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I keep hearing mixed reviews about Civ 5. The negatives about it mostly center around its mechanics being simplified. Would the simplifications people are talking about nudge Civ 5 any closer to a being a casual 4x?
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Jan 3, 2011 19:19
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GreatGreen posted:I keep hearing mixed reviews about Civ 5. The negatives about it mostly center around its mechanics being simplified. I would say that the game has been simplified since Civ IV, yes. I wouldn't call it a "casual" 4x (oxymoron?) but a lot of the game mechanics have been...streamlined? There isn't much differentiation between resources (luxury goods and food resources now offer identical benefits), and city health was removed. Happiness is now less dependent on micromanaging individual cities. There's no more civics and religion has much less of an effect now on the game... A lot of the changes mostly rolled back some of the complexities that made Civ IV a much deeper game than its predecessors, but a few things from prior games were simplified too. On the other hand, combat is now much more tactical and adds a very interesting element to the game--winning wars is no longer about building a huge stack and sending it on a romp. Civ V is definitely simplified in some areas, but it's definitely not a bad game.
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Jan 3, 2011 21:36
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Many of the removed mechanics were replaced with new ones, there's no civics but there's social policies (which are both less and more complicated in some ways), there's the City State system, etc. There are two main flaws with Civ V right now, the first one being that there's only one "best" strategy right now (Infinite City Spam, building as many tiny cities as you possibly can, dozens of them), that pretty much outclasses every other strategy for every other victory condition besides Culture. The second one being the chronically stupid AI that struggles to pose a fun challenge to veteran players. Even if you show restraint and don't ICS, if you're actually really good at the game it stops being fun as the AI is extremely weak. If Firaxis fixed those issues, it would still be a divisive game, but it will be more subjective. Right now, if you suck at 4X games or are just a casual player of them, then Civ V is fairly good. If you aren't ever going to play above the medium difficulties and just like building cool empires and being buddies with Gandhi, then Civ V is a good game to do this in. If you want a hardcore or competitive 4X, Civ V doesn't currently do that nearly as well as IV did.
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Jan 3, 2011 21:46
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Yeah, that too. I still don't think it's a terrible game--the added tactical depth really saves it from being a subpar sequel--but I got much more enjoyment out of Civ IV and have actually gone back to playing that one because it presents much more challenge and complexity. I've been playing the series since I burned a copy of my uncle's original Civilization disk back in elementary school and have owned every iteration that's had a PC release. The fourth installment is without a doubt the best, but Civ V probably comes in a close third behind Civ II. Out of curiosity though, what would be considered a 'hardcore' 4X in the same setting as Civ? That is, controlling a nation through time, on Earth. I remember the old Call to Power branch-off of the games but recall them being rather simplistic, if enjoyable. I think Galactic Civilizations II is the most complex 4X I've played, but obviously is in a different setting.
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Jan 4, 2011 02:15
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Alpha Centauri was insanely complicated. That's the most "hardcore" one I can think of.
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Jan 4, 2011 02:20
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Category Fun! posted:Alpha Centauri was insanely complicated. That's the most "hardcore" one I can think of. That game was awesome. I've been waiting for a sequel or mod bringing it to another Civ game for ages--I was shocked that Colonization got picked instead for Civ IV. But yeah, that game was not for the faint-of-heart.
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Jan 4, 2011 02:34
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Danger Mahoney posted:Is there an open-world RTS game out there somewhere? I was playing Starcraft 2 and Warcraft 3, and I always thought it would be cool to keep the epic base I just built and keep playing with it. I dont think anything like this exists in a pure RTS format. There are a few free-to-play browser games based around city building and management (with a bit of combat of course), one of them is a Stronghold (Stronghold Legends I think it is? I have a terrible memory) browser game, the other has an OP floating around here somewhere, probably deep back in Games, called Dynastica. The Stronghold game is kinda lovely once the free cash shop items wear off, it takes literally days upon days to do anything worthwhile. Couldnt tell you much about Dynastica. I know there are others that arent betas or whatever but hell if I remember the names of them.
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Jan 4, 2011 02:57
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Category Fun! posted:Alpha Centauri was insanely complicated. That's the most "hardcore" one I can think of. AC wasn't that complicated. It suffered the same problem as CIV 3 with Infinite City Spamming being the best tactic. It was simple to get tons of cash with more cities, and really, it was just a reskinned CIV 3. As far as complicated goes, I'd say Paradox games (Europa Universalis) are complicated, but I'm not sure if those count as 4x. Playing those are like playing spreadsheets.
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Jan 4, 2011 03:05
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The Paradox games are insanely complicated but I'm not sure they're really 4X. Unless EU is different, of course, but I've played a lot of HOI 2 and 3, and I wouldn't really put them in the pure 4X genre. I'm a pretty big fan of those games but the learning curve is pretty steep. It's not enough to know how to play, you have to have a pretty good grasp of the game mechanics and basic strategies to even stand a chance. The game doesn't help much by recommending some absolutely ridiculous starting countries for the various campaigns--like Poland in August 1939. Sure, it's fun seeing how much longer you can hold out than the historical Polish military, but it's literally impossible to survive the assault from Germany (and later the USSR). Having just discovered Battlestar Galactica (or rather, finally had the time to watch it) I am now inclined to play a game version. X3: Terran Conflict is pretty similar (humans create a race of machines, fight a war against them, they disappear and later return to kick rear end--hell, Xenon and Cylon even sound similar) and a great game to boot. I've heard the official BSG PC game sucks so I'm probably not going to pick it up. I know a ton of games out there have Galactica mods and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with them, which ones are good, et cetera. A quick look at the Wikipedia suggests there are mods for Freelancer, Homeworld 1/2, Empires at War, Battlefield 1942, Star Trek: Armada II, Star Trek: Bridge Commander, GTA: San Andreas--all of which I own. Since it'd take a while to track down my CDs, install all of these games, and hunt down the mods, I'm wondering if anyone has tried any of these (or others) and which ones you recommend. Note: I AM TOTALLY NOT DOWN FOR SECOND LIFE! tolerabletariff fucked around with this message at 07:58 on Jan 4, 2011 |
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Jan 4, 2011 06:47
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I'd like someone to recommend me a really seriously immersive game. my PC can handle a lot of newer games but not at max graphics. I'm thinking a game that has a really good storyline combined with a sense of atmosphere. To me, Half Life 2 is a good example of that. I like a first person perspective but i'm not picky about it, I used HL2 as an example, but i'm actually in more of a swords and sorcery kind of mood. regardless of that, i'm curious what people would suggest as far as the most "immersive" game.
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Jan 4, 2011 06:54
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Acid_Burn posted:I'd like someone to recommend me a really seriously immersive game. my PC can handle a lot of newer games but not at max graphics. I'm thinking a game that has a really good storyline combined with a sense of atmosphere. To me, Half Life 2 is a good example of that. I like a first person perspective but i'm not picky about it, I used HL2 as an example, but i'm actually in more of a swords and sorcery kind of mood. regardless of that, i'm curious what people would suggest as far as the most "immersive" game. If you don't mind a MMO, Lord of the Rings Online might be right up your alley. The game world is vast and fun to explore, and is astoundingly close to Tolkien's vision—the layout of much of the game world, most notably The Shire, is taken from Tolkien's own maps. I won't pretend it doesn't suffer from the same problems all MMOs do, though.
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Jan 4, 2011 07:50
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Acid_Burn posted:I'd like someone to recommend me a really seriously immersive game. my PC can handle a lot of newer games but not at max graphics. I'm thinking a game that has a really good storyline combined with a sense of atmosphere. To me, Half Life 2 is a good example of that. I like a first person perspective but i'm not picky about it, I used HL2 as an example, but i'm actually in more of a swords and sorcery kind of mood. regardless of that, i'm curious what people would suggest as far as the most "immersive" game. Play Metro 2033 yet?
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Jan 4, 2011 08:18
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Acid_Burn posted:I'd like someone to recommend me a really seriously immersive game. my PC can handle a lot of newer games but not at max graphics. I'm thinking a game that has a really good storyline combined with a sense of atmosphere. To me, Half Life 2 is a good example of that. I like a first person perspective but i'm not picky about it, I used HL2 as an example, but i'm actually in more of a swords and sorcery kind of mood. regardless of that, i'm curious what people would suggest as far as the most "immersive" game. Amnesia: The Dark Descent hands down. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3276396 warning, it may even be a little too immersive 
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Jan 4, 2011 08:29
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Alpha Centurai was great. I don't really think they could have came up with a better way to adopt the civilization game structure into the future, having to basically make up future technologies and sciences.
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Jan 4, 2011 12:16
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Can anyone recommend me a multiplayer RTS in the vein of Age of Empires 2? It needs to have the option of defensive play with tons of walls and towers - I'm having a look at Age of Mythology, but any other suggestions would be great!
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Jan 4, 2011 12:34
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a cow posted:Can anyone recommend me a multiplayer RTS in the vein of Age of Empires 2? It needs to have the option of defensive play with tons of walls and towers - I'm having a look at Age of Mythology, but any other suggestions would be great! Check out Rise of Nations.
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Jan 4, 2011 13:06
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I would love to know about some great co-op RPGs or FPSs with a good storyline. We have lately enjoyed the Baldur's Gate Series, Neverwinter Nights, and System Shock 2.
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Jan 4, 2011 14:08
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Multiplayer co-op and good story don't usually mix, but looks like Borderlands is what you want.
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Jan 4, 2011 14:09
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I would like a recommendation for a strategy game (real time or turn based) which focuses on the economic, management and building/expansion side of things rather than combat (no combat would be pretty good but I can tolerate a little). For reference I am the type of guy who can play Civ IV 20 times on an archipelago setting to avoid coming to contact/going to war with other civs. I tried Tropico lately but it was entirely too easy in that you only had some problems in the very early game and after that you had a pretty much free reign to do as you pleased and it posed no challenge. You would have to consciously cripple your game by making the 'evil' choices to get any problems and even then the money flow you generate in the game could probably take care of that. Furthermore, I would prefer something a bit more complicated, but without it being a straight spreadsheet experience. I don't mind scale (empire or city building or merchant simulation) or age/graphic sophistication (but not something pixelated or spreadsheet like as I said please) as long as it's sufficiently challenging. Thanks for any recommendations.
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Jan 4, 2011 14:38
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lordfrikk posted:Check out Rise of Nations. That looks pretty good, thanks.
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Jan 4, 2011 14:46
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pigdog posted:Multiplayer co-op and good story don't usually mix, but looks like Borderlands is what you want.
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Jan 4, 2011 14:53
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FRAZZLED JOHNSON posted:I love Borderlands but I would never accuse it of having a good story.
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Jan 4, 2011 15:07
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Ymel posted:I would like a recommendation for a strategy game (real time or turn based) which focuses on the economic, management and building/expansion side of things rather than combat (no combat would be pretty good but I can tolerate a little). Might be going for the obvious choice here, but have you tried the Settlers games? Settlers 2 and 3 were both good and combat was practically superfluous, the real meat of the game was trying to get your colonies to be self-sufficient and move resources amongst each other. I think a remake of Settlers 2 was released a short while ago with updated graphics and stuff. I'm pretty sure you can choose to keep playing after wiping out your enemies too and just continue to expand your colonies.
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Jan 4, 2011 15:12
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Puppy posted:Looking for a good JRPG for the PSP that I can play during commutes. Games I've played and liked include pretty much every Final Fantasy game (including Crisis Core), Shadow Hearts: Covenant, Xenogears, Xenosaga III, .hack, and Chrono Trigger. Games that were a miss for me include Digital Devil Saga (cool setting but way too many random encounters), Persona 3 (cool concept but way too much dating sim and jpop), Suikoden III (got bored before the story ever picked up), and Eternal Sonata (another cool concept with weak execution). It isn't exactly what you are looking for, but Valkyria Chronicles 2 is a pretty good game, with combat broken into 10-20 minute sections, and it isn't that hard to get into.
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Jan 4, 2011 15:18
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My dad isn't terribly good at games but whenever he played a game it was usually an FPS. Now he's asked me for something less brain dead than a straight up shooter (and I agree, C&C Renegade was brain dead alright). This is where I need some help. Him being 60+ and not very good at games in general gives me trouble finding a game he could enjoy. Something fairly simple and not too talky, which puts RPGs out the window. So, do you know any dad-games? What does your dad play?
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Jan 4, 2011 19:44
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Daydream posted:My dad isn't terribly good at games but whenever he played a game it was usually an FPS. Now he's asked me for something less brain dead than a straight up shooter (and I agree, C&C Renegade was brain dead alright). This is where I need some help. Him being 60+ and not very good at games in general gives me trouble finding a game he could enjoy. Something fairly simple and not too talky, which puts RPGs out the window. Civilization is the only answer here.
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Jan 4, 2011 19:45
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Daydream posted:My dad isn't terribly good at games but whenever he played a game it was usually an FPS. Now he's asked me for something less brain dead than a straight up shooter (and I agree, C&C Renegade was brain dead alright). This is where I need some help. Him being 60+ and not very good at games in general gives me trouble finding a game he could enjoy. Something fairly simple and not too talky, which puts RPGs out the window. Seconding Civilisation, but I also found that dads often really like simulations. Try setting him up with a racing game or a flight sim or somesuch. Good ones often have a multitude of settings that govern the level of realism, so that your father can scale the complexity up and down to his liking. Perestroika fucked around with this message at 20:29 on Jan 4, 2011 |
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Jan 4, 2011 20:01
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Daydream posted:My dad isn't terribly good at games but whenever he played a game it was usually an FPS. Now he's asked me for something less brain dead than a straight up shooter (and I agree, C&C Renegade was brain dead alright). This is where I need some help. Him being 60+ and not very good at games in general gives me trouble finding a game he could enjoy. Something fairly simple and not too talky, which puts RPGs out the window. If he like FPS's, but he's not good at them perhaps it's because the FPS games he plays require the reflexes of a 15 year old, (or he's playing against a lot of 15 year olds). My suggestion is to try a slower paced FPS, something that rewards brains over reaction time. Something like Red Orchestra (also has a great mod called Darkest Hour). Most of the people who play it are a bit older and mature, and the game relies more on picking your cover and using the environment to your advantage. It also has some vehicles combat if he's into that.
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Jan 4, 2011 20:08
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(PC) Looking for arcadey games where I can jump in and shoot bad dudes for a bit. Examples: - Playing against bots in CS Source - SWAT4 - The "clear the map of terrorists" mode in Rainbow Six Vegas - Unreal Tournament/Q3A Not looking for: Crimsonland clones.
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Jan 4, 2011 22:21
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Guerrand posted:(PC) Looking for arcadey games where I can jump in and shoot bad dudes for a bit. I really like the bot matches in Black Ops. You can either play a local multiplayer game with just you and bots in it if you want access to all the weapons and perks, or you can go into the battle training mode against bots and unlock the weapons and perks as if you were playing online.
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Jan 4, 2011 22:29
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Killing Floor allows you plenty of bad dudes to shoot, with coop multiplayer and solo modes.
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Jan 5, 2011 03:15
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Guerrand posted:(PC) Looking for arcadey games where I can jump in and shoot bad dudes for a bit. Painkiller is a fantastic game to shoot bad dudes in.
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Jan 5, 2011 03:18
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Kilometers Davis posted:Painkiller is a fantastic game to shoot bad dudes in. If you get it, be sure to install the PowerMad mod. http://www.gog.com/en/forum/painkiller_black_edition/important_powermad_cheat_scripts_for_painkiller_black/post1 To quote myself (pimping the mod, I didn't make it): quote:Want to circle-strafe around a cloud of enemies at 8X speed, firing rockets faster than they can come out of your weapon, then resume action to normal, watching the whole crowd of 'em get kicked around by competing explosions, and do this thirty times every level? e: the download link is down, try this one: http://www.mediafire.com/?wa1wx827ie95cdn doctorfrog fucked around with this message at 04:16 on Jan 5, 2011 |
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Jan 5, 2011 03:45
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I'm looking for good lovecraftian mindfuck/horror games with a good,creepy atmosphere and/or plot for the PC. -I have played Amnesia and the Pneumbria series and enjoyed them. -I've beaten STALKER: CoP and enjoyed it and the setting was really cool, but it wasn't really that disturbing or scary; same for Fallout 3. -I played The Void, enjoyed the characters and atmosphere alot, but not the color management gameplay. -I'm a little off put trying Pathologic due to the supposed translation issues as that sounds like it could take me out of the immersion. I don't have any consoles currently, so while I haven't played any Silent Hill or Resident Evil games, I don't think I have the equipment. Any help? edit: oh, ya. Also played Doom 3, which was cool until they ran out of new monsters and made it half-way though Dead Space before losing my save, and never picking it back up. ImPureAwesome fucked around with this message at 16:42 on Jan 7, 2011 |
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Jan 7, 2011 13:54
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ImPureAwesome posted:I'm looking for good lovecraftian mindfuck/horror games with a good,creepy atmosphere and/or plot for the PC. How about Cthulhu dark corners of the earth?
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Jan 7, 2011 19:18
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No, I've heard it was mediocre but I don't really know anything more than that about. Is it worth my time? Is it creepy?
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Jan 7, 2011 19:44
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ImPureAwesome posted:No, I've heard it was mediocre but I don't really know anything more than that about. Is it worth my time? Is it creepy? I thought it was the bee's knees, myself. The first third is absolutely awesome, more of an atmospheric adventure game than an action game. People playing it are pretty let down after that because it kind of settles into an action routine rather than exploring the creepy stuff as well as it could. I would definitely say it's worth your time, especially if you read Shadow over Innsmouth beforehand and spot the details they put in the game.
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Jan 7, 2011 21:28
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Alright cool, that sounds pretty interesting. I guess I'll check it out.
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Jan 7, 2011 21:54
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ImPureAwesome posted:Alright cool, that sounds pretty interesting. I guess I'll check it out. If you're not just absolutely chomping at the bit to play it, or you just don't want to pay the ten bucks it costs on Steam, you may want to wait a bit. It's one of those games that's offered on pretty much all distributions and it goes on sale pretty often.
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Jan 7, 2011 22:00
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I recently completed Machinarium after buying it as a part of the Humble Indie Bundle 2. I've never been a big fan of point-and-click adventures, however this ended up being an instant favorite. What I really loved about it was how the art really drew you into the game and provided its own atmosphere. Is there anything similar? It doesn't necessarily have to be an adventure game, but it would be nice. 
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Jan 7, 2011 22:08
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