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TigToad
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Glendale, AZ USA
Dec 1999
time: 22:13
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I played Birth of the Federation more than most people it seems, tho no where near like a SMAC addiction. My opinion was it was quite a fun game once you got passed the learning curve on the small things that make/break your ability to command. (Making sure you allocate your research and citizens, etc).
However, it gets EXTREMELY annoying late into the game with micro management. It has a build que system similar to Masters of Orion II, only people allocation isn't as simple to see at an instant, and you have a lot more colonies all of which build different things at different tech levels. It gets very hard to get 'new' colonies to be able to compete with old ones or alliance factoins (you get the Vulcans on your side odds are good you'll never have a scratch built colony that can touch that one).. for that reason the 5 empires aren't really balanced (Federation and Ferengi have a diplomatic advantage and the Romulan ships are just better than everyone elses). I never did win with the Klingons, tho I did win with the Cardassians somehow.
I played it several times, won the game a few times, tho more often than not found i Just played the first 50 or 100 turns of a game and then started over, it wasn't a game that grabbed me enough to go back and reload a save file.
On a scale of 1-10 as a TBS, I'd give it a 6. Keeping it open to all game types I'd give it a 5. If you like TBS's a lot you might get a kick out of playing it if you can find it on sale somewhere.. last I checked, Best Buy still had it in stock. But I wouldn't pay more than $25-$30 for it if that.
If you're a huge trek fan, the coolest part of the game is checking out all the minor races planets and such, however, after you've seen em all, that loses its flavor too. (Get the Vulcans, Betazoids, and that race that speaks in sayings and you pretty much win a game).
Tig
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17-02-2000 01:33
thats about it though...... wish i hadn't wasted my money but i have friends who love it........
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