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Rise Of Nations (PC)
by fonderos
Rise of Nations really took the RTS to the next level. Obviously it is similar to Age of Empires and other RTS games, but i believe changed them for the better. RON gives players the opportunity to rise up through time, creating the special units of a possible 18 civilisations to choose from. There are also, unlike in any other RTS game ... 6 resources which help you build up your empire. Food, metal, timber, oil, wealth and knowledge. Knowledge allows you to build up technologies enabling you to expand your empire in the future ages. This is a definite must play if you're an RTS fan, and you can probably pick it up quite cheaply nowadays. The large amount of civilisations have something for everyone, with each one have their own special units and powers. Even if you've never played an RTS game this would be the perfect one to start with as in my opinion it is the most ambitious and the one you can get the most joy out of playing. From the campaigns of Alexander the Great and the second world war to the brilliant gameplay RON really has it's tactical side down to a tee. The game is built on the premise that a good offence and defence is needed, which means without a good economy you won't do well. I think that is what is missing from a variety of the RTS games out now in that they are too focused on offence and tactically they don't stand up to Rise of Nations.
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Zoo Tycoon 2 (PC)
by Reviewingstuff
I asked for this game for a Christmas present and since then have played it alot. It's a style of game that I've never played before and I actually really love it!
What's best for me is the combination of constructing your zoo how you like, and being able to get up close and personal with tons of animals.
The game ... is based around different modes...
- You can play a campain game, in which you are given limited money and items. In this mode, you are given a challenge to complete relating to your animals, sometimes in a set amount of time. Whilst completing the challenges you still need to cater for guests and take care of your animals! Completing campain games unlocks some items.
- You can play a challenge game, where you choose your own map and start building. You still have limited money, items and animal choices though so it's up to you to increase your zoos fame and get more money from visitors as you go along. You will also get some optional challenges to complete in this mode which may increase your fame or your money. Completing some of these otional challenges can unlock items.
- You can play with no limitations too, and build a freeform zoo. In this mode, you have unlimited money and all items/animals possible (except the Quagga which has to be unlocked). This is a great way to explore the different maps, try out all the items and own all of the animals although you get no challenges.
The game is easy to play and the tutorials are very hands on, taking you through the details step by step - iId recommend playing them first time around.
A box at the top of the screen tells you things about your zoo, such as if an animal is hungry or if guests need something.
There's an amazing variety of everything in the game, including plants, trees, rocks, biomes, animals, food carts, toilets, entertainment... the list is almost endless. There are realistic differences between some male and female animals, and the graphics are really good.
Taking care of the animals is really fun - you can hire a zookeeper to do it for you (each zoo keeper can be assigned a particular enclosure) or do it yourself. They need regular washing, and their food and water will need topping up. All you have to do to see what the animal needs is click on it - then you can view what it is doing, it's happiness and basic levels of hunger etc. You must also manage more complex aspects such as privacy.
Clicking the zookeeper recommendations button for a species tells you exactly what that animal needs/can have - for example and elephant needs a tall strong fence, but a beaver doesn't. If you give them incorrect food or fencing they won't eat and may escape, terrorising your guests! You can make them as big or small as you like, as long as the animals have enough room, and you must paint the enclosure with the correct biome for your animal. Then you can add trees, rocks and plants that re suitable for the biome. The animals must be given suitable enrichment to keep them occupied too!
Building the enclosures is simple and they can be as creative as you like. You can draw the enclosure out yourself or use the tolls to draw different shaped enclosures. Not only can you create the enclosures how you like, but the tools allow you to change the whole zoo map. You can choose and alpine map and wipe out all the mountains, or put a mountain in the middle of a desert map! You can also add water wherever you like, and create waterfalls, hills, dips, valleys, cliffs and more with the click of a button.
In the game, you can run your zoo from above and zoom in and out, or you can walk around your zoo as it would be for a guest. It is using this feature that you can care for your animals, empty bins and pick up litter (or hire a maintenance person for that!)
The combination of catering for guests and running a business along with caring for and conserving all kinds of animals makes this game really unique. It may sound complicated, but it's really not at all - it's very easy to get the hang of. I believe it to be very resonably priced, especially as it has unlimited game play and there are loads of add ons to buy like marine and extinct animals (which we have and is also very good - dinosaurs!)
I would add that backing up you saved games is a very good idea - there are two different methods of doing this easily which can be found online. I would also say that I tried to download free add ons such as extra animals from the Zoo Tycoon website and long story short it made havoc - the game ran extremely slowly and I had to reinstall it - so back up those games!
If you are looking for a game with a difference that is pretty much limitless them try this. It's hours and hours of fun, and you can save as many different zoos as you like.
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Industry Giant 2 (PC)
by pumfster
Having never played the original Industry Giant game, I was unsure of what to make of this when it was first released back in the early 2000's. Great reviews from magazines and gamers alike were aplenty, yet I was still worried. Would it be like Sim City repackaged, a copy of the mighty Railroad Tycoon or various other more dodgy games ... that had sadly become the norm around this time?
Well thankfully the answer to all of these questions is an emphatic NO. Industry Giant 2 really is one of the best sim type games produced during this era. The range of options is huge, with both single and multiplayer modes included.
The system requirements of this game are not too taxing on modern PC's. It recommends a 400MHz processor with at least 64MB RAM. In addition an 8 speed CD-ROM with 3D graphics card are needed and the game will take around 800MB of hard drive space once saved games are taken into account. Simply put it will run on virtually all PC's. In addition I have played this game using both Windows XP and Windows 7 and suffered no compatibility issues, which is a big bonus for an old game.
Now onto the game itself. Well it comes complete with a useful but by no means essential manual. When I bought the game, I received a free copy of the original game but I am unsure if this is still available. This cost me about £20 not long after its release, however it is now available on the high street in the bargain sections and can be picked up for a couple of quid in the usual places online. Installation is really straightforward, just following the on-screen instructions will suffice, and then you are ready to jump straight into the high-pressure world of industry!
The game can be played in various different forms. These range from a campaign mode where you are given a brief and a set time to carry out the tasks. Secondly there is the endless game option, which is the one that I normally play. This gives you numerous options and allows the player to experiment with different industries on a range of different maps. In addition there is a multiplayer mode, which can be played over a LAN or on the Internet. I have to confess that I have never tried this form of play, and I'm not convinced that a multiplayer option is the right one for this type of game to be honest.
The idea of the game is simple really, harvest natural resources, turn them into a sellable product and make some money. A sound very easy but initially is very difficult. Natural resources are scattered about the map, as are various sized settlements. This adds to the problems as obviously, a small village demands very little. Transportation of your goods is probably the biggest issue to address and overcome, and the game is packed full of options in this department. There are 4 basic types of transport on offer, Lorries, Trains, Ships or Aircraft, with numerous different models of each, with their own reliability, costs, and speeds so you must decide on the best option balancing reliability with costs or money will literally slip away. Your sellable goods are then sold in settlements in various shops, which is the only time that you gain any money. You don't make any money for producing the goods, hence the initial difficulty with money, as for example chopping down trees doesn't make any money, so this needs to be set up along with a manufacturing plant such as a furniture factory, and then the finished goods need transporting around the map just to make any money.
All of the gameplay up until now is superb, full of detail in every way. I do however have some negative comments about the game. First of all is the addition of luxury points, which allows you to construct a house for yourself, and gradually increase it in size as your company progresses. Now personally I feel that this is just one feature too much, it feels like a quirky novelty tagged onto a decent game, which takes some of the seriousness out of the gameplay. Now I understand that is my own opinion and I am sure others may disagree, but it has the feel of the bonus buildings which SimCity used to have, and to be honest is really not needed. The second problem that I have is that the deposits of natural resources tend to be very large indeed. This means that they do not run out for many years, and so once a successful business is set up with good cost-effective infrastructure, the game can become a case of sitting back and watching the money roll in. Personally I would prefer smaller deposits of raw materials in more locations, challenging the player to keep adapting to industry changes. This limits the shelf life of each individual game as it can become boring once your main industries are set up. My third and final qualm with this game is that there is no random map generator. This feature would have given the endless game such a more diverse appeal, as once the maps are played it can become a little bit boring. There is a reasonable selection of maps, but this additional function would have made it far more interesting.
Graphics on this game are actually pretty decent for the era, with the level of detail present in the settlements, as well as watching the little lorries driving around on the roads being quite high. The game isn't held back by vast quantities of boring and complex graphs and statistics in the same way in which some other simulation games can fall foul of. Sound quality is also adequate, although I would always argue that the sound quality of games of this era were never great. The individual sounds of trains departing stations etc are good, and there are many different pieces of music which are alternated through, which at least gives some variety.
To sum this game up, I would say that Industry Giant 2 is one of the best sim type games out on the PC. Apart from the few flaws that I have outlined above, the gameplay is smooth, the options are extensive and the sound and graphics match up to the quality expected for the era of the game. All in all, it's a very enjoyable game with a reasonably long shelf life that I would recommend to anyone who likes the simulation genre but hasn't given it a go.
Thanks for reading this and it also appears on Ciao under my same username.
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