Confessions of a GalCiv gamer

Arrrrg!!! I just spent 50 bucks on "Enter the Matrix" for the PC. Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill and spend the money on a Drengin.net membership instead?
Oh well, the box makes a pretty good oven mit.
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Look on the bright side. At least you didn't spend your $50 on Moo3, which is now free after rebates.

Arrrrg!!! Don't remind me that I spent 50 bucks on Moo3. I was so hoping that game was going to be so much better than it was...

Fool. Do you not know that ALL licenced games wind up in the bargain bin in a matter of weeks.

Do you not realize that it is entirely unlikely for a game...with an extended and highly variable development schedule and a movie...with an extended and highly variable development schedule to both be released at approximately the same time?

Do you not realize that the various jerry-rigging rush jobs required to make sure that the game release is timed to the movie release pretty much dooms the game to mediocrity from the beginning...

Ahhh...but NOW you know, and will not make the same mistake. All will be right with the world again.

PS: Safe assumption...the Hulk game will suck too.

Gah! Don't even mention Moo3 and $50 in the same sentence. It's enough to make me start waiting 2 to 3 months after the release of every game, just incase that would happen to me again.

I got some enjoyment out of the game, but definitly not $50 worth.

Here's the really pathetic part... I used in-store credit from when I returned my copy of moo3 to purchase the matrix game.

I am now forcing myself to play through the entire game - twice - as a form of self punishment.

Here's the really pathetic part... I used in-store credit from when I returned my copy of moo3 to purchase the matrix game.



Oh My!!!! You mean you didn't learn your Moo lesson? Sierra made a killing on Ceasar 3 on those who didn't learn their lesson from Ceasar's 1 and 2. Although the irony was, Ceasar 3 wasn't all that bad a game. It actually worked!!!.



Arrrrg!!! Don't remind me that I spent 50 bucks on Moo3. I was so hoping that game was going to be so much better than it was...

I always wait at least 3 or 4 weeks to see the actual play reviews first. I have 50 bux to waste on a good game. I don't have 50 bux to waste on a bad one.

Of course the worst game ever. Pool of Radience 2. Not only did that thing never work, It ripped the guts right out of my neighbor's operating system requiring a complete reformat of the hard drive and a clean install. Now how's that for 50 bux?

I can think of some other torrid games (although unsure if the price tag is relevent or not)

1. Airport Tycoon 2 (one of the few sequels to be worse than its predecessor)
2. Roller Coaster Tycoon 2:Whacky Worlds - $30 for an expansion pack that only gives you new scenery, a few more scenarios and different ride cars...wow
3. Jeff Gordon's XS racing:Clunky controls, 512x384 resolution... ew!
4. Dragons Lair 3D: Anyone who thinks Enter the Matrix's camera controls are bad have not seen this game. Horrific camera, horrific controls
5. Fly 2: Another one of those games that was in many ways, several steps back from its predecessor. The dev team had their hearts in the right place, but the publisher didn't
6. Might and Magic 9: This was supposed to be the game with the new 3d graphics engine, but in many ways had a horrible interface, horrible graphics, numerous bugs

In deference to Pool of Radiance 2, if you manage to get the collector edition, it is worth the price right now. The extras pretty much sell the package. A patch makes the game itself *somewhat* serviceable

I buy 10-15 computer games a year and I am pretty happy if only 2 or 3 turn out to be OK.

But MOO 3 - what were they thinking??????

What was wrong with Caesar II, I played the hell out of that game...though I liked the tweaks they made to Zeus better.

Listen up:

this can all be avioded by a very simple expediture of 30$.

COMPUTER GAMING WORLD

not Computer games mag, or PC Gamer (their reviewers are on crack), etc etc.

I've religiously listened to their reviews (since 1993!) and have never gone wrong (except when i didnt listen to them).

They only play the finished version of a game, off the shelf at a store so you might have to wait up to 2 months after the game comes out, but i think thats better than buying games that are crap.

COMPUTER GAMING WORLD.

http://www.gamers.com/cgw/index.jsp

Have fun,
Don Alejandro

P.S. PC Magazine is a great magazine for PC products, tech etc, BUT DONT LISTEN TO THEIR GAMING REVIEWS

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Gamespot.com is also excellent. I pay $20 per year i think for it. It's a steal, considering all the reviews, previews, interviews, game guides, etc. It's not as good as CGW strategy plus was, but i can't even find that rag any more. Seems like most rags have gone the way of the dinosaur, ie PC Mag. Has anyone read it lately? It's for idiots or IT pros. Oh, another good thing about gamespot, in addition to the main reviewer, you have a bunch of reader reviews. So even if the main reviewer is on crack, its not likely scores of readers will be. FYI

You've just got to go the demo route these days - its the only way to be sure. It takes inhuman patience and nerves of steel to wait for demos, but I don't have the $$ to stuff around. Interestingly, my local video stores are now stocking PC games to hire - even though it's mostly overnight, you can still put a game through its paces on a solid Sat/Sun play session. I must say I don't find any single site/mag to have a definitive quality about their stuff, although The Wargamer and Games Domain I tend to rate higher than most.

You almost have to get to know reviewers, so you can tell who has tastes similar to your own - it's interesting to go back and read reviews of games you already own to establish whether the reviewer has a perspective that matches yours.

What was wrong with Caesar II, I played the hell out of that game...though I liked the tweaks they made to Zeus better.


You must be thinking of Caesar 3, which was a fine game. It's the one more like Zeus.

Caesar 2 suffered failures at level 4. Peeps exited the city in droves even though you had everything fine. Then, upon exiting and reloading, it crashed on level 3, then 2, then 1, and then became unplayable.
___________

Listen up:

this can all be avioded by a very simple expediture of 30$.


Actually it can be avoided free. Wait untill the game gets out for about 3 weeks before even considering a buy.

I'm a full-featured demo man myself. I've just spent too much money on too many games that are insanely buggy or just plain terrible.

I refuse to spend £40 on a game which won't work properly without a patch.

If the games industry want me to hand over the cash they've got to give me a game that works to my satisfaction. Maybe that way they'll learn to release products in a relatively finished state (unlike MOO3)or be upfront and transparent about their patch/update programme (like GalCiv, which I bought legitimately without trying a 'full-featured demo' since I decided they were trustworthy).

"You must be thinking of Caesar 3, which was a fine game. It's the one more like Zeus."

Yeah...I think you're right, it probably was III.

I do agree with the CGW plug though. I get both CG and CGW and CGW reviews I find far more useful. I will say that I was rather disappointed when they cut the review length down to basically capsule size. In the old days each review was a full article...THAT was useful.

I used to love reading the CGW magazine. I used to wait anxiously every month for CGW to come out at the news stands. Then suddenly one month, it was $6 ... then $7 ... then $8 ... then $9 ... (canadian dollars)

I don't know if the rise is price was related to the demo CD that started to appear with the magazine, but I used to wish that you could buy the magazine without the demo CD!
Once it got that high in price, I didn't think it was worth it anymore

.


Subscribe,
they have the no cd version.
Also, there are no-cd ones at the newstand but they for obvious reasons sell out first, and there aer fewer of them.

I like the idea of readers reviews in general but ive found that they are sometimes less reliable than a professional who HAS to play the entire game all the way through and then review it. There have been several games where Act I of III is outstanding. Then George Public writes a review based on Act I, and I come along and read his review and think he is on crack because i just finished Act II which was grim.
All i have to say about reader reveiws is 'Caveat Emptor'

Have Fun,
Don Alejandro de Valencia

P.S. CGW gave GC 4.5 stars out of 5, which is why i went (immediately, since i love 4x) and bought it<
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BFD!
I drove by the gas station this morning and regular gas was $1.29 a gallon. This evening when I filled up the tank it was $1.59 a gallon. DUH... two things:
fill up Tuesday morning
$.30 / gallon x 20 gallons = $6.00 delta from $1.29
Do it right a few times and the cost of the game becomes moot.

Signed,
Subscribe to my own preaching... shut up... enjoy the game.

AA

Computer Gaming World and Computer Games (used to be Computer Games Strategy Plus) are the best magazines out there.

Bruce

I found GalCiv from CGW. I'm a very happy subscriber. Their reviews are normally on par with my tastes. I subscribe with the no-cd version. With a broadband connection I can always download the demos if I want them.

~SDC~

I have been a CGW reader since mid 80s - and find the reviews to be helpful. I agree the price jumped with CD but found demos to be good way to peek at games.

Bought MOO3 but got away with $40 hit at CompUSA - they discounted first week it was out.

I found that if you wait about a year for so-so games they drop in price to $10 to $20. Just picked up Conquest for $3.50, Civ - Call to Power for $5, Starfleet Command Pirates for $20. CGW calls is Dumpster diving. LOL

There is another way to get some ideas of the game. Go to forums. Quite helpful. When main question is 'WTF? How to start playing?' and you don't see answers, wait a month or two. Of course, wait an year and game is cheap but community is most likely dissapeared. Rarely, like with EU2, community lives longer. Where stupid player like me can learn how to beat impossible?

they released the much anticipated patch for moo3...heard it is much better

Too little too late... :notsure: