* The "Master Of Orion" Series *

Starting with the terribly primitive Master of Orion, new titles in this series were released only as computer gaming technology became advanced enough for what the parent company thought would be quantum developments in gameplay and sophistication.

Ultimately this was their downfall as well.

While this philosophy turned Master of Orion II into a marvel that is still considered genius and worthy of inclusion in the annals of the best games in history, their obsession with including all the bells and whistles turned Master of Orion III into a hunk of junk that was all style and no substance. Later reworking of the game by the fan base after the parent company, Microprose, went belly-up made it at least playable, but it's shoddy mechanics and the fact that the surest road to victory in the original version of MoO3 was simply to lay back and let the computer handle everything ensured that MoO2 would be remembered as the flower of the series.

There is one final caveat I feel should be mentioned: In the equally legendary "Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition", released around the same time as Master of Orion II, there was a "Scenario" called "MoOjr", a re-imagining of Master of Orion II as an edited version of the Civ II game. This author has seen, and even made, variations of that scenario based around other sets of races from MoO2, and/or a redesigned map. For this reason, the option to play one of those scenarios will be presented here: under the heading of the "MoOjr" title, which will be cross listed in the Civilization II: Multiplayer Gold Edition thread... (The only way to find out which they actually are filed in is to look at the story map: but honestly, who cares?)