The main concept of the game is similar to the City Building Series: after products are finished, they are added to the closest available warehouse, and then stores and factories can pick them up and sell them according to the demand. This is the only source of income, as transportation and manufacturing all take money from the companies' finances (unlike Transport Tycoon and Capitalism), but before selling the player also has to manufacture (or grow) the goods. For that, he must either grow agricultural goods, from crops to livestock (some can be sold directly to stores), wood (can be transformed into sawdust to produce paper and cardboard, and cut wood which can be refined into boards and then to furniture, toys or many other applications) or mine several metals (which become more and more crucial as the time passes) and then combined with other goods in factories. For instance, while it's possible to ship fruit directly for sale, by combining it with glass (mined from silica and transformed at glassworks), it's possible to sell juice for a higher price. As time passes, a larger number of goods become available, some of them more elaborate and requiring a much larger range of source material.
While crucial for development, most industrial units devalue a city and hamper growth. To counter this effect, the player can build several facilities (including universities, rodeos and stadiums) which allow the city to grow a bit faster. A large city not only demands more of the basic goods, but also starts accepting luxury goods, such as clothing, sports goods and electronics that also increase the growth speed of a city.
There are two main game modes: Scenario, where the player has a timed goal (ranging from typical company value and yearly profit to filling a storage area with a pre-determined product) to a long-run "free-play" mode where the player aims for several values for several decades.
- Original game Industry Giant II and the official Expansion Pack Industry Giant II: 1980-2020.
- 40 fascinating missions.
- Over 200 real products from the 20th and 21st centuries.
- 70 different modes of transportation, over land, on water and in the air.
- 50 endless maps for one and more players
- Empire-building is easy using the intuitive on-screen menu system.
- Includes an easy-to-use map editor for creating your own maps.
- Multiplayer mode for 4 players via LAN or internet.
- Innovative "luxury feature" provides bonuses for successful managers.
- Includes all available downloads from the IG2-Homepage.
