AUDIO CLIP TITLE	LENGTH
Intro Movie Audio	(2m:49s)

The above is the start of the greeting I receive when I begin my galactic journey in Master of Orion III. It is apart of the first "Master's Notes" dialogue boxes that, should you choose to enable and keep them enabled, are designed to guide you through the game with helpful direction and hints in nurturing your civilization in its new Space Age. In Part 1 of this series we look at, in detail, the numerous races to be found in the game -- all of which a player can take control of if they choose. Part 2 emphasizes pre-gameplay customization options and their importance in a healthy and enjoyable engagement. This installment and Part 4 will propel us forward into MoO3's gameplay itself. For the record, all of the gameplay described here and down the road is drawn from the single-player environment only. Unfortunately, 'real-life' time restrictions prevented me from also examining MoO3's multiplayer components.

Whether or not you an experienced MoO player or a relative novice, one of the first tasks you will want to assign yourself is to get comfortable with the interface. This is true of any computer game for that matter. It provides for all key tools of the trade that one should be familiar with so as best to utilize them in the future. As your game progresses, it increases a strategy gamer's interest but also the intensity. You will want to be able to look at an icon or click on a menu and quickly gain the information that you need. It is true that, unless you choose to make use of the “Timer Options” discussed in Part 2, you are in a strictly turn-based environment. You can sit in front of the screen as long as you desire to make your decisions for the current cycle. However, it will likely prolong a turn and unnecessarily distract you from more pressing matters if you do not adequately study the interface in the here and now. I would first like to begin with an open dialogue on the 'Main Screen'.

I will say the layout of the 'Main Screen' is not necessarily how I would have conceived it, but that is not to say that I don't like it. Before we continue, I will say that dividing the screen with horizontal as opposed to vertical lines is my all-time preference and that is exactly what Quicksilver has done. Most of us prefer to read content from right to left, as opposed to up and down, and this has been taken into account. That said, as you can see in the various screenshots in this part of my preview, there is a lot of information spread over the surface of the screen. Don't expect to be instantly comfortable with what you see as I was not. I had convinced myself that I would be, and that was part of the problem. I am also not acquainted with the interface in previous Master of Orion incarnations, so this only contributed to my initial apprehension.

As strategy gamers know from experience, the games in this genre are not geared towards those with five minutes to play in between study sessions or doing your taxes. The 'Main Screen' is the first that we see when we begin a game, and is the common battlefield we all share a love/hate relationship with.