(Pandemic 2) Game Review

Alright, so on Wednesday, I reviewed a classic Addicting Games game that I've played ever since 2009. That game would be Pandemic 2. This game is very strategic and requires patience, planning and a bit of luck.
               The objective of Pandemic 2 is too create a type of virus, bacteria or parasite and level it up over time in order to have it spread all across the globe and kill everyone on earth before the scientists can create a vaccine. Pandemic 2 allows for quite a-lot of re-playability; considering how it has been almost eight years since the initial release and it is very much still relevant. Only a few years ago in 2012 the publishers of the Pandemic series launched a Google chrome extension and an official release on iTunes was and still is very successful.
            The graphics of Pandemic 2 were obviously never meant to be top-notch from their humble beginnings as an Addicting Games exclusive; however, this does not necessarily impact the players overall experience with the game because they are more concerned with destroying the world.

Pandemic 2 map

So, earlier on I touched on the games re-playability factor, this is due to the many different routes a player can take to attempt to beat the game. Starting off with the very first decision the game presents to the player: Picking either a Virus, a Bacteria or a Parasite. Each class has it's own set of strengths/weaknesses: The virus is the quickest to evolve, the most affected by environment and also gives the player a boost to the infection rate; while the bacteria have a medium rate of evolution, are normally affected by the environment and give a bonus to drug resistance; finally, the parasite class has the slowest evolution, are least affected by the environment and have the lowest visibility. 

Selecting a Disease Class

 Another aspect of Pandemic's re-playability is that once in the game, the player can customise their disease to however their liking. You can change how your disease reacts to certain elements; how fast or it's methods of transmission; it's strength against drugs and what kind of symptoms it'll cause on it's victims. 

         In terms of difficulty, Pandemic 2 is without a doubt up there. There are many different factors that can determine how successful your experience is: your starting country, how you manage your disease's growth and which countries decide to shut down their borders first, because if you talk to anyone who's played this game they will tell you: No matter what you do, if Madagascar, New Zealand and/or Greenland decide to shut down their few entrances into their countries, you LOSE.

Every. Single. Time.

So the pros for Pandemic 2 definitely out way the few cons that I can find. The pros to this great game are: re-playability factor is there, simple layout, suitable graphics for a game made in 2008 and great immersion. The cons I have found are: sometimes the game can be unfair with it's random country spawning and with how other countries act.

         

 I'd give this solid, entertaining, strategic game an 8/10 for it's ability to stand the test-of-time and remain relevant in the casual gaming community.