, i wanted it so much but I only had a mac. When it came out I bought like the first day! When I played I was sooooo dissapointed. nothing seemed to work right, the airplanes shadows became square and the streams on the airplanes was stretched all the way across, it kept crashing, and the industrial zone turned white, edge scrolling messed up sooooo slooooow. When I played it on a PC at my friends house, it was beutiful! Not a single bug! I ditched the game and played 2000 again finding it much better. Now I only play for like 10 minutes before getting bored. Seiously on this, NOT worth spending $40-$50 on this pathetic game. Maxis should be ashamed of themselves to take so much care in the PC games then throw it on a mac bugs and all. NOT worth it! Keep your money while you can! In other words, it doesn't take good graphics to make a good game. So get with it Maxis!! ... Read more

Features

• For 1 player
• Third-person fantasy adventure game trails Kate Walker on her voyage to Syberia
• Lush graphics and settings designed by comics pioneer Benoît Sokal
• Optimized graphics engine with dynamic lighting effects and more fluid animation
• 4 new locations and new and continuing characters from Syberia I

Reviews (55)

One of the good ones
If you like Atlantis & The Longest Journey you will like this.Not as good as the others, but good just the same.

A sequel that works
Oddly they did that too. They made a sequel that was just as great as the original. An old fashioned adventure game that doesn't want you to kill people (or things), just makes you think and use your head. Unlike the mindless shoot-em-ups being shoved down our kids throats today. And you don't have to save it every few minutes so that you don't get killed and have to start from the beginning. I loved it!

Really Fun Game!
I really enjoyed this game.I liked Syberia too, but I guess by this time, playing Syberia II I was used to all the little quirks that annoyed me in Syberia.The story line is fun (although I have to admit I still don't understand the obsession with the mammoths) the graphics are A+ and puzzles are interesting and related to game play.I don't want to give anything away, but I was actually sad at one part in Youkol Village - you'll know when you get there.

I highly recommend playing Syberia first and then Syberia II but Syberia II is by far the better one.

Very fun, but shorter than the first
This sequel was as much fun and as beautiful as Syberia I.However, some of the puzzles at the end were rediculously difficult, and the game was much shorter thanSyberia I.However, I recommend it, and wish there were more games that were this interesting, fun, beautiful, and stable.

Great Game
Wow!

What a great game! I was totally entertained with both Syberia I and now I have just completed II. Makes me laugh when I see that anyone would say Syberia II was too short. It just goes to show you how delightful both of these games are. I wish it could have gone on and on, but in no way was it too short. One just hates to see it come to an end. I loved them. I cannot say enough good things about them both. Superior in all aspects.
... Read more

Product Description

After Archimonde and the Burning Legion were defeated at the battle of Mount Hyjal, a new threat rises throughout the land and it's up to you to defeat it. ... Read more

Features

• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Genre: Strategy
• Mission: Experience a vast new chapter in the epic Warcraft saga
• Platform: Mac OS 9.0 or higher, OS 10.1.3 or higher; Windows 98/Me/2000/XP

Reviews (88)

Great addition to a great game!
When I first went to my friend's house to play Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos, I had lots of fun! I didn't enjoy the normal maps too much, sadly, and I wasn't really looking forward to buying the game.

Then, I went online with my free Battle.net account and downloaded a player-made map. I really loved the map, so I decided I'd save up and buy Warcraft 3. The game kept me entertained on and off. I'd play it for hours on end, then I'd stop for about 2 weeks, then go back to play it again! New maps are made almost every week, as players love to find fame. I, myself, have made a number of maps.

Anyway, when my friend got the expansion pack, I played a few Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne maps at his house. WOW! They were great! I couldn't stand having the game without the expansion! So, I got my allowance, and bought the expansion!

I recommend this to anyone who likes RTSes (real-time strategies) or even people who DISlike them, because the game could be called an "Action\Adventure Role-Playing Strategy Sports Driving Sim" or something! It's a multi-genre!

good stuff
this is definatly a good expansion set, just like the regular Warcraft3 itself. if you beat the first one, i suggest you buy this. graphics improved, more gameplay, and more fun. online action is great, including 1 new hero per race. i love this game and so does everyone i know who owns it.

1 year of frozenthrone playing and im not yet tired of it
Alright people that think this game is boring and it should have a Naga race and a Drenei race is stupid. I mean it would be pretty fun, but it would take lots of balancing and stuff so...no. Humans, nighrelves, undead, and orc are enough and the game is fun enough with out those other 2 races. I mean u can still play as adrenei or naga in the single player...and even on custom games...i was playing open rpg islands and i was a naga and i was swimmin anround shootin things with the naga seaweitch. The game really isnt that hard to play when u get used to it. Heros make everythign so intense and exciting which is why when ur fighting the enemy you really should take out the hero then work on the units.

The thing that i kinda hate about warcraft frozen throne and warcraft roc is the blademaster...cheap crap. he just got cheaper in this patch i mean now he can run through my units. Im always undead...and if youve been undead race u know what im talking about. Death to that dam blademaster. BUT finaly, they just got 2 new heros in a patch a alchemist and a firelord. I am very impressed with the alchemist he can take on the bladeamster pretty well.Anyways, people been saying how starcraft is better then warcraft and im like why? they say because its too shiney. I'm like ok...period over gotta go to enxt epriod...get this game ur kids will liek it buy it!! wee!!!!!!!!!!!Sinferno rulez!!!

Tried and true style of game works yet again
There really isn't much original about the Warcraft 3 game, and its expansion Frozen Throne campaign.It's yet another clone of itself/StarCraft/Ages Of Empires, etc. etc. etc. where you build, upgrade, build some more, upgrade, start sending your forces out, upgrade, replenish your forces, upgrade, repel enemies that may be attacking your base(s), start wiping out major concentrations of enemies, replenish your forces and complete any upgrades not already made, and finish off all your enemies.This has been done a hundred times before, and I'm sure it's not the last strategy game which will use the same method.The hero unit in Warcraft is cool, though.

The game is really easy to start, and gently eases you into the game.The cutscene movies are incredible, the best I've ever seen in a game.It's hard to say which campaign was the best, but I'd have to say it's a toss up between the Orc and Night Elf ones.I didn't like the Undead campaign, but the summoning of buildings was kinda neat.

I did get tired of hearing "Frostmourne hungers" everytime I moved my Undead hero, though.

the beast at this game beassssssssst
Warcraft is my favorite computer game. It has a lot of fun especially when you kill your allies. I'm level 100 because I play every minute of my life except for now and when I'm at school. When I play nobody messes with me. I'm the best person you could find on the game except for my brother. You should definitely buy this game. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

In the tradition of the multi-award-winning Star Wars: Jedi Knight, Star Wars: Jedi Knight 2, Jedi Outcast features rebel agent Kyle Katarn in exhilarating first-person action. Several years have passed since Kyle avenged his father's death and saved the Valley of the Jedi from Jerec and his band of Dark Jedi. Allowing his Force powers to languish for fear of falling to the dark side, Kyle entrusted his lightsaber to Luke Skywalker, vowing never to use it again. But when a new and menacing threat to the galaxy emerges, Kyle knows he must reclaim his past in order to save his future.

LucasArts is developing Jedi Outcast in partnership with Activision's critically acclaimed Raven Software. Players assume the role of Kyle as they employ a unique mix of weapons, Force powers, and the lightsaber in both single- and multiplayer modes. Jedi Outcast features expanded and enhanced use of the lightsaber, with new attack and defense moves. Tap into the powers of the Force, including jump, push, Jedi mind tricks, and more. Employ combat or stealth, depending on the situation. When a fight is necessary, be at the ready with an arsenal of weapons: stun baton, Bryar blast pistol, and blaster rifle to name but a few.

Explore breathtaking Star Wars locales such as Cloud City, the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4, Nar Shaddaa, the smugglers' moon--plus some never-before-seen locations. Multiplayer options include deathmatch, saber-only deathmatch, and team capture the flag. ... Read more

Reviews (337)

THE BEST STAR WARS COMBAT GAME EVER!!!
I LOVE THIS GAME TOO MUCH!!! BUT WHICH IS BETTER=OUTCAST OR ACADEMY!!!!!

Mac users can be Jedi!
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is one of the first games I bought for my Mac.Gameplay is challenging and fun!The single player storyline is entertaining and pulls you into the game and keeps you there.After a slow start with no Force Powers or light saber, you really will begin to feel like a Jedi Knight.Kyle Katarn's character is one of the best characters I've seen in any game, and could easily be a film character in a Star Wars movie.Some of the most memorable levels for me are fighting as a Jedi alongside Jedi Master Luke Skywalker against a half dozen or so Reborn Dark Jedi, fighting criminals in Nar Shadaa where you really must make use of your arsenal of cool weapons, and the two key battles against Tavion and Desann.I have other, newer games, but Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is the game I keep coming back to play.

The multiplayer matches are fairly standard Quake 3 Arena fare, with one exception, the one-on-one Lightsaber Duel.You may think you're a Jedi Knight after dispatching hundereds of storm troopers and Dark Jedi in the single player game, but the real creative battles happen in Lightsaber Duels against real people online.Just please remember to fight with honor and bow before combat.

Jedi Outcast has reasonable system requirements will play well on any modern G4 or G5 Mac.

Jedi Academy
As other people have said, the plot for one-player mode is very...Well, almsot pathetic. It left me confused, it didn't explain alot. But the game is still enjoyable, the graphics are OK.

In Multi-Player, you can fight other players. You can choose what you want you charecter to look like and change it as much as you want and pick your light saber. My only complaint about Multi-player mode is everyone there is rude. Well, almost everyone. There are certain clubs and "cults" where they go around calling non-members of their club/cult "Lamers".

Overall, it's a pretty good game.

Lightsabers, now that's different!
I am by no means a hardcore gamer, but for any fan of shooters, this is a great one, and it gives you a chance to get away from just shooting a bunch of goons (in this case, stormtroopers).Instead you can run around with a lightsaber and hack everything up ( I did this rather gleefully).For a game as old as this one is, it looks good, I'm not sure how it compares to a game using an unmodified Quake III engine but it looks almost as good as Star Trek: Elite Force 2, which is undoubtedly the best Quake game out there.

Still the best Star Wars game out there
To date, I've played almost all of the Star Wars games released- starting way, way back at the black & white DOS game where your primary (and only) goal is to center your crosshairs on a weaving TIE fighter and blow it up with a push of the fire button. I'm a former flight sim fanatic (not so much now, due to the sad state of the genre), a current RPG fanatic, and I absolutely detest FPS games. This is largely due to the fact I get splattered whenever I join a deathmatch, but is also because these games generally lack even a remote semblance of a storyline and characterization.

Having said that, and keeping in mind that I've also played the excellent X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X vs. TIE, X-Wing Alliance, Knights of the Old Republic, &c (I could go on for quite a while with this) one must add extra weight to the fact that I really like Jedi Outcast. And yes, I am aware that it's a shooter. So the big question, of course, is why?

First and foremost, this FPS actually has a plot and characters. Not only that, but it has GOOD plot and characters- so much so that they have actually been inducted into Star Wars canon.* This is an honor no other Star Wars game has yet been able to claim. In fact, the storyline is so good that you will hardly notice that you're not really seeing any new kinds of enemies (stormtroopers and other Imperial slime are still the general fare).

The sound and look is superbly done. Voice acting is top notch, and instead of having full motion video cutscenes with horrible dubbing (as in the first Jedi Knight) they've used the game engine to fill in the blanks. And yes, it actually looks quite good- even compared to current games. Great attention to detail is a key factor in the presentation- when you walk into a cantina, you'll hear the familiar music from the Mos Eisley Cantina in Episode IV. The locations are varied and magnificent, with some taken from the movies (e.g. Cloud City on Bespin) and others from the expanded universe (e.g. Nar Shaddaa).

Now, though I'm a lousy FPS player, I still know enough to say that the weapons are very cool. There's the standard rocket launcher, sniper rifle, close-range grease gun, and default pistol. All have very unique looks and effects, and strengths and weaknesses. Most have an alternate fire mode, which can add interesting functionality (e.g. laser tripwires on mines).

And then, of course, we have the lightsaber and the Force. I cannot overstate how cool these are, and it's impossible to really describe it here. All I can say is that you've really got to play it, and that if you get good with both, two things will happen: you won't use your guns anymore, and you'll really feel like a Jedi master.

The level design is excellent, with puzzles that make you feel smart when you figure them out, but also don't take a total genius to solve. As with the other Jedi Knight, there are secret areas that hold extra power-ups that can seriously aid in your cause. There's also many interesting objectives that require unique interaction with the environment. For example, you'll at one point have the chance to commandeer an AT-ST and run amok through the jungles of Yavin 4, blowing up stormtroopers as you go. How cool is that?

Though I don't use multiplayer mode often (yes, I like this game, but I still get wasted in deathmatches) I have seen enough of it to say that it's comparable to any other FPS out there. There's no vehicles in multiplay, but who needs those when you have the Force? You can challenge others to one-on-one saber duels, play Star Wars-imbued variants of familiar games like capture the flag, and snipe honorlessly at passing Jedi from a balcony.

Given its long, excellent campaign and flawless presentation, Jedi Outcast comes with the highest recommendation. Even if you're not a Star Wars fan, its compelling story and great arsenal of weaponswill appeal to the FPS fanatic. Jedi Outcast is also one heck of a deal now, and still looks great despite its age. Go, and may the Force be with you!

*Specifically, Kyle Katarn is universally recognized as the guy who stole the plans for the first Death Star. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Age of Empires 2 Gold Edition unites the exciting game play ofboth Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings and Age of Empires2: The Conquerors Expansion plus additional content for onecompelling gaming experience. Experience real-time evolution as youbuild your civilization into a flourishing empire, from the Dark Ageto the Imperial Age. Decide whether to conquer the world throughmilitary might, commerce and diplomacy, or intrigue andregicide. There are many paths to power but only one will reignsupreme.Age of Empires 2: The Age of Kings spans 1,000 years,from the fall of Rome through the Middle Ages. Players control thedestiny of one of 13 civilizations. The game keeps the epic scope ofAge of Empires' gameplay while evolving the combat and economicfeatures. Developed by Ensemble Studios, Age of Empires 2features the expertise of Bruce Shelley, co designer of Age ofEmpires and the hit strategy game Civilization.Age ofEmpires 2: The Conquerors Expansion adds five new civilizations,four new campaigns, 11 new units, 26 new technologies, real worldmaps, and much more. Experience the adventure of the SpanishConquistadors as they enter the exotic lands of the Aztecs, or relivethe destructive force of Attila's pillaging Huns. This add-on packfocuses on the armies and military thinking of a handful of history'sgreatest tacticians, including Attila the Hun, El Cid, andMontezuma. The new civilizations each have unique attributes,buildings, and technologies, such as Chinese Rocketry and PersianMahouts. You'll put hussar cavalry, kamikaze siege units, andhalberdier infantry into battle in four all-new campaigns.Play up toeight other conquerors via modem, Internet, or LAN. ... Read more

Reviews (42)

A game woth it
Age of Empires 2 is a cooooool game. If you have already played AOE 1 then you will really like this game. Instead of a population of 50 in AOE1 you can have a population of 200. You can build your economy very quickly in this game and can create a mighty army in this game. When I played this game I found out that it has serveral cool campaigns also. The campaign of Genghis Khan was very difficult due to lack of resources but otherwise very good. But in the difficulty of between moderate and hard is only when you enjoy. Rest are either too easy to win or too hard to win. The recorded game had helped me a lot in acheiving a lot in this game.

Great game, spoiled by networking issues
Having played every one of the AoE games from the very beginning, I was delighted to find a Mac port of AoE II Gold. The gameplay is great, and is seriously addictive. The only downside (which has resulted in this game receiving only four stars) is that network play between Macs and PCs is not possible, and gameplay between two or more Macs is problematic. This is highly unusual for a Mac game, but of course, the problem can be seen written all over a big banner in the main screen "Microsoft."

This is the only issue i have with this game, in all other respects it is one of the best strategy games ever made.

A MUST OWN GAME!
if you dont have this game already,you should.This game will truly give you endless hours and hours of fun.I've had this game since it came out,and i still play it all the time.It brings some history to kids minds about the middle ages and their warfare, but also gives you tons of action and strategy....a truly great game.

Age of Empires 2
This game is awesome! The first time I played it, I loved . I just bought it off Amazon. It combines history and action. But this game is not a history lesson. If you don't want to buy it because you think that is a history lesson, it is not.

Most Awesome Game Ever
This game gives you total control over your forces and makes you feel like a real general.Ypu have to buy this game. ... Read more

Features

• For 1 player
• Classic long-term strategy game
• Use combat, science and diplomacy to rule the world
• Watch out for multiple rivals developing nearby
• Includes three new maps and other special features

Reviews (9)

Fun and Addicting...sound familar??
If you liked civ 2, then civ 3 is right up your alley. All the little things that civ 2 lacked, civ 3 makes up for. The first day I bought this game I must have played for 14 hours straight its that addicting, the game actually keeps you from doing or thinking about anything else except the game... The game does not run slow at all, it runs at a speed comparable to civ2 if not a little bit faster, and the A.I. is much smarter and more challenging to contend with. If you remember Colonization and the original civilization this game has all the features you were wishing for years ago. More animation within the gameplay, not too much because that would take away from this classic strategy game, higher level of intricacy within the game engine, the game has become fully mind absorbing, you are constantly desring to improve your nation and the city improvements actually morph throughout different time periods, arial views of cities are much more appealing than we've seen before. But be warned its hard to stop playing once you start. I can't explain it, find out for yourself.

Awesome
This game was really good and that everyone who likes building armies should try it. It's only a little slow so don't let that stop you. I think that anyone who is really frustrated by the speed, probably has a problem with their computer.

Not impressed
Game of the year??This game has lots of bells and whistles (perhaps too many), but it lacks an important ingredient...fun.In many ways this game is a step backwards from Imperilism II.It follows many of the same ideas, but when it comes to battles this game is sorely lacking.One of the most interesting aspects of Imperialism was the ability to control multiple units in one battle.Here each unit simply goes one on one with another and the computer decides who wins.Additionally, the game is just too PC for its good.If you get attacked by someone else suddenly half of your cities erupt in civil unrest, making it very difficult to fight.The message seems to be that you should conquer the world by investing in the arts??

Excellent, highly addictive game with few reservations.
This is an incredibly absorbing and eerily lifelike game. When I made a deal with England knowing it was only to buy time so that I would attack them I actually felt guilty.

Some answers to the critics here... Boooring obviously never learned how to play. He should try researching and changing to a more productive form of government. Tank loses to spearmen. Actually that's rare but not unheard of in real life, too and he needs to remember that, although it's represented as a single figure each unit represents a squadron and a badly damaged squadron of tanks might well fall to a health squad of spearmen if they're smart enough to get inside their range and swarm them.

There are a lot of improvements over previous Civ's making the game worth buying. Particularly better trade, better graphics, many more diplomacy options, significant civilization style, attribute and strength differences.

Brickbats.
In many ways the port to Mac is REALLY bad carrying over all the Windows quirks and inconsistencies instead of porting it to a true Mac application e.g. writing their own dropdowns, eliminating the Mac menu and creating their own (with options missing) not using real windows, taking over the whole screen etc...

This game is so good that sooner or later you're going to want the upgrades, Conquests and Play the World and the likelyhood is that you won't be able to get them on the Mac.

Pretty Good---sort of.
Well the game is pretty cool, but there are a couple of problems i have faced:
1. the game speed is pretty slow, and i have a new computer, powerbook g4, and something like 500 MB(?) of space.

2. You cannot move your guy without holding down the 'fn' key in the lower left hand corner of the keyboard, because the game interprets the left arrow on a G4 powerbook as being a 'page up' key.What i have had to do is just use the mouse keypad for everything involving movement.

other than that, if you got a normal keyboard, the game should be cool.So definetly get this game if you have a desktop, and if you don't mind pointing and clicking, try your luck with a laptop. ... Read more

Product Description

New Characters:Assassin -- The Order of Mage Slayers was formed after the Vizjerei survived the tragedy brought on by Bartuc and Horazon. Their purpose was to watch for rogue magi that may become corrupted by the forces of Evil. To be effective at this task they were trained in abilities that were not conducive to Demonic corruption. Living as rumor and myth to the general population, even other magi knew very little about this mysterious order. Their reputation was shrouded in mystery and t ... Read more

Features

• Two new character classes (the Assassin and the Druid) each with 30 unique skills/spells
• One new Act set in the Barbarian Highlands
• Many new monster types, including bosses and uniques
• Interactive environments such as siege towers and fortified battlements

Reviews (267)

Lady Gamer's Review
In D2 LoD, you are following the path of Baal, the Lord of Destruction. He has ventured into the Barbarian highlands to find the Worldstone, the source of the Soulstones. The town you play in is Harrogath, NPC's include Malah the healer, Larzuk the armorer, Nilathak the Elder,(he's also a Necromancer, you'll see how in the fifth quest), Cain, who accompanies you through all the acts, and Anya, the Elder Aust's daughter. Two new characters are available, the Assassin and the Druid. Assassin skills feature lightning, fire, and blade Traps, Shadow Disciplines, and Martial Arts. An all new set of weapons was created- claws, of which she can hold one in each hand. This includes katars, blade talons, cestus', and scissors suwayyah. The Druid features elemental skills, like Hurricane and Armageddon, he can summon spirits like wolves and vines, and he can shape shift into a Werewolf or Werebear. He has a unique helm set of Sky Spirits, Antlers, and Wolf Heads. Of course, there are six new quests, and various monsters such as Minotaur demons, Sucubbi, and Enslaved. New "little" things include jewels, runes, expanded stash, and class-specific items. This is the game that completes the Trilogy.

game rocks like doom 3 and half-life 2
this game rocks. its better on the online and its not a waste of money. i got good chars with high lvl weapons and kicking sets. online is never boring and some people can be total dicks or friends. the only problem is that it doesnt let us use our spells and skills in town. :)

buy this game along with doom 3 and half-life 2. these games are great and worth money. i dont like to say this and start rumors but they are makeing a half life 3 and expansion for half life 2 and if u heard already this well dont bitch and if u think this game sucks go play hacky sack or that totaly gay halo 2.

so peace out.

Fun & Challenging, but Baal-runs ruins it.
Diablo 1 was fun and addicting. However, with duping (the ability to duplicate any item in-game), everything got just way too easy. You could beat Diablo without much of a thought as everybody had the most powerful of weapons.

Diablo II was much more challenging as that bug has been resolved. The graphics were improved and the ability to learn only a certain number of skills added a real strategic portion to the game.

The only bad thing that Blizzard should have resolved is what is known as a Baal run.Baal is a new character in the expansion.He throws four groups of minions at you to defeat and you end up getting a lot of experience.If you don't kill Baal, you can do this over and over and over again racking up a lot of experience points.Unfortunately, this makes leveling up and advancing waaaay to easy and took the challenge out of the game.Now the only challenging thing is getting to Baal.So if you are playing online on Battle.Net, you are playing against characters who did Baal runs for a couple of hours and are now more buff than imaginable.Blizzard should have fixed this a long time ago.

After playing for several years, I think I'm going to "graduate" to World of Warcraft (also by Blizzard) which I've noticed is quite similar in many ways. But I'm sure I will return to the world of Diablo quite often as there are still a few challenges left to conquer.

I play this everyday, im an expert
I play this game all the time, im one of the godliest people on US East Hardcore.So much fund dueling and trading other ppl.I enjoy the social aspect of this game and the player vs player a lot, loads of fun to scam people too.

HOOKED ON THIS GAME
I am absolutely addicted to this wonderful game...My honey introduced me to it and ever since then I have been playing it...What makes it so great,for me, is that you can have a female character: Amazon, Assassin, or sorceress.I love all of them.I've been every character and they are all equally challenging in different ways.I also think, what makes this so addictive, is finding better and better weapons, jewels, gems, armor, etc...there are all kinds of magical items...and the skills you can develop are pretty variable.I have tried Amazons that shoot cold arrows that freeze monsters so you can kill them easily, and I have also tried amazons with spears that have lightening properties....If you havent tried this game and are thinking of it...go for it.You won't regret it.The only thingI regret is that they have'nt come out with more diablo. ... Read more

Product Description

Since the Beginning of Time the forces of Order and Chaos have been engaged in an eternal struggle to decide the fate of all Creation. That struggle has now come to the Mortal Realm... And neither Man, Demon, nor Angel will be left unscathed.Diablo, Lord of Terror, and youngest of the Three Prime Evils, awoke from his long sleep beneath the dark earth. Setting in motion a grand scheme to free his exiled brothers, Mephisto and ... Read more

Features

• Five all-new character classes with unique attributes and abilities.
• Four different, fully populated towns complete with wilderness areas.
• Multiple dungeons, caverns and crypts in every town for players to explore.
• Expanded world filled with all-new quests, weapons, spells, armor, monsters and non-player characters.

Reviews (533)

Best of the Genre
Diablo II is a helluva lotta fun.I'm not so much a single player person, but a multiplayer person.The gameplay is well thought-out and engaging.The plot is corny, but, then again, this is an RPG.

The graphics are kinda mediocre, but the gameplay makes up for it.The expansion is a must.Playing online is incredibly addictive, which I don't like, but I get a kick out of it.What makes this game is the interaction in multiplayer.

(...) is easy to use.They catch a fair few cheaters.

My main complaint is that there are many lamers.There is a group of people that buys duplicated items of the internet at like 10 dollars a piece.This is what I don't like.There are other people that hack accounts and steal characters and equipment, and that is just lame.Thankfully, this has not happened to me, although my brother got hacked a long time ago.

Even so, the fact that your account might get hijacked just adds to the reality that it is, after all, just a game.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

The single player is a lot like the multiplayer.It is a good way to learn how to start out independently.In fact, the multiplayer is like single player, but just with more people.(surprise)

There aren't many glitches, and there is skill involved, up to a point.

Buy this game.It's worth your money.So is the expansion.

Great game!
Diablo 1 players. Yes, I know you have suffered, but Diablo 2 fixed all their problems and this game is 700 times better! Get it!

Learned some lessons from DIABLO, but quests more restricted
DIABLO 2 can be summarized as "like DIABLO, but more so." DIABLO 2 has more locales, more varied scenery, more (and more elaborate) AIs, more control over developing your character's skills, more types of characters to play, better play balance, and so on.

Like the original, DIABLO 2's settings are (mostly) randomly generated, so that with the exception of some set-piece areas (like the Skeleton King's lair in the original), no two games follow exactly the same map. DIABLO 2 has four acts covering 5 locales (including Tristram, the setting of DIABLO). Each act has very different climate/geography and monsters differing accordingly.

You're following the trail of the Wanderer (the hero of the first game) as he locates the other Prime Evils, Diablo's brothers, before leading you into Hell and the final confrontation with Diablo himself. The settings in general have much greater variety and eye candy, and include outdoor segments as well as dungeon crawls.

Act I is a generic-Europe setting, with a lesser-demon Level Boss rather than a Prime Evil. Act I most closely resembles the earlier stages of the original DIABLO, and contains references back to the original, as the player's task is to help the Sisters of the Sightless Eye. (The Rogue from DIABLO was a member of the order; your closest-equivalent player character in DIABLO 2 is the Amazon, who has a different backstory.)

Act II is a desert scenario, with a sort of Egyptian flavor to the tombs, and a different, more formidable type of undead. Act III, by contrast, is a rainforest, emphasis on poisonous insects, water monsters, and fast-moving little AIs with blowpipe attacks. Act IV's revamped version of Hell is much more larger and elaborate than that in the original, with an assortment of demons and new attacks. The succubae weren't retained, but as a tradeoff Act I has hordes of renegade Rogues.

Many of the AIs have been revamped to make them tougher and to give them more distinctive appearances. While the distinct colour schemes were retained, the details are more elaborate and they're tougher opponents. The carver-type AIs now include shamans, who in addition to their own magical attacks can raise the fallen. Animated skeletons on higher difficulty levels may now have mages as well as archers with them.

That's one of the biggest changes from the original. Monsters not only regenerate after you've cleaned out a level (even lesser "unique" monsters, though not Level Bosses that have to be killed to end an Act), but many monster types can raise the dead or harvest energy from corpses. There are also delayed-action attacks, as poisons and antidotes have been added.

Other changes from original:
- Multiplayer and single player now use the same limited set of quests, rather than single player having a random selection of a larger set of quests.
- Play balance on character abilities now includes active and passive skills, differing by character type. Not just any character can learn spells.
- In addition to mana and life, player has stamina. While you don't have to eat or sleep as in, e.g. DARKSTONE, you either have to pace your character, stock up on stamina potions, or be content to move slowly.
- In addition to Town Portal spells, each Act contains a set of fixed waypoints, and the player can return to earlier Acts if desired.
- Towns are more elaborate. Apothecaries selling potions are now separate from magic sellers, and at least one NPC per Act can "gamble" with you. You can hire and equip NPCs who will follow you and fight what you fight. If they're with you, your experience points are divided with them, but they level up and become more formidable over time.

Some lessons learned by the designers:
- Local smiths can upgrade weapons, e.g. installing runes or gems in them. Partway through Act II, a quest item allows you to combine multiple gems of the same type to get a single gem of a better grade, so strategy is a factor.
- In town/camp you have a chest in addition to the inventory on your character's person. Items in the chest are safe, but if you're killed and resurrected, anything you were carrying has to be retrieved from the body. Since you're fined a large amount of your total gold when you're resurrected, you're motivated to scavenge your own body anyway just to get some of it back.
- Partway through Act I, you revisit Tristram and rescue Deckard Cain, who now has enough gratitude to identify items for free instead of gouging you.
- Some unique items now come in sets (e.g. helmet, breastplate, gauntlets) that are stronger together than apart, and mostly effective for specific character types (e.g. bonuses apply only to a paladin). Strategy comes into play: is it worth saving an item in the hopes of acquiring the rest of the set?

In summary: the thing I miss most from the original is the randomized quest mix on single player. The active/passive skill system is interesting enough to make up for restricting the player's ability to create super-powerful spell-casting Rogues and the like.

As in the original, even in single-player a game can't be saved in multiple states; you can only have multiple characters working through different scenarios. In multi-player, items can be transferred between characters by drop-and-switch, but that's about it.

nothing tops this
there have been many trys by different developers to copy the play style of diablo 2.they are no doubt good but they are NOT diablo 2.diablo 2 has the best story, fun factor, sound, cinematics, addictiveness and replayability.i stopped playing this a long time ago because i was hooked on starcraft but i am going to start a new character tonight just to see how fun this game is again.my previous barbarian only got up to lvl 46.i've been playin WoW and have a lvl 60 alliance human paladin but there is not nearly as much loot as there is in diablo 2, thus making many characters look the same.(to the post below- all mmorpgs require a fee to play...its what basically gets them paid to make updates, fix the servers, etc.)cant wait to start diablo 2 again!

Another increible Blizzard's production
Lord Of Terror
When Diablo came out almost 4 years ago, it was the surprise hit of the 1997. One day there wasn't Diablo, the next it was on store shelves, and the day after North American productivity plummeted 25%. Although Blizzard liked to classify it as a RPG, it wasn't really one. More like an action-RPG, since so much of the game relied on reflex and mouse-clicking. The story development was slim and roleplaying aspects non-existent. Yet the simple, addictive gameplay hooked us all and had us begging for more.

After years of development, a few promises, a few leaked features and dozens of delays - Diablo II is here. The Second Coming of Hell and another dip in all IT stocks came to my desk less than a week ago, and grudgingly I accepted the job of reviewing the game.

For those of you who've been in a timewarp the past 5 years and never heard of Diablo or Diablo II, let me give you a brief rundown on both.


Diablo
Diablo was a game where you played a hero of one of three character classes - Warrior, Sorcerer or Rogue. This hero operated out of a small town called Tristram, underneath which Hell itself was opening up. At first simply trying to clear the local corrupted Cathedral of vermin infestation, the hero soon discovers that something much more sinister is afoot. Hence you keep going deeper and deeper through the game until you discover that none other than the Lord of Terror himself - Diablo - is at the root of all the problems. You see, he, along with his two other brothers - form the Three Prime Evils. They got banished from Hell by lesser evils and then rampaged around the world until they were captured in soulstones given to mortals by the angel Tyrael.

Through 4 different dungeons having 4 levels each you fought, died, and recovered your own corpse. You'd restart the game when it got too hard to gain xp in easier areas, and go back in again. It was all about getting to the next level, getting the next spell, getting the next better weapon or armor. It was simple to the point of being idiotic. Click the mouse to move somewhere, then click-click-click-click-click at some monster until it dies, and move on to kill more. That's an over-simplified description, of course - but the point is that Diablo was extremely addictive.
... Read more

Reviews (19)

Fun... but annoying after awhile
I've been playing this game for about two weeks (on and off obviously) and I've had a lot of fun with it. However, I can't seem to build up a large fleet of ships because every ship I have sinks the third time I send it out. Like clockwork, boom it's gone. And if I wait and build up my ships, the pirates get bored and restless. And I need a good number of ships for my economy to grow. But how can you build your economy if all your ships are sinking on the third voyage?! It's becoming very annoying. I don't know if this is a common problem, but be warned that it's something I've found to be wrong with the game.

Fun game if you have patience
I love this game! It is very fun,I did have problems getting it to install and even more problems uninstalling and reinstalling but when i did get it to work i enjoyed it. You do need patience with playing the game too, it takes a while for you to build lumber up (with out cheating). Its challenging trying to keep your captives from escaping or starving to death (because with out captives you cant keep your island working) its also challenging to keep you pirates happy with wenchs, taverns, and gambling. This game is pretty challenging as long as your not in easy mode. Great game!!!

If you liked Tropico I RUN Don't walk to buy this one
How can anyone like Tropico I over Tropico II? Well in Tropico I you managed EVERY aspect of your citizens' lives. Each of them needed a house(Tenements would not do the job at higher difficulty levels) a job, access to religious facilities, healthcare, entertainment, liberty, safety,food etc. etc. Problem was the economy did not expand properly. Your people demand ever increasing wages but your economy cannot be ever increasing. At higher difficulty levels you have to pay your people the maximum wage rate after like 50-100 years to keep them in line. In fact the Caribbean region wage increase is pure garbage. Problem becomes when you have a limited amount of Freight ships coming in and tourist, it just gets boring too fast. The most idiotic aspect is when you hire a foreign worker and they come in and JOIN A REBELLION AGAINST YOU! Or they emigrate off the island. Demographically it is a disaster because people marry have children they grow up and need jobs as well and need housing etc... It is not well controlled and just too much micromanagement.

Why is Tropico II better? Nobody EVER asks for a wage increase period. Half your population does not get paid(capitves work 4 free hehe...) No babies, no families, just pure fun.

Here is a tip: Captive rebellion and escape are not really serious problems. WHY? Because you can "press gang"( turn into a pirate) all unskilled captives. Yep even the ones that are escaping... Furthermore, if you have pirates that are unhappy you can ALMOST ALWAYS prevent a coup by upsetting the balance of power- just create more pirates. All pirates that are brought into life by virtues of "press gang" start out as super happy. That is a temporary measure of course but sometimes you need more time.

Another tip, get UPSCALE eastblishments ASAP because your captains will quickly become enraged with anything less. And when they are enraged they always kill somebody because they cant lose a dueling match. They can also "kill" a "skeleton" which makes no sense but the game still allows it.

The game's production/distribution is slightly different. There are no teamsters, each building that takes an input has a hauler sometimes 2(dock) which creates problems if there is more than one imput. For example. I had a case where I had a papaya farm with an output of 750 and a bakery low on papayas. Certainly the game's code needs to be improved to allow the delivery of the most amount of supplies. There is alot more to this game but this is a review not a strategy guide afterall.

The game is MUCH superior to Tropico I although the passion subsides rather quickly...

A typical simulation
The game might seem fun at first but then after a while it gets old. All you have to do is build and wait. You can set ships on sail, however, but you don't have control of them and you don't even get to see them. So if your not a simulation fan skip this.

Fun but gets old
When I bought this game I was like cool its a game about a pirate controlling an island. Its got ok graphics. I never played the original Tropico so I couldn't tell you the differences. I played the game for about 5 hours. The only exciting part I found was sending the ships out to raid areas (when i played there was only one place to raid) Funny thing is they would never run out of people or be smart enought to move to another place (means not realistic). You would never see these raids. If you build too fast you would run out of captives. Very annoying. The whole fear thing on the captives doesn't mean anything. I never lost one captive. You could buy it or not its up to you! ... Read more

Product Description

Take advantage of enhanced visuals, richer tactics and strategic gameplay as you build your fleet and engage in 3-D space combat. ... Read more

Features

• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Genre: Strategy
• Mission: Lose yourself in the sequel to the groundbreaking 3-D real-time space strategy game Homeworld
• Platform: Windows 98/Me/XP/2000

Reviews (146)

Very good game
This was one of if not the most fun strategy game i have played. It has an amazing story, unbelievable graphics, and an interface that once you learn it is relatively easy to use.
Tbe only reason i didnt give it a 5 is because it is so hard as to exclude this game from some of the less hardcore stategy gamers. The game does take a hit as well from not being able to order your ships into formations (an important part of any space strategy game) but it is more than compensated by just generally being alot of fun. Now i am a fan of space stategy games and i thought that the toughness of the game was an asset because insted of just building a huge fleet and crushing your enemys (satisfing but doesnt take much brain power) you could manipulate the battlefield leaving your enemy crippled and unable to fight back (buy controlling recource spots ect.) I do have to admit i went through a few mouses because i broke a few in sheer frustration. So in conclusion i highly recomend this game to you if u enjoy a tough but satisfing game and your not one of the "gamers" who like to boot up warcraft and put in all the instant build cheet codes. This game is well worth $20 and it was worth it to me when i pre ordered it in 03 for $60. BUY IT PEOPLE!!!

Fun?
I just have one thing to say: this game is as fun as you can throw it underwater with your wrists chained to some wall.Also, the interface and mere gameplay feels like an act of congress (looking up how to do things in the manual!)To be frank, don't by this game even if they would give you money in return!

Loss of The Real Concept!
Look, I've been a Homeworld fan ever since I bought it when it FIRST came out, it was beautiful, the graphics were just delightful, and the stradegy was complex to a portion where I can sit in a room, for 20 hours of non-stop harvesting and planning of an attack with a lil' math and algebra on the side.

When I started to play Homeworld 2, I was hyped, and ready to complete the saga in my world of stradegy gaming other than StarCraft, WarCraft, Age of Empires, and all those other fun stuff.

I began by downloading the Demo from Sierra, and I was full blown by the new graphics it had, though my video card was really acting kinda messy since it was the summer time. (Yeah seasonal changes make items work slower or faster.) Anyways, when I started to play the demo, I used the mechanism of the keyboard and controls of what Homeworld 1 had, lemmie tell you this, TOTALLY DIFFERENT! I can't believe my eyes of what I felt and seen! Everything; the whole concept has changed, the keys and etc. Then I saw that the stradegies have changed, and there were only 3 formation patterns I could only choose for my fithers, I'm like, WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE THEY THINKING!? I really wanted to bust a few chops with my strategic mind... so then I thought to myself, eh, not bad, lemmie get the whole game and see what it's really worth...

Bought it, it's totally the same concept, doesn't relate to Homeworld 1, doesn't relate to ANYTHING LIKE HOMEWORLD AT ALL! I thought that they would stick to their story, but the whole thing changed... I was really mad about it.

The game-play suddenly became boring, just traveling with no real dog-fight, "Some destiny this is..." ok, maybe a few dog-fights, but the game just gets harder and harder *like any other game* But I'm looking at it, I swear to you, I would've beaten all these fools if I had all those formation patterns. This game has less stradegy in mind, and the shipmaking, is just build in bulk, something that a gamer would NEVER LIKE. Listen, usually, it's always great to build ONE AT A TIME... WHY!? BECAUSE HAVING THAT FEELING TO SIT ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT WAITING FOR THAT SPECIAL OBJECT TO BE BUILT REALLY SHOWS THAT IT'S A GREAT GAME. This however, was truly dissappointing... No wonder it was 20 bux. Not many people like it! For God's sake even Diablo 2 is 20 times better than this and the graphics can be as horrible as they want, but their game play is just completely mind blowing as well as the story line.

For all kids that love graphics, I suggest this game as a STARTER, but for gaming stradegy and story lines, I suggest that you should TURN BACK, THERE'S NOTHING TO SEE BUT A GAME THAT TAKES 20 HOURS OF YOUR LIFE JUST SITTING AND WAITING FOR NOTHING, BUT RUNNING AWAY FROM YOUR ENEMIES.

Even Homeworld Cataclysm is better than this. I wouldn't call this game trash though, but would've worth a lot of money if they knew how to bring back the story line as what they were before, but spiced up, with more allies and enemies, and probably if Sierra was lucky, deception.

Wonderful Game
Before I start, I would suggest anyone who gets this game be sure to download the patch that has been made available.This balances out units a little better (not too much, but a little) and also decreases the difficulty of several of the missions (they are possible to beat without the patch, but they are hard).

This game builds wonderfully over the orrignal Homeworld.It has made several improvements in how things are handled and also polishes up things in general.In addition, unlike the orrignal Homeworld the different sides have very different strengths and weaknesses that are readily apparent when playing them.

Some nice additions:

You no longer build single fighters, but rather build fighters in wings.So long as a single fighter in the wing survives you can send the fighter group back to a carrier or mothership or shipyard and have the unit returned to full strength.This makes fighter units much more useful and practical then the frail things they were in Homeworld.

Resource collection at the end of missions has been automized.You will no longer have to sit around for hours after missions sending harvisters out to collect resources for you.Once all enemy units have been defeated all resources in the map are automatically collected and added to your resource pool.

Subsystems.You can now build subsystems that give your ships interesting capabilities as well as target enemy subsystems.Large ships (such as battle crusers, carriers, motherships) come with some standard subsystems that cannot be completely destroyed but can be dammaged to the point that they no longer function.This makes hit and run type attacks much more useful then they were previously since you can use them to dammage enemy capabilities or cripple enemy ships, while allowing access to some nice abilities should you chose to build some of the more unique subsystems.

The ability to capture any ship in the game has also been added.That is right, capture ANY ship in the game.Including motherships.In addition, the units which capture enemies are much less flimsy so while they do still need an escourt they can be counted on to not die immediately.

Fleet formations have also been added.While there are really only 3 choises for fleet formations, they really do make it easy to use ships of different classes together.When used properly these formations are extreamly powerful, however you need to learn when to use a formation and when to break it up.

There are a few things I am less than satisfied with however.It is for these reasons that I am only giving it a rating of 4 out of 5.

The first major thing I was disapointed with was the reduction on the number of formations.I remember that with the orrignal Homeworld there was a large number of fomrations to chose from.I kept wishing I had access to some of those, particularly the claw and the sphere.While it may be argued that the addition of fleet formations makes up for this change, I couldn't help but wish that I had access to many of the old formations.

The interface is something I am not 100% satisfied with as well.While I will agree that it is definately a step up from what was used with Homeworld, it does feel somehow cumbersome.I guess it is a function of too many menues when it comes to building units and researching.Even in this respect it isn't too bad though.

Also, the 3D nature of space has largely been ignored.This problem still existed in Homeworld, though it was a little less noticable there since they did fairly often launch surprise attacks from above or below.Homeworld 2 largely just uses the horozontal plane when it comes to combat.Units controled by the AI simply will not try coming from strange directions, but rather take a head on approach.Thankfully I was able to find a group of people to play with online who were not burdened with this problem.

My final real problem with Homeworld comes with the addition of a new unit: the shipyard.The reason for this has to do with multiplayer where its importaince overshadows even that of the mothership once it has been built.It has more subsystem slots than the mothership.It is the only unit which can build battlecruisers.It has all the capabilities that the mothership has and more.From a stand point of game ballance I can see why this may have happened (the game designers didn't want players skipping ahead in the research tree right to battlecruisers), however I cannot help but feel that if anything the shipyard should be more of a smaller mothership with more limited capabilities.Somewhere between a carrier and the mothership.

All that said, the game is still a wonderful game.It contains almost all of the orrignal Homeworld's good points, and gets rid of many of its bad ones with the introduction of few flaws.If you like the idea of controling an intergalatic battle fleet then I would definately suggest that you pick up this game.The campaign alone would be worth it, but multiplayer is where this game really shines since that is where you will see interesting tatics that can be used once the pesky notion of 2D is forgotten.

Visually stunning but shocking game play
In light of completing Homeworld 2 twice, the review is a brutal truth of what the game is---a game so challenging, so hard, it just simply isn't worth your bother. Ordinary gamers will derive no enjoyment from this. In a manner of words: this is a game with spectacular graphics, breathtaking naval fleet warfare, all hampered by arduous game play.

Fifteen missions long, the average player will find themselves struggling by just the fourth, if you finished the third by the skin of your teeth. Rapidly changing mid-mission objectives, wave after wave of enemy forces, you'd better be up to the challenge of preventing your shipyard from hostile takeover to graduate to the real fun.

Then mission 4 hits you, hard and heavy.

Players are simply not prepared so early in the game, after such breezy missions, for one of such difficulty. Continual enemy attacks never leave you alone, never giving you a breather, to collect resources, to replenish your ragtag fleet. Don't grin that smile yet, that massive frigate assault will wash it away. There's no time to get a feel for ship classes, what works best against which enemy unit, to experiment on new technologies. Took a stunning number of weeks to beat that mission alone. Just concentrate on bombers and pulsar corvettes and she'll be right mate. Homeworld 2, it seems, is one heavy mission after another, broken up by occasional missions so quiet you could sleep through them. Those restful missions would be ideal to build your fleet to full strength and maximum unit numbers.

A detrimental mistake!

An unbelievable attribute of the game---the stronger you are, the heavier the next mission's enemy forces will be. The astounding stupidity of this is simply shocking. Try full unit limits from the tenth mission onwards, when enemy forces are already considerable, you'll see. This isn't so bad, really, but it makes hill into mountain.

Homeworld 2 is a RTS game of its own, nothing like Starcraft-type games. Even the hardest Starcraft mission gave you time to rebuild a weakened army, fix your base up. You could explore the darkened map, tease the enemy from different sides. H2 won't let you do that. This game demands strict obedience to the mission objectives. You play to fulfil them, not your own agenda.

Even more absurd, whatever forces you have left you begin with next mission. Scrape a mission too finely, and what are your chances of survival, really, when come the enemy hordes, and come in numbers they will.

What H2 steals from you is enjoyment. This is for the determined player. Who doesn't want a challenge in a game? But it's not fun. Move! You can't sit idle at any time; you can't split your fleet up, to feint at an enemy base from different angles. You want to live, keep all eggs in one fleet.

The menu controls are shocking. Mouse scrolling doesn't work in H2. It takes valuable time to position and drag the tab down the page. You can't even press ENTER or ESCAPE keys, only mouse commands. Such is the Idiotic Intelligence of the developers, that you can't authorise commands with an ENTER tap. The screen panels where you click to load or save games are so slim you really have to position your mouse precisely over them.

The method of saving is a joke. Strict alphanumerical order, the starting letter or number determines its placement in the list. It's better to save games chronologically, like Starcraft and Jedi Outcast. In-game auto-saving works against you; replay a mission, and you might re-save over it.

Where in the game booklet does it say docked strike craft automatically repair? A tiny offhand mention in the Vaygr Battlecruiser. How would you think to dock your fighters when you need them active at all times?

Absurd to target warship subsystems (engines, weapons, etc) when destroying the ship takes just as long. Absurd to capture an enemy ship, not only from your strict unit numbers, but the ship will always target your marine frigate. Played game twice, still can't get cloaking technology.

Like viewing a sphere of blinking red and green dots all game long? You'll spend considerable time looking at your radar screen; it's the only way to see enemy units and positions, and easier to select targets.

Graphics are awesome, ship details commendable. Mouse-wheel scrolling permits easy panning and rotation of the camera angle. Fun to follow a bomber group on their attack runs, or zoom right in at besieged warships about to be missile volleyed. High comp system will avert the occasional slowdown when camera-close to a ship going nova; exploding capital ships are cool.

Mid- and inter-mission cutscenes are simple but satisfactory. Fleet Command voices sounds too similar; Makaan is chilling as the Vaygr warlord, smooth and polite.

Game music will become repetitive. Only two tracks stand out: the oriental Hindu-like music of the Keeper missions, and that brief heavy battle track in missions 9 and 12. Hammered by endless Vaygr fleets, your heart pounding as you brawl for survival, why the damn hell did they finish after two minutes? Superb and haunting, they rapidly faded back to that mundane battle music.

There is nothing special about mysterious Sajuuk, the one hope of your homeworld. Can't spoil you here, but the game designers are criminal fools to make the guy just that. And if that doesn't inspire your outrage, behold the short, simplistic final cutscene of the game.

This is Homeworld 2. Visually stunning, rigid game play design. You'd do well to think long and hard before sampling this farce of fun. All fine and fancy to spout rave reviews and the shine the five-star flag, but honest and informative feedback goes a long way to whisper the truth. ... Read more

Product Description

John F. Mullins Major, United States Army Special Forces (retired) John Mullins was born and raised in Oklahoma, living on the farm settled by his grandfather upon the opening of the Kiowa/Comanche reservation. Upon graduation from high school at the age of 17, he joined the U.S. Army. After basic and advanced training he volunteered for airborne training, becoming a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division. Soon thereafter he was recruited for Special Forces, becoming a medic on an "A" ... Read more

Features

• Enhanced Quake III Arena game engine
• 20+ military-grade weapons
• Immersive storyline with real-world locations, including Columbia, Switzerland, Hong Kong and many-more.
• GHOUL II Technology for ultra-realistic damage modeling
• Advanced AI

Reviews (18)

Crispy Game
I was almost going to give this game five stars because it was really good. duh
First, let's get a few things straight.The guns in the game are sweet.In first person shooter games I think that most people would agree that the gun design is important.Well these guns are serious as in Serious Sam.
The gore is extreme, and I am going to leave that up for you to decide wheter that is bad or good.You can turn it off or tone it done though. The models in the game are very good and very fun to shoot because of their juicyness.And I think that the graphics are very nice onmost of the levels.Some people thought that the story was confusing, but I thought that it was very interesting.
The bad things about this game would be the bugs, and the times where they don't tell you what to do next in the level.Overall, I think that it is a good buy.Also, the demo doesn't do the full game justice.

the most awesome, yet graphic game ever

My opinion on this game is that it is GREAT!!! this is simply because it combines a good story line with heart pounding action and well lots of