If you were given the chance to run your own corporation, would you stand on the shoulder of industry giants and follow their lead or go your own way and hope for the best? Would you believe there’s a game that can answer this question?  In Industry Giant II, the follow-up of the original game, the future of a massive corporation is completely in your hands.  Here’s your chance to bring consumers a vision of mass production anyway you see fit . . . and your parents said you didn’t have a head for business.

There are three different playing modes: Endless Game, Campaign missions and Multiplayer. Endless Game takes gamers through an unlimited play option that has you choosing an area and giving you the money to do as you wish or choose to have unlimited fund (of course, you also make no profit in this mode either so what’s the point?).  Campaign missions present various different objectives to meet such as having a transportation system up before a specific timeframe.

It’s highly recommended that all first-time players, especially those that have never touched a business simulator of the Tycoon-type before, should unquestionably go through the Tutorial that does a good job of giving you the gist of how this game works.  Gamers that have played the first Industry Giant game or any other such sim will find that there is nothing really new in this game.

The game is set in the beginning of the twentieth century and could very well go on into the year 9000 if you so happen to manage your corporation correctly. You are given complete freedom over the construction of buildings, production facilities (e.g. sawmills, oil refineries and various ranches) and store management. You can place any of these facilities anywhere on the map but you must also keep in mind that the products you produce must be transported by any means you choose so build a train station or a trucking terminal.  Gamers must keep an eye on the budget and the demands of the consumers that are constantly changing.  One minute teddy bears are the latest craze, then it’s bicycles . . . paying attention could mean more profits for you rather than your rivals.   

There’s also a multiplayer option that requires an account using GameSpy (the GameSpy Arcade software is automatically installed when you install Industry Giant II) and from there you can join other gamers in a lobby where you can chat and then join in on a game with multiple players.  You are given your own area and must compete against the other gamers.  This is actually great practice for the single player modes.  You can also add AI controlled rivals to make the game even more challenging.

The graphics don’t really impress in the same way most of the Sim games do but what is there isn’t really all that bad . . . although there could have been room for more details.  The several cities before you are made up of somewhat detailed buildings and moving traffic and the vast lands are wild with vegetation and wildlife.  Looking at this tiny world would have been more remarkable if there had been more emphasis on what might seem like unnecessary detail like moving people, for instance. There are short video clips of the first trains taking off or the first trucking system established and they’re done really nicely.

Sound-wise, there’s a running soundtrack that is very lively and it somehow does not get annoying or boring to hear.  You can hear everything each time you pass the cursor across the map.  Pass the sawmill and you can hear the buzzing saw.  Move it down to the train station and you can hear the steam train ready to make deliveries.  Every industrial building has its own sound and that’s the beauty of detail.  

While there’s nothing that separates this game from the dozen other business sim games, Industry Giant II is a worthy sequel if you‘re a true fan of the first game. The complete freedom to do what you want will seem refreshing and it is but it’s not enough.  Other gamers looking for something a bit more fun and different should really look elsewhere. 

 Gameplay: 7.3
The game’s interface is simple to learn and gamers will quickly get accustomed to all the icons and their meanings.  Fans of the Tycoon-type business simulators will feel right at home with all the building options and product management alternatives found in the game.  The game allows you to place your sawmills, oil refineries and mines anywhere you find the material icons.  Buildings can be placed anywhere on the map as well--just as long as you also add roads so the products can be transported (e.g. trains, ships and trucks) to the stores.

The game’s most unique feature is that you get to witness the birth of mass production and supply-and-demand of products that are the latest fads.  For example, you will be there when teddy bears become the top selling toy so you must manufacture teddy bears until the next big thing comes along.  As the times change, so must you.  

Graphics: 7.0
While not as beautiful or heavily detailed as other simulators, Industry Giant II is not a bad looking game.  The cities throughout the playing environments are filled with various buildings and moving vehicles and the untouched pastures are home to the abundant wildlife such as wild horses or flocks of birds.  Still, more is definitely better when it comes to details and the game could have benefited from some visual extras.  

Sound: 7.4
The soundtrack is composed of lively tunes that oddly enough fit the game’s theme and even the timeframe between each period.  Aside from the strangely pleasant soundtrack, the detailed effects found throughout the map are admirable.  Passing the cursor over the city and you’ll hear the tiny clamoring of the city’s inhabitants as well as the honking horns of traffic.  Move the cursor on a cattle ranch and you can hear the cows mooing and grazing on the grassland.

Difficulty: Medium
With a simplistic interface, the game allows you to concentrate on your business sense and keeping a sharp eye for locations.  Of the different playing modes, Campaign missions throws the most challenges and it even has you attempting to complete specific goals on the map.  The fact that some of them are even timed will prove to be occasionally frustrating but challenging at the same time.

Concept: 7.1
Spending money can be a real blast, but spending it on the right things can make the difference between great fortune and bankruptcy.  Industry Giant’s appeal is in the freedom you have to make your own decisions and a huge part of it is aimed at how you spend your money and what products you decide to introduce to the public.  Every decision you make will have a direct consequence on the lives of those consumers that purchase your products. Whether that decision will have a negative or positive effect is what makes this game truly fun but sadly there is nothing entirely new or innovative here.   

Multiplayer: 7.6
What really motivates industry bigwigs is competition from other major corporations and, as in real life, outwitting your competitors is necessary in order to stay on top.  Industry Giant II has included a multiplayer option to find competition from gamers on the net (using any of the three options: Internet, LAN and Skirmish). Included in the game is the GameSpy Arcade software needed to register online, join a game or chat with other GameSpy users.

You can either jump in a game hosted by another player that invites you or you can chose to host your own campaign.  Various gamers can play at the same time, managing their own company on their own quadrant while trying to dominate the consumer market.  It’s a tactical bout of wits playing against other players and the game’s truest challenge.       

Overall: 7.5
Those who enjoyed the original game will find Industry Giant II just as enjoyable, but in the already crowded business sim genre, this games doesn’t really do anything to separate itself from the other games.  And those gamers new to this genre should skip this one and invest it in the slightly more superior Maximum Capacity: Hotel Giant.