MOO1 rocked. MOO2 was even better. MOO3 was a big disappointment.
I remember watching the development comments from the developers and was very excited to see MOO3. They had a lot of great ideas, extending the depth of the game with a larger, more complex universe. Combat was to be taken to another level with strategic planning of planet conquering. More races and the senate. I was jacked! My fav game was getting an upgrade.
Then I bought it. All the great promises were mostly left aside and what was left was a shell of complexity with fuzzy control. Fuzzy? One could somewhat point the direction of actions but actual control was far from concise. The first comment that the game plays itself is far too accurate. Gone is the actual control of combat, yet another casualty of the 'we must go 3d to be good' era. Yes, it is 3d but lacks the enjoyment of specifically targeting a particularly problematic ship (death spores comes to mind).
I have also tried a few times to play MOO3 but each time have ended up simply plowing it from my HD, only to look back thinking of all the promises made but not delivered. MOO2 still rocks. MOO3 never did.