Gold Standard for Stragety games
935399
For those who like to combine empire building and tactical combat, and who doesn't, this is the new Gold Standard.

While the AI on all but the hardest level is pretty tame, the actual battle field  gives would be Caesars a chance to see if they have what it takes.

Forget to hold reserve, forget that the besieged will hit you when your back is turned, pick the wrong formation and terrain, all these will kill you.

Yes,there are a few glitches, particulary in building your legions in the early game, and it would be nice to play the Carthaginians or Egyptians or Pontics for a change, but over all,this is the one that will eat up much of your time and give you the best bang for your buck. It's what every new game will be judged by.
1439130
Unreal Gold is a packaged version of both the original Unreal and its expansion.  For its price, it is a great value.  And it's even better if you do not play multiplayer games cause the other released version, Totally Unreal features Unreal Gold and Unreal Tournament, which is a wonderful multiplayer game.  If you do not play multiplayer games, then buy this Gold edition.  If you do, spend the extra money and get Totally Unreal.  Or even better yet, get Unreal Tournament 2003, Unreal 2, and Totally Unreal for the most unreal experience ever!
Unreal was originally released to be a DOOM killer back in DOOM's prime time, but the entire project was screwed up, so it ended up getting released in 1998.  The GRAPHICS of Unreal were unsurpassed at the time.  No one could match it.  Although today, it can be matched, 1998 was the time of Starcraft, so from there you can get a view on how much superior it was than back ago.  Graphics: 9/10
The sound in the beginning of the game is pretty good.  Although it is a bit scary at first when you hear blood-curdling screams while you try to escape from a prison ship and when you are about to get off, you see a heart fly out of a door way, it is all covered by excellent sound.  The music is also pretty good.  Not excellent, but still good enough.  Sound: 8/10
In Unreal, you have to read a lot of text.  You get a translator in the beginning and from then you read a LOT of text to reveal that you are on Na Pali and the Skaarj Empire has taken over.  Story: 8.5/10
Unreal is fun, kinda gory, but overall, a grat experience if you have not played it before.  Be sure to get Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal 2 for the PC and Unreal Championship for the XBOX for an "unreal" experience!  Enjoy!
1125526
This game is one of my favorites and a steal at the price.  There are so many strategies you can use to win the game.  There are no wasted moves.  This is one of the most intuitive games I've played.  It comes with several different board which adds to the variety and longevity of this game.  This game is so elegant in the way it is set up, how rounds are played, the strategies, and love the fact that dice are used, yet you never really feel like lucky rolls are really a factor.  Just so many options.

Highly recommended.  Rahdo on youtube has a great walk thru on this one if you are on the fence.
2574010
Just revel in the fact that now you can play them as often as you like, virtually for FREE!!!  If you're a true child of the early 80's, games like Asteroids, Centipede, Missile Command and Tempest were the standard in any game room you ever visited.  I played Asteroids and Centipede at LaRosa's and Godfather's pizza, Missile Command at the airport and Tempest in the game room at NKU.  Some of them I got pretty good at, some of them I rarely got past the early screens.  Whatever the case, this is a killer collection that you're almost guaranteed to find something you like on.  Now if I could just find Time Pilot, Crazy Climber and Zaxon........
2237355
Great price for a great game.  Graphics are much superior to console versions, assuming you have the rig to crank up the settings to high quality.  I prefer a keyboard and mouse to a controller any day, but if you must use a controller there is nothing stopping you from using a nice gamepad.  Online play is great.  I have no idea why the product description says Windows XP Home, it works just fine on any version of Windows the game supports (I use XP Pro).  This is the DVD version of the game, which is a great time saver because you don't have to hassle with a bunch of CDs during install.

NOTE - game comes in a jewel case, and that is all - no manual, no box.  The manual is available in PDF format on the DVD, however.
1073520
Great game and quality. No issues with quality, will be used for years
167362
To date, Hero is still the best universal game system I've found - and 5th edition gives more to love.  Vastly expanded detail on every aspect of the game mechanics, and chock full of examples makes this one of the tightest game systems on the market.
1380671
Brass contains all the German-style board game (or "eurogame") features that make the genre enjoyable and re-playable.  But Brass not only meets expectations, it also exceeds them.

(The meat of my review is below, but if you're impatient like me and want to have a one sentence summary, I'd describe Brass as: "Excellent, but not for beginners.")

Brass first exceeds expectations through its interesting "flipping" mechanic.  In brief, flipping means that you can gain income and victory points through your own actions or those of your opponents.  The game thus rewards players who can figure out their opponents strategies, requiring a level of opponent awareness that games like Race for the Galaxy and Ticket to Ride don't.  Requiring awareness of your opponents' strategies isn't a unique feature, but it's designed very well in Brass.  (It certainly feels less haphazard and random than the "opponent awareness" that Puerto Rico requires [think Captain phase].)

Second, it succeeds in introducing several "supply and demand" mechanics:  iron demand, coal demand, and cotton demand.  Your best play on every turn (and your opponent's best play after yours) depends highly on the changing nature of these game aspects.  The game keeps your interest as a result.

Third, it incorporates an upgrading mechanic, allowing you to develop your industries to give you more income and victory points.

Criticisms:
Rulebook:  Unlike many euros, this game was originally published in English, but you wouldn't know it from the rulebook.  The game is complicated and the rulebook adds to the confusion.  There also isn't a third-party rewrite of the rules on the internet yet.

Coin Tokens:  The game comes with plastic silver and copper coins.  They have two problems:  First, the copper coins look gold, leading your gaming mind to think they're worth more than the silver ones.  Second, they're hard to pick up.  Luckily, there's a solution:  Just use real change (pennies, nickels, and dimes mostly) instead of the game's coins.  It makes gameplay a lot easier.

Overall, this game is a must-have for board games fans who like other euros, but less accessible for more casual gamers.
2941397
This game is fun and high quality.

My 7 year old picked it up fast, my wife loved it, and her grandpa did too.

You can be as strategic as you wish to be, or you can just play "through the motions".

Want to ruin someone's plans? Go ahead. Want to focus on yourself? Go ahead.

The board is pretty large, so you'll want a decent amount of room (or to play on the floor).

It's definitely a game worth being added to your collection.
1660656
This game is pure gold.  Solid pokemon gameplay which reminds all of us why these games are so fun.  Raise little monsters and have them fight other people's little monsters.  Fun for all ages.
3701273
love it. great old school games. Sega Genesis Collection - Gold Edition
2861457
This is one of my favorite card games right now.  It is easy to introduce to anyone that has played games like rook, spades, or hearts.  It is one of my go to games when  choosing a game to play with nongamers.

The jewels in the game give it a nice feel, and step up in quality.  The card quality is also above standard and provides you with something that can take many plays.

I feel confident in recommending this game to most anyone.
2808760
One of the best board games, that brings the best out of us. We usually have Thursday night marked for this game, and it never disappoints for all the hours we try to out do each other.

Packaging - Good. Tiny Plastic army is good quality and decent finishing. The board itself is sturdy, and the provided manual is good for new gamers, with excellent how-to. Provided five dices could have been more sturdy, but it works.
Gameplay - Hooked. Every gameplay is a cut throat war with rapidly shifting diplomacy. There are two game play mode, and we tend to stick to the Classic Gameplay as our preference.
3845853
One of the best games invented in the past 10 years. Easy to learn, easy to play. The game involves fairly equal amounts of luck and strategy, and involves a game board that changes with each new game to keep things fresh.

One excellent aspect of the game is its emphasis on strategic planning. Devising a strategy for winning and for future moves is fairly easy - but if you strive too hard for short-term gains, your long-term goals will often suffer (or your opponents will take advantage of your narrow vision).

Another excellent aspect is the balance between cooperation and competition. It is nearly impossible to advance beyond your beginning position without cooperating with other players through mutually beneficial trades. At the same time, your trading and cooperation can help keep a powerful rival in check until you can catch up. But you never lose sight of the fact that only one player can win the game.

The board pieces are thick cardboard and quite sturdy, and the artwork is good (although nothing spectacular, they do set the tone and environment of the game). Player tokens are painted wood (the best material for games). Cards are well made and have proven to be fairly durable. The game comes with ziploc bags for storing pieces and cards, ensuring that you don't open the box to an utter mess every time you play.
1366173
With its core being the "Lion Rampant" game engine from the same author, Daniel Mersey has created a masterpiece. No miniature is left out! Angry at spending your hard-earned money on GW figs you can't use because of silly rules changes? Got those classic D&D minis from decades past? Addicted to the beautifully affordable Reaper Bones line as I am? FIELD THEM ALL! This is by far the best Fantasy Skirmish rules set on the market today. Between the "rock-paper-scissors" basis of the game design and Unit Activation mechanic, there are no "broken" lists. One offs, Tournaments, Campaigns, and Army Lores are all welcome with 'Dragon Rampant', and it's friendly for all ages to play as well. Osprey Wargames' tradition of creating quality, affordable rules sets that allow whole ranges of different manufacturers' miniatures to be used is dutifully carried on with 'Dragon Rampant'.
3334269
I first purchased Pharaoh when it first came out in the late 90's and it quickly became one of my favorite games.
I continued to play it over the years and as I upgraded computers over the years it continued to run flawlessly on each of my new machines even on my latest 4 year old Vista (64 bit)platform laptop (when set in XP mode). Other reviewers have mentioned that they have had trouble with the game on the newer platforms which I have not. When I put my original game disk into my Gateway gaming laptop and set it to XP all went fine. I then bought the Pharaoh Gold (twice because I lent my original out and never got it back)and again all went smoothly. The only issue I had was that the scrolling was too rapid and hard to control which was easily adjusted in the game controls.
For those looking for  shoot'em up action this is not your game. Pharaoh is rather a typical city building simulation requiring little or no hand eye gaming skills. The entire game is operated via the mouse and hot keys. What combat there is involves ships and armies you must raise to defend your city and the controls for this are done with the mouse and are very basic. Even though the game is quite old it still offers quite a bit of depth to the game play and offers sandbox mode to practice different city layouts and an editor to design your own scenarios. Also, there are still many fans out there for this game and you can find allot of help and info.
on-line to assist in playing it.
4867258
This original Pandemic is the gold standard for cooperative board games.  The Legacy version is even better than the original IF you have 2-3 reliable friends that you can play with.  This game has an evolving story line that requires multiple plays to complete.  Fortunately, both the board and the rules change with every play, so it never gets old.  Expect to play 12-15 games to reach the end of the story.