Industry Giant II - PC Games

You begin by placing your shop and then building the infrastructure to support it. For example, after building a grocery to service a small town, you then need to find a location for a warehouse to store your goods. Once this is established, you will need to produce some goods to sell, such as milk, eggs or fruit.

Find a suitable location for a farm or orchard and set the wheels in motion. This provides your basic chain of production and some well-thought-out tutorials lead you through what is an impressively slick interface. It then comes down to balancing supply with demand, as you adjust prices in your store and production output and wages at your farms and factories. Meanwhile you're always looking at expansion opportunities.

There are three campaigns to play through--ranging in difficulty, with each scenario unlocking the next. There is also an open-ended game and multi-player options to provide further longevity. The scenarios range in length from a few years to a full century, with the game taking in the period of the 20th century. 

As well as the isometric view of the map, with its ongoing animated life, there are a selection of charts, graphs and balance sheets to help you keep track of what's making a profit and what isn't. There's a lot of information that needs to be tracked, but the displays are managed well, preventing it from appearing daunting.

It's been several years since the original Industry Giant was released and it received considerable criticism at the time, for weak AI and a poor user-interface. With both these issues addressed, plus a complete overhaul of the system, Industry Giant II was worth the wait. It takes what is a mildly interesting and limited premise and turns it into a thoroughly absorbing game. --Jason Weston