Pandemic II

Pandemic II

Ev-ry bo-dy wants to rule the world. Or so the song goes. But if you've ever wondered what it's like to play the role of petulant biologist seeking to eradicate the whole of humanity, we humbly suggest you put down the Erlenmeyer flasks and pick up Pandemic II instead.

Pandemic II is an exercise in biological warfare. You'll guide a disease from lowly annoyance to global disaster, spreading sickness across a continental tour worthy of the history books.

Will your megaplague be a prodigious virus, a well-balanced bacterium, or a stealthy parasite? Each form has unique strengths and weaknesses that will alter your approach. As the game progresses, you'll accrue evolution points to spend on traits to custom engineer your disease: granting various elemental resistances, finding new vectors, and affecting the symptoms your infected will display (everything from fever to hemorrhaging).

Your ultimate goal is to infect all of the humans on Earth, causing their gasping, ignoble death in the process. But be wary, for if your organism gains too much visibility, the world's medical community will band together to stop your spread. Despite the macabre theme, the game is presented solely through menu screens and a world map. The thrill of seeing nations enter a red frenzy is entirely worth it, though. Just watch out for those germaphobe jerks in Madagascar.

If you've got a highly infectious specimen you'd like to expose Act Casual to, send along a sample and description via our very own hermetically sealed Contact Form.

Got Blood?
Donator V5.0

I remember playing the first one, this one is a lot more game like. Also more detailed, nice find!
LOL I have an ocean vessel thats been meandering for 100 days because all the ports were shut down while it was out to sea.

Claw Shrimp
Donator V5.0
LobsterMobster's picture
Location: On a picnic, going "La la la!"

NOTE: Not a doodle bug.

Steam-XBox-PSN: Lobstermancer

the pot and the kettle
Donator V2.0
boogle's picture
Location: Norman, OK

I loved the first one, can't wait to try it.

SallyNasty wrote:

That is Pho sho'.

Prose before Bros
Donator V2.0
St.Hillary's picture
Location: In the unwanted state

I really loved playing the first one. I was actually just playing this one not long ago. Still just as great.

Stengah wrote:

St.Hillary is my proof for humans being friggin' awesome.

fingers and/or butts
BlackSheep's picture
Location: Inside the I-820

Guh. I spread too quickly and my death rate was too high right off the bat.

I do have the distinct honor of wiping about 90% of the Canadian/Russian/Eastern Europe population off the map though. Funny thing is, my disease started in India and yet the only country I could really get infected below the equator was Brazil and North Africa.

Well, Cooking Mama didn't help me become a better cook, and Trauma Center certainly didn't help me become a better surgeon. I have the proof of both sitting in my freezer. -- imbiginjapan

Not Without Incident
Donator V4.0
Quintin_Stone's picture
Location: Cary, NC

I've played 2 games. Both times infected 90+% of the world. I have yet to kill a single person.

Edit: Day 120, unlocked Tier IV. Boom.

Certis wrote:

Quintin is both smart and attractive.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Good lord, I wouldn't have expected brilliance like that from that nemeslut Quintin Stone!

fingers and/or butts
BlackSheep's picture
Location: Inside the I-820

Quintin_Stone wrote:
I've played 2 games. Both times infected 90+% of the world. I have yet to kill a single person.

Edit: Day 120, unlocked Tier IV. Boom.

Yeah, I think I went too early with the Tier II and III stuff.

Well, Cooking Mama didn't help me become a better cook, and Trauma Center certainly didn't help me become a better surgeon. I have the proof of both sitting in my freezer. -- imbiginjapan

Not Without Incident
Donator V4.0
Quintin_Stone's picture
Location: Cary, NC

BlackSheep wrote:
Yeah, I think I went too early with the Tier II and III stuff.

I spent a bunch on Tier III little things thinking they'd start killing people. But apparently no one dies until Tier IV. I guess I should've watch the tutorial.

Certis wrote:

Quintin is both smart and attractive.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Good lord, I wouldn't have expected brilliance like that from that nemeslut Quintin Stone!

Precioussss
Brennil's picture

Ok I laughed way too hard at that, Lobster.

Prose before Bros
Donator V2.0
St.Hillary's picture
Location: In the unwanted state

Quintin_Stone wrote:
But apparently no one dies until Tier IV.

No need to watch the tutorial. You just need to get into a determined mindset to kill the world

Brennil wrote:
Ok I laughed way too hard at that, Lobster.

Ditto

Stengah wrote:

St.Hillary is my proof for humans being friggin' awesome.

Discretion is not the better part of
Donator V5.0
Malor's picture
Location: Perpetually suspended

That cartoon was awesome, Lobster.

Staats wrote:

Regardless of how effective government-run health care might be, it's not for our society. It's for societies that pay for things.

Attention Whore
Donator V4.0
KrazyTaco[FO]'s picture
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii

It took me a little over 300 days but everyone on the planet was killed. Except Madagascar. Not 1 person infected there.

"Thanks, KrazyTaco, thanks. I'd put it in your pooper too." -Mex
"Krazy, I love the fact that you exist." -Vector
"Oh, KrazyTaco, you fulfill all my wishes." -pneuman
xboxlive= KrazyTacoFO

Lord of the Rats
Donator V2.0
Rat Boy's picture
Location: Hitting it in NorCal

KrazyTacoFO wrote:
It took me a little over 300 days but everyone on the planet was killed. Except Madagascar. Not 1 person infected there.

I hate Madagascar.

"Men like sex, thus boobies! Oogaba!" - dejanzie

"Something bad happens, A-Team is hired, things go wrong, plan comes together, fools are pitied and sh*t blows up. The end." - Mystic Violet

Twitter

Marks The Spot
Donator V4.0
Elliottx's picture
Location: Vancouver, WA, USA, Earth, Milky Way, Universe B

156 days, destroyed everything but Madagascar. Is there some sort of secret to getting your disease to Madagascar? I didn't see the option to make a life raft of my infected wash up on their shores.

Rat Boy wrote:

Now I'm leaning more and more towards escorts.

XBL: elliottxW
WoW: Jozak - 80 Death Knight

fingers and/or butts
BlackSheep's picture
Location: Inside the I-820

Elliottx wrote:
156 days, destroyed everything but Madagascar. Is there some sort of secret to getting your disease to Madagascar? I didn't see the option to make a life raft of my infected wash up on their shores.

My second disease, a parasite, found its way to madagascar quite early, but I didn't infect a large portion of the map, including Russia of all things and they cured me. Boo!

Well, Cooking Mama didn't help me become a better cook, and Trauma Center certainly didn't help me become a better surgeon. I have the proof of both sitting in my freezer. -- imbiginjapan

Claw Shrimp
Donator V5.0
LobsterMobster's picture
Location: On a picnic, going "La la la!"

There's no secret to getting into (or out of) Madagascar. It's entirely luck. Rationally, you want your infectivity to be high and your visibility/lethality to be low until you've infected every country. Since the game's logic is a little weird, it's actually best to keep even your infectivity low until you've infected all the countries. The more people that are infected/dead, the quicker the response.

Someone made a little strategy guide to kill off the entire world that's very specific (basically you need to start in one of the lower-population countries that is NOT Madagascar so you can infect a lot of people without alarming other countries). That's only if you're looking to "win," though. I find it's more fun to just play.

Amazing, though, how a single strain of a disease can mutate in every infected organism on the planet simultaneously.

If Madagascar slips away as it usually does, at least you can feel content it'll eventually die of AIDS and malnutrition. Hooray, Africa!

My favorite part of the game is when all the ports close while there are still ships at sea and they have nowhere to land. Just stay out there, dudes. Trust me.

Brennil wrote:
Ok I laughed way too hard at that, Lobster.

Unfortunately, not mine.

NOTE: Not a doodle bug.

Steam-XBox-PSN: Lobstermancer

Eh, I Got Nothing
Donator
ClockworkHouse's picture

I can only imagine the conversations doctors in my game might be having with their patients:

"Hmm, you seem to have a severe case of the virus 'Die, Madagascar, Die.' We'll treat it aggressively, but it has been known to be fatal. Sometimes. In Australia."

trueheart78 wrote:

$1 here, $1 there, a $3 monkey. Sorry!

Amoebic wrote:

It was your sig reminding me that intoxication, 3am, and microsoft points ended in a monkey. Oh yeah...that happened. Damn.

Not Without Incident
Donator V4.0
Quintin_Stone's picture
Location: Cary, NC

In my current game, Quintinitis couldn't gain a foothold in Madagascar and Indonesia of all places. Everywhere else has 100% infection, their vaccine failed and caused a mutation. Now I popped necrosis then encephalitis and now waiting to buy insanity.

Certis wrote:

Quintin is both smart and attractive.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Good lord, I wouldn't have expected brilliance like that from that nemeslut Quintin Stone!

Office Linebacker
Donator V2.0
taer's picture
Location: Austin

Madagascar!!!!!!

So once closed, you're pretty much SOL in terms of infecting?

need to lay low a bit longer.

xbox live: taer3 steam: taer

Not Without Incident
Donator V4.0
Quintin_Stone's picture
Location: Cary, NC

Quintinitis comes to an end. China held out the longest, except of course for Madagascar and Indonesia. Score: 43,280

Certis wrote:

Quintin is both smart and attractive.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Good lord, I wouldn't have expected brilliance like that from that nemeslut Quintin Stone!

Prose before Bros
Donator V2.0
St.Hillary's picture
Location: In the unwanted state

I always kill off Madagascar. Half the time it even starts me there. I can't seem to destroy Russia though
Oh, poopy.

Stengah wrote:

St.Hillary is my proof for humans being friggin' awesome.

Lord of the Rats
Donator V2.0
Rat Boy's picture
Location: Hitting it in NorCal

Figures. I start off in Madagascar, but those assholes in Greenland, Indonesia, Australia, and New Zealand closed their borders within a minute of each other.

"Men like sex, thus boobies! Oogaba!" - dejanzie

"Something bad happens, A-Team is hired, things go wrong, plan comes together, fools are pitied and sh*t blows up. The end." - Mystic Violet

Twitter

Not Without Incident
Donator V4.0
Quintin_Stone's picture
Location: Cary, NC

I started in Australia, with heat and cold resistance. I went with a rat vector only, figuring that since Madagascar only had a port, I'd sneak in through rats on the ship. Since I only spread by rat, I wasn't scary enough for everyone to shut down. And it worked.

Yellek Fever killed everyone on Earth in 236 days.

Certis wrote:

Quintin is both smart and attractive.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
Good lord, I wouldn't have expected brilliance like that from that nemeslut Quintin Stone!

Gamer in a Strange Land
Donator V2.0
tanstaafl's picture
Location: Atlanta, GA

What I love is how the zombies are operating the infrastructure in Greenland. Everything is operating even though everyone is dead.

Lord of the Rats
Donator V2.0
Rat Boy's picture
Location: Hitting it in NorCal

Quintin_Stone wrote:
I started in Australia, with heat and cold resistance. I went with a rat vector only, figuring that since Madagascar only had a port, I'd sneak in through rats on the ship. Since I only spread by rat, I wasn't scary enough for everyone to shut down. And it worked.

I tried doing just that but guess who had the temerity to shut their ports down over diseased rats? f*ck you, Madagascar!

"Men like sex, thus boobies! Oogaba!" - dejanzie

"Something bad happens, A-Team is hired, things go wrong, plan comes together, fools are pitied and sh*t blows up. The end." - Mystic Violet

Twitter

Claw Shrimp
Donator V5.0
LobsterMobster's picture
Location: On a picnic, going "La la la!"

tanstaafl wrote:
What I love is how the zombies are operating the infrastructure in Greenland. Everything is operating even though everyone is dead.

Braaaaaaaains... and loading and unloading cargo shiiiiiiiiiips....

NOTE: Not a doodle bug.

Steam-XBox-PSN: Lobstermancer

Not a mistake, an evolution!
Donator V6.0
Chumpy_McChump's picture
Location: Breaking Mars with a hammer

Quintin_Stone wrote:
BlackSheep wrote:
Yeah, I think I went too early with the Tier II and III stuff.

I spent a bunch on Tier III little things thinking they'd start killing people. But apparently no one dies until Tier IV. I guess I should've watch the tutorial.

No, no, people can die from Tier I and II stuff. Lots and lots of people.

The Crazyville Times
"Yer da walked fifteen miles in the rain to blow up the Queen of England for a nickel!" - the Demo

fingers and/or butts
BlackSheep's picture
Location: Inside the I-820

Chumpy_McChump wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:
BlackSheep wrote:
Yeah, I think I went too early with the Tier II and III stuff.

I spent a bunch on Tier III little things thinking they'd start killing people. But apparently no one dies until Tier IV. I guess I should've watch the tutorial.

No, no, people can die from Tier I and II stuff. Lots and lots of people.

...I've slaughtered people with Tier II and III stuff too -- Add up a bunch of dinks and dunks and you've got the formula for pandemic express.

Well, Cooking Mama didn't help me become a better cook, and Trauma Center certainly didn't help me become a better surgeon. I have the proof of both sitting in my freezer. -- imbiginjapan

cos(♥)=?
complexmath's picture
Location: Bay Area, CA

Great game! I got around 173k -- other than Madagascar, the entire world was dead. I think infecting Madagascar is mostly luck. If ports are closed before your disease makes it there then they'll survive. It probably also helps to make the disease very heat-resistant and possibly water or insect-borne. I need to watch the tutorial now to see what I'm missing. Good stuff.

edit: On "arcade mode" or whatever it seems like the trick is to only spend points in resistances and communicability until the disease is pervasive. Eventually someone will discover it and countries will take measures to prevent the disease from spreading further, and once that happens you won't get many more points to spend. So then start jacking up the lethality and watch the bodies pile up.

I still haven't investigated things like timing new forms of transmission with natural disasters. It's probably a good idea to bump up water resistance and add water or airborne transmission during a massive hurricane, for example, as well as possibly making a symptom vomiting or diarrhea (yet more water). Plenty of experimenting to do. Yay!

Its good to be the Koning
Koning_Floris's picture
Location: The more nether of lands

Such a great game, also loved the first one. Thanks for the heads up.

I don't watch, I interact!