Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares

About Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares (1996) is Simtex's space 4X sequel with multi-planet systems, custom races and the vengeful Antarans, an Origins Award winner regarded as a defining benchmark of the genre.

Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares in Depth

Long ago, the Orions and the Antarans fought a war that devastated most of the galaxy. The victorious Orions imprisoned the Antarans in a pocket dimension rather than exterminate them, then left, leaving the powerful robotic warship Guardian to protect their homeworld. Some time into each game, the escaped Antarans begin sending ever-stronger fleets to destroy colonies before vanishing. Victory comes from conquering every opponent, being elected supreme leader with two-thirds of the galaxy's population-based votes, or attacking the Antaran homeworld through a Dimensional Portal; taking Orion does not win outright but yields the Avenger starship and unresearchable technologies.

It is more complex than Master of Orion, borrowing mechanics from Master of Magic. Star systems hold up to five planets, shared with rivals, and food must be balanced, carried by freighters that a single enemy warship can blockade. Thirteen races, three new, can be joined by custom races built from ten "picks", and governments range from free dictatorships to democracy, unification and feudalism. Research spans eight areas, with miniaturisation shrinking components as technology advances, and leaders can be hired for colonies and ships. Players design warships, which can now turn in tactical combat, marines can board enemy ships, and planets can be destroyed outright. Multiplayer supports up to eight players.

Making Master of Orion II: Battle at Antares

Simtex, maker of Master of Orion and Master of Magic, developed it, and MicroProse published the PC version in 1996. It reached tenth on PC Data's chart in November 1996 and passed 200,000 global sales by mid-January 1997. Reviews were generally favourable, and it won the Origins Award for Best Fantasy or Science Fiction Computer Game of 1996, though reviewers disagreed about its added micromanagement: Bruce Geryk preferred the first game's simplicity, Tom Chick found it far more engaging, GameSpot's Trent Ward said its micromanagement was "everything that the hard-core veteran dreams of" but inaccessible to novices, and Next Generation felt it was "a little too stagnant". Reviewers praised the replay value of its many galaxies, races and options, Macworld saying its "countless strategy options will keep you coming back for more". It has since come to be regarded as a defining benchmark of space 4X games, with a large and active fan base.