Gamespot review and #1 game
 

Hello alls.

Don't know if anyone here goes over to gamespot but I saw something quite interesting in regards to Dominions II. 1st of all, Dominions 2 only got a 6.2 out of 10 at gamespot...Grrrr!!!! BUT, even with a D grade IT IS TODAYS #1 RANKED GAME ON GAMESPOTS MOST POPULAR STRATEGY GAME LIST!!!

BWAHAHA....here's the link for those interested.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy.html

Adeptrain

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

Harr-Harr-Harr I knew that sometime the fools will praise a good game and not something like Age of Empires

Dominions 2 is really worth more than #1 It should ascend!

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

You know the big problem? He listed the learning curve as "About 1 hour". That, if nothing else, should discredit his entire article - he's off by a factor of 100, at least... not to imply that you could learn Dominions in 100 hours, but at least you'd get a feel for what's a good idea, and what not to do in that timeframe.

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

Is it #1 because there are no other strategy games on Gamespot?

This is a big part of the reason why The Wargamer has a policy not to give numerical reviews, but rather to explain what seems good and bad about a game. Dominions is a 10 at what it does best, and thus a 10 for players who appreciate it. It might be a 6 for players who'd rather be shooting 3D Pokemon, but that's really irrelevant.

PvK

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

Not at all - they list the the top 10. The Sims 2 is #2.

Anyone wanna venture which game had the bigger production budget? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">In other words, it's the number of clicks it recevied in the past day.

[ January 23, 2004, 19:51: Message edited by: HJ ]

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I suppose it depends if he means the learning curve of just learning how to play, or if it means of learning how to play well.

As in, just learning the basics of navigating the interface, what the commands do, etc vs knowing not just all the commands, but understanding exactly how they all work and interact and learning what is and isn't a good "move" or strategy.

An hour is probably still a little optimistic even for the former, but based on my own experience not by that much. Without any manuals, guides or forums I was able to do the basics of the first game (summon/recruit units, move them around, research and cast spells, create items, spread dominion, conquer territory, etc) within maybe 1.5 to 2 hours. Although the first 20-30 minutes were an absolute brick wall - I was clicking end turn just cos it was the only thing I understood http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">In other words, it's the number of clicks it recevied in the past day. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">More deep and useful information from the pop media...

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">That was actually a fairly fair review (in general, even if I dont agree with his "tilt"). It seems that the "howevers" outweighted it for him (although certainly not for us!). If he found a different interface / AI, I bet he would have given it a 9.

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">That was actually a fairly fair review (in general, even if I dont agree with his "tilt").</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">"Tilt" is a reflection of how much the reviewer enjoyed the game, so it's the one rating aspect that really can't be disagreed with - the low score reflects the fact that the reviewer didn't enjoy the game all that much. Others (like me) enjoy the game a whole heck of a lot, but that doesn't invalidate the reviewer's experience.

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">In other words, it's the number of clicks it recevied in the past day. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">More deep and useful information from the pop media... </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I don't think it's supposed to be profound - it is an interesting statistic, though, as far as I'm concerned. For one thing, it shows that the number of Dominions fans reading the review is large enough to make it the most-visited strategy game article on the site for a day or two. That's good news for the game!

[ January 24, 2004, 17:29: Message edited by: ceremony ]

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

Wisdom originally spoken by Saber Cherry: <font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">LOL! LMAO! So, so true.... I hope to excel at this game before I grow old and die... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The "learning curve" refers solely to the interface, and learning how to use it, as well as basic mechanics such as how fortresses use resources, etc. It does not refer in any way to learning advanced strategies.

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Well, maybe so, but... 1 hour? Teaching my friend to play Dominions II took me a couple weeks... after which, he asked, "How do you keep troops from starving if you need to take a low-resource province?" hmmm. I mean, it was hard not to laugh, but regardless, Dominions II play mechanics are not learnable in an hour. Chess is, Dominions II is not. And I'm not talking about strategy, just play mechanics, like "What is this 'search for magic sites' command, why would I want to use it, and when is it effective? Should I do it in my capitol? And raise taxes to 200% also? What do blood slaves do - should I gather some?" And so forth.

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

I generally will discount Gamespot on reviews about turn based games. Depending on the reviewer, the reviews are not consistent on what makes a good turn based game. Too much emphasis on "dated graphics" or "micromanagement". For turn based games, that's relatively common, even among the greatest ones.

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

I found out about Dominions 2 on Gamespot and, after playing the demo for 20 hours and loving it, still agree that the review was reasonable.

Why? Because to the vast majority of people, graphics, slick user interfaces, and a lack of complexity will be their preference.

Any diehard TBS gamer who reads that review and hears about the free demo will give it a look and love it.

The typical GS user who loves to ROXXOR UR SOXORS in counterstrike would hate this game and they make up GS's primary readership.

What they said about the graphics and interface are true: they are far below even something like Disciples II.

On the other hand, what they said about micromanagement being too much was totally off-base. ALL TBS games have a ton of micromanagement. They all are, at heart, management games.

All that being said, what shines about Dominions, and what makes it one of the best TBS games in history, is hard to quantify. The thought and care put into the game and the flexibity and depth that come into playing it are simply amazing.

The guy did say that more games should have the depth of Dominions II, and in that regard, he is certainly correct http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[ January 26, 2004, 01:31: Message edited by: diamondspider ]

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">IMHO, Disciples II had by far the best graphic of all fantasy TBS games, so it's not a fair comparison.

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Is there a high-level ritual spell we can research to enlighten all those people, or make them go away? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Quote:

On the other hand, what they said about micromanagement being too much was totally off-base. ALL TBS games have a ton of micromanagement. They all are, at heart, management games. All that being said, what shines about Dominions, and what makes it one of the best TBS games in history, is hard to quantify. The thought and care put into the game and the flexibity and depth that come into playing it are simply amazing. The guy did say that more games should have the depth of Dominions II, and in that regard, he is certainly correct http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yep yep yep!

PvK

Re: Gamespot review and #1 game
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I'd say that Medieval: Total War is the best TBS in terms of graphics and interface.

I chose Disciples II as a comparison since it seems to more closely match the interface design and graphic goals of D2 and also has that "niche" feel that Total War managed to overcome with polish and high budget graphics. It also has a real time mode and this takes it slightly out of the pure TBS Category.

We have to face the fact that the typical user would still find D2 to be a bit of a nightmare as far as interface also. It is perfectly adequate if one is willing to put the time into learning how to use it, but it is far from easy.

What sets D2 apart from other TBSs is depth, flexibility, and a philosophical sensitivity and subtle treatment of the fantasy genre that will be lost on the average gamer.

In short, while the game design is AAA, the computer implementation is still in the B realm.

[ January 26, 2004, 10:34: Message edited by: diamondspider ]