We all love Master of Orion right...and we all love Westerns?! Mix them together and what have you got: bibbledy bobbledy boo! No...in fact what you have is Delta Taos whimsical and inventive 4X space strategy game Spaceward Hooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Invoking research trees, colony ships and the familiar tropes of 4X space strategy, Spaceward Ho! manages to assert a distinct voice amongst the multitude. The game was fast paced, involving semi-autonomous battles and little of the micro-management that increased turn times to a cosmic scale in similar programs. Humerous touches included sound effects, ridiculous iconography and technologies Dr. Szeuss or Hieronymus Bosch would have been proud of: indeed by combining certain equipment; spaceships could be made to resemble sharks, wolfs and ominous skeletal battle cruisers!
The latest version applies a suitably polished veneer to the classic engine with a nice mix of new features: while maintaing the pace of the original. The Western theme is present and amusing but doesn't distract from the serious bussiness of managing a galactic empire. Download a copy, install and saddle-up pilgrim!
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To be fair, the multitude wasn't such a multitude when Ho! first launched. In the 1990 the main antecedents were Reach for the Stars and M.U.L.E.
ReplyDeleteI notice your screenshots are from Ho! 4. If you'd like a serial number for Ho! 5, email joe@deltatao.com
You're right, I guess Ho! has more of the pioneer spirit than I realised! I wonder if it introduced any elements that would later became standard in 4X games? Whatever its contribution, thanks for such a fantastic diversion from the tedium of ClarisWorks.
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