Diplomacy has a natural feel and requires a deft hand. The economy is grandly orchestrated and finely balanced. I wanted to love Imperialism II, I really did, but it didn't quite have that 'just one more turn' quality that Civilization or Master of Orion have. Windows 95/98, 133MHz Pentium (200 MHz recommended), 16 MB RAM (32 recommended), 100 MB hard disk space, 4X CD-ROM drive, 800圆00 display, DirectX 6.0 Bottom Line Unfortunately, the Imperialism II CD must be in the drive the whole game, so I can't even listen to my own CD instead. I can't think of anything I'd want to listen to for the amount of time I spend playing these games. I don't know why games of this genre still have music included. The sound effects are functional if uninspiring, but the background music should be turned off at the earliest opportunity. Eventually I got used to the colors, but it increases an already steep learning curve. The only problem I had was that it can be difficult to tell if a mine is producing iron, copper, or coal. You won't be using this game to impress your friends with your graphics hardware. They serve their purpose and they don't hurt your eyes, but that's about it. There's really not much to be said for the graphics in Imp II.

Otherwise, it will take a long time to get a feel for building a successful army. For those not interested in tactical combat, the computer will automatically resolve it, but I would recommend handling your own battles for a while to understand how the units work together and stack up against enemy units.

Artillery units are the most important, as a mismatch in firing range means your guns can destroy theirs without getting scratched.

Did you forget to discover and explore the new world? Establish diplomatic relations with the minor nations in the old world? Generate an income from gold and spices in the new world so you can pay to field an army? Research new technologies so that you have a real army, not just cannon-fodder? Enter alliances with the other great nations so you have some backup in case the neighborhood bully comes to call? Neglecting any of these areas will send you quickly back to start the game again.Ĭombat is an important part of the game and strategies evolve over time, as pikemen are replaced by rifle infantry and peasant levies evolve into sharpshooters. Then you can build that army you've been wanting and go conquer the world, but wait a minute. If you work slowly and deliberately with foresight and planning, you can eventually turn your country into a fully-developed nation with a thriving economy.

Imperialism 2 windows 10