Interplay MAX Strategy Review

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
4.33 of 5,
6 votes

Price Paid:  $30.00 from Don't remember... 1996

Summary:
The best turn-based strategy game other than Civilization 2.

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5,
2 votes

Summary:
It was a bore that took too much time to get going. I think that sending scouts on the first few levels was a little too easy... and it never sucked you in. Yes it has a great strategic element, but it does not grip you or suck you in. You really do not have a reason to be fighting .... It overall gave me a very cold and calculating feel... and for that type of experience I will play chess on a computer, (another bore). Do not get me wrong, I love chess.. but it is the ability to see your opponents reaction to moves that grips you. To me, that is what made Command and Conquer and Warcraft great games. You actually got upset when a unit was lost. Not the case in this game. (It's the story folks... not just the game play and graphics... and yes even strategy).

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
4 votes

Summary:
M.A.X. is a game that never received the hype that some of the other
strategy games have. I don't know if this was a lack of marketing by Interplay
or the fact the M.A.X. is not truly realtime. Hype or no hype, M.A.X. is
undoubtedly on of the best games that I have EVER played. Here is my summary:Graphics: 5
In general, the graphics in M.A.X. are fantastic. Every unit is extremely
detailed and well designed. One feature that this game has, that I've never
seen on any other game is the ability to zoom in and out (with about 20
settings) on the main screen. This is VERY useful depending on the situation.
The only negative that pertains to graphics is that the landscape is
fairly bland. This was not a strong enough deterrent to take away a 5 rating.Sound: 4
The sound in M.A.X. is very good. The music score is very moody and fits
very well with the game play. There is a friendly female voice that helps you
through your missions by, among other things, giving you the status of
whatever unit you select.Game Play: 5
I would like to start out by saying that M.A.X. is not for everyone. If you
are an instant gratification type strategy gamester, M.A.X. is probably not for
you. M.A.X. requires a tremendous amount of thinking and planning. Personally,
I like both styles of strategy games. I love Warcraft II and the quick thinking
and clicking that it requires, as well as the more cerebral game of M.A.X..
There are two modes of gameplay; turn-based and simultaneous. Simultaneous
is close to real-time except that each unit has limited movement and fire
capacity per turn. Once you have finished, you must wait for your opponent
to finish before the next turn begins. I prefer turn based. It gives you
plenty of time to think about different strategies and carry on of them out.
I could go on for pages about all of the fantastic features in M.A.X but Ill
just mention a few more.
A virtually unlimited upgrade system for every unit.
Very realistic resource management and collection system.
Ability to customize what attributes are displayed on a unit (ammo, health,
movement remaining, etc)
And so on....
All in all, M.A.X. is a great game that I would recommend to anyone who
enjoys in depth strategy games.