I am looking to start a 2D text based project much like one already out there for years. I'd say it could be compared to the classic Dope Wars but more.. lets say.. PG. I've been looking around for an engine to work with and have had no luck finding something, maybe I'm not looking in the right place or what. So, if anyone knows of a good text based engine or any advice for a hobbyist any would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Text Based Familiar Classic
What you describe is simply text overlayed over top of images.
Most Android "engines" that are capable of displaying graphics, should be able to do the job.
If you are having difficulty with what is available for Android, there is nothing stopping you from creating your own "game engine" from scratch.
Note: In Java I could create something like Dope Wars or Port Royale in less than a week - from scratch, so this task is not very difficult if you have some programming experience.
I think that you could do what you're looking for with any API that can push pixels to the screen, like SFML or XNA. Displaying an image is not too difficult, and displaying text is essentially the same thing.You might have to roll your own code to display the text as you're imagining, but that's not so difficult a project.
You could probably put together the entire framework in a couple of days, and then all the rest is content. Looking for a specific engine might be overly involved-- if it exists, it will likely meet your requirements.
EDIT: I didn't see the Android tag, but SFML still has an Android binding. But my above point still stands: looking for an engine implies that you are trying to find more than your description suggests you need. You really need an API that will let you conveniently display things on screen, and most APIs that work with Android will do that for you.
Moving to Mobile and Console.
As Code Fox wrote, the common major engines can handle what you described rather easily. The Forum FAQ has a list of some of the most popular cross-platform engines and tools. There are many others out there as well if you don't need cross-platform support or can go with a less popular tool set.
To be honest I wouldn't even use an engine for this kind of game. It would be much more straight forward to write this using standard Android Layout and input controls. If you do need cross platform support then use Phonegap or Titanium or some other API that will let you use native UI components across mobile devices. I'd even go as far as to say it would be simpler to write a game like Dope wars from scratch for multiple platforms using their native GUI system rather than trying to use a games engine and write your own UI widgets.