Risk II
MacSoft
Rating: 4
Arm chair generals of the Mac world have reason to rejoice these days. The classic game of strategy has finally been updated and brought into the 21st century. Many of us were still playing the shareware version of the game released for the Mac in 1985 and updated once when colour hit the Mac. My version dates from 1990! For those interested, the shareware game is still widely available and runs nicely on any Mac, even on the latest and greatest. Yes, it was well time for the Mac to get a new version of this game.
For those of you who don't know, Risk is a game of strategy where one tries to conquer the world with Napoleonic era soldiers. The board game version has been around for decades and is a must for any war-gamers worth his salt. The game can take many hours and even days, and was normally played in the basement so the pieces would not have to be moved between sessions. The computer version of the game has fewer pieces to lose and is easy to store. The computer does all the hard bits, such as rolling die, moving pieces, and making sure there is no cheating. Better yet, Risk II allows the Risk nut to have a game at any time. It means war-gamers need not wait till they can get 5 of their closest friends physically together for an all weekend Risk game. Isn't Technology great?
Newbies to the game need not fear, for there is a very helpful Tutorial included. Risk is a game that is easy to learn but very hard to master. It will keep you occupied for hours on end.
Risk II allows both solo and multi-play either via "hot-seat play" (i.e. you move out of the chair so the other person can have a go), or via the internet or a LAN. Along with the classic game of Risk, there are several options for a budding war-gamer can choose. There are territories and routes on the traditional map or the ever-challenging "simultaneous play", which allows all actions to take place at the same time rather than each person have his go separately. This method allows for much faster games and allows one to play a game with 4 players in under an hour. Very quick in Risk terms. The normal game can take several hours if there are enough people that are good players. Herein lies one of the drawbacks to this latest version of the game. When one person leaves the game, the entire game ends, a problem for those on 56k connections, who have a real life or occasionally play with tempestuous bad sports. Oddly enough, it is not possible to play online with computer opponents which means one has to wait for a sufficient contingent before playing. Not always possible for those who don't live in the US. The game does support the mighty Gameranger, a free service which allows players to find others who wish to play with them. Since its release, there has been an almost constant game of Risk II on Gameranger. At peak times there have been up to 3 games going at the same time. You need hunt no more for your Risk fix! Another minor problem is the lack of alternative maps. Also, it would be practical to have the option to call a draw/or concede victory and end the game early if need be. It can be rather tiring to have to sit there through the last turns of a war that you know you will never win, but you don't want to end the fun of your opponent. Call it the "mercy" option.
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