I Was Ripped OFF!
 

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif The Damn DEMO has a turn limit! Well Crap!!!

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Yes, it is designed to get you hooked so you can find out what is behind the next door. A scam!! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif Heheh!
Buy the game, you wont regret it -- that is, unless you actually like having a life away from your computer screen http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not only does it have a turn limit of 40, but it also has a magic cap of L4. And there are several game-start features (such as mods) that are not enabled in the demo as well.

Buy the game. It's worth it.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Atrocites>>>Must buy cool game!
MUST BUY COOL GAME!
MUST BUY COOL GAME!!
MUST BUY COOL GAME!!!

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Originally posted by Atrocities:
" http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif The Damn DEMO has a turn limit! Well Crap!!!"

Yeah it is worse than that not only do they rip you off with the demo but it is so addictive you have to go buy the fullgame. Like free cocaine

Pickles
edited for typoes

[ August 02, 2004, 13:23: Message edited by: Pickles ]

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Gotta agree.

Once I got into the demo I couldnt not buy the game. Still see other real people every now and again too

hehe

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

The Dominions 1 was done very differently. It let you finish a game, even multiplayer, using all the nations. But it "greyed out" some of the units for each nation.

But Im not sure how the Dom2 demo can be called a rip-off http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
After all, it was a free download. Didnt it mention that it limited turns, research, and which nations you could play?

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Can you show me to the local pusher? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Besides Shrapnel.com? There's also Gogamer.com, who has it for $39.90 at this link.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

heh atrocities, you finally managed to get the demo of dom 2 ? Gotta love it huh ? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Welcome to the dark side, buddy. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

I'm looking forward to your mods.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Now we need to get David G hooked so we can get his images instead of just modding the old ones.
MUHAHAHahhahahaha!
http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/1004.gif

[ August 02, 2004, 20:06: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

You download demos? I never bother with demos: They're never a compelling example of why I should buy the game. I mean, sure, you can look at it, and like what you see in the demo....but if that's what I like, why do I need to buy the game? That's clearly not what I'm purchasing the game for. It's like going to an automobile showroom, and being told you can only test-drive the "demo car", which is like the actual car, only missing all of the features that you actually want to buy the thing for, such as brakes and a steering wheel. Or tires, for that matter, since the demo car is jacked up on concrete blocks in the display lot.

[ August 02, 2004, 20:27: Message edited by: Norfleet ]

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">There he goes again. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif
Demos don't miss ALL features you are buying game for - they only miss SOME features you buy game for. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

I rarely play a game I dont demo first. Most demos dont leave off anything important to knowing if the game is any good. Or to use Norfleets example: what do I care if the car they let me drive isnt the same color and doesnt have the CD changer that I plan to get in mine? Thats not what I need to make my decision. (I definately wouldnt do business with the shady guy on the streetcorner over such a minor point.) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

[ August 02, 2004, 21:52: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">sometimes a demo though can be as a preview to a film . they just show you the best parts and when you buy the game you recognize that it is not much more than the demo .
there are often made special demo levels etc.
so you think you may play 1 level in the demo and the full Version has 50 levels .
then you recognize that the demo level was made with more love than the 50 of the full Version .

fortunately dom 2 works the other way round http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
you just get enough impression to get addicted to buy the game http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Dom2's demo is missing a lot more than that, though. As you, or maybe somebody else, mentioned, Dom2's demo doesn't give you anything over level 4 research. Since, well, nearly everything USEFUL is above that, this is much closer in form to the demo car which is missing its steering wheel, brakes, and wheels, and is simply jacked up on blocks in the lot so you can see how the seat feels when you sit on it, since you can't actually drive it.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Norfleet, repeating your (flawed) analogy in two consecutive Posts won't make us believe it more. As for the Dom 2 demo's L4 magic limit's effects, when you bear in mind that the demo only has two small maps and a 40 turn limit, it's not that big a deal. Besides, you've missed the whole point of what Boron and Gandalf have said, which is (more or less) that the demo is meant to give you a taste of the game. It's not intended to be a meal. Sort of like the food samples you get in supermarkets. A nibble so that you can decide if you like the item, but only enough to whet your appetite/desire. If you like what you taste, you buy the product. If not, you spit it out and go on your way without having spent any money. I have bought many games (including Dom 2) after playing their demos, that I would not have bought without having tried the demo. And many games have I bought without a demo much to my regret. Demos are a GOOD thing. You're just grouching for the sheer fun of being ornery. Who're you trying to fool?

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">i think the 40 turn limit of the demo was evil .
spells limited to lvl 4 + only 7 playable races was limitation enough imho.

i was really angry about the 40 turn limit .
i had to wait 1 week until i finally got dominions 2 after i tried the demo and ordered dominions 2 .
so i had to wait a full week for dominions 2 knowing that the demo is only until turn 40 .

that was almost like hell http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/blush.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

the dominions 1 demo was much better for that http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
in my pain i played that the 1 week until dominions 2 arrived .

[ August 02, 2004, 22:44: Message edited by: Boron ]

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

What's FUNNY...

the title of the topic is about being Ripped Off yet the author never bought anything. LOL

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I'm not arguing about the 40 turn limit, but you'll run smack into an L4 limit in all of 7 turns. When it takes you that long to hit a wall, it's not a very convincing example of the game. This is like trying to start your demo car, only to notice that, well, there aren't any wheels.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Food samples happen to be a sample of the actual product. A sample of a pizza, for instance, consists of an actual chunk of the pizza. It doesn't consist of being permitted to nibble only upon a meatball.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">And how many times have you decided to buy a game, only to realize that everything was more or less already in the demo, and the actual product had no meat to it? Demos are not necessarily a good thing: The time the developers spent on crippling the demo could have been spent more productively.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Crippling the demo wasn't a mammoth task, and it is not a given that JK would have spent that time in any way you would have considered productive. The most likely effect would have been a slightly earlier release date, or JK watching more TV, it is not like there was a budget that could run out or anything.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">From the point of view of players who already own the game, yes. From the point of view of those who aren't already fans, not so. And then there's the point of view of the publishers, who need to maximize sales. A demo is a really good marketing tool, and thus a worthwhile investment of resources.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">From the point of view of players who already own the game, yes. From the point of view of those who aren't already fans, not so. And then there's the point of view of the publishers, who need to maximize sales. A demo is a really good marketing tool, and thus a worthwhile investment of resources. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">yeah there the approach in dominions 1 demo was better .
it was like a demo should be http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

the dominions 2 demo there the turn limit is evil http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif it doesn't let you win hehe .
was a bit too much restriction and even a bit counterproductive i think .

so for dominions 3 a mix is best i think :
only like in dominion 2 demo some playable races but they may recruit everything .
but a cap at research .
no turn limit .

so you see about 1/3 - 1/4 of the game and can really evaluate how cool it is .

in the dominions 2 demo unfortunately you couldn't evaluate much because the 40 turn limit there was frustrating http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif . almost impossible to win in 40 turns on karan or desert eye .

this may even lead to defiance in some cases , e.g.:
the game seems really good but because the designers don't let me finish the demo i don't feed them with my money .

i think without 40 turn limit demo dominions 2 would have probably even sold better http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

I think we have far less chance of getting the demo's 40-turn limit altered than we do getting the annoying 50-turn auto-rout limit in the regular game "fixed" ... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon9.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Well I am definately going to buy the game guys. I played it Last night and conqured a few regions around me and found that although there are a lot of things I would like to see added, the over all fun factor was very high.

A few questions though. I know that they have all been answered before, but I am, again, far to lazy to look.

Q 1. How do you build fortresses and temples in other regions?

Q 2. If your Pretender God is killed, how do you get another one?

Q 3. How do you improve production in other regions that have very low production?

I often find my self right clicking on the region trying to gain access to the build que or something. An old habit to be sure.

I have more question, mostly relating to how to research things, and how to get RP's and such.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks guys.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">with the dominion 2 demo it doesn't matter any more most fans already own it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

but for dominions 3 it would be a shame if 10-20% less copies would be sold only because of an unfortunate demo restriction by a too short / too frustrating turn limit .

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Any commander may build a fort. Any priest(holy or unholy) may build a temple. Any researcher(mage/philosopher) can build a lab. Simply send the commander to said province, and instruct him to "Build X".

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Priests may "Call God" when your pretender is dead. After 40 priest-rank-turns, your God respawns in the capitol, minus 1 to all of his magical paths, if any. He may also heal some afflictions.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Construct a castle. This doubles the resources available in the province, allows you to produce your national troops, and harvests a percentage of resources equal to the (twice)admin-percent of the castle from all neighboring provinces you own that do not have their own castle. I say twice the admin percent, because resources in a province with no castle are halved, but the admin collection works on the unpenalized amount, so you will harvest twice the admin percentage of the listed resources.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Snap out of it.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Mages produce research when parked in front of a lab and given the order to Research. The amount of research they produce depends on their magical strength, a special bonus or penalty(sages/philosophers/witchdoctors), and your magic scale. Each magic scale adds +1 RP per researcher. Experienced researchers also gain a small research bonus.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">In Soviet Russia, you don't play the game. The game plays you!

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">He sacrificed TV just for that? Not that I like TV or anything, but it does seem a more worthwhile use of time.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Why do you assume that the turn limit has cost dom 2 sold copies? There is little or no evidence that the game has sold less copies due to the 40 turn demo limit. There was however some evidence that a few players was so well saisfied with playing with the demo of dom 1 that they thought it enough for their dominion needs and therefore never bothered to get the full game.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Heh.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Thanks Norfleet http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

I have to agree with Johan. I was a new player who had no idea how the game works or what is good to doo and what is not.

I never hit the L4 barrier, neither did my friend I tried it with. We did hit the 40 turns limit several times, HARD. It left us screaming for more, much more. But then again that is why there is a demo. If you want more buy the damn game.

If the demo had been any longer, we would have propably just played it, since the game itself is quite expensive with shipping and all...

So to summarize my opinion. The demo of Dom2 was perfect for hooking new players. Who cares what the old players think of it? They have hooks in them from playing Dom1 anyway.

Let's hope there's a Dom3 coming at some point, so I , as an old player, may ignore the demo and buy the game and hope that the demo lures some new newbies in to get thrashed by me. Ah, can't wait... fresh meat...somebody that actually might even loose to me...

By the way, I do demand that Kalevala is included into Dom3. I know it's an evil Swedish plot to humiliate their dear neighbour, but I must protest to the absence of it.

It would be fun to use some song magic and earth magic to summon an Iron pike (Rautahauki, Järn gädda) or cast a "field of asps" onto somebodys province. It could even have sub-themes like Pohjan akka (Hag of Pohjola) or the Bear cult.

Black swans of death, hiisis, asp arrows, lots of different forrest spirits, magic based on singing and chanting, reindeer riders, even moose riders, the great forge of Ilmarinen, Sampo, shamanism...

Oops, I'm ranting...

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

[quote]Originally posted by Norfleet:
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Originally posted by Atrocities:

Quote:

[qb]Q 2. If your Pretender God is killed, how do you get another one?

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Priests may "Call God" when your pretender is dead. After 40 priest-rank-turns, your God respawns in the capitol, minus 1 to all of his magical paths, if any. He may also heal some afflictions.
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Just to clarify :

20 low powered priests (lvl 2 holy skill) calling their god back gets him in 1 turn (20 x 2 x 1 turn). 10 average priests (lvl 3 holy) would get him back in 2 turns (3 x 10 x 1 turn).

If you have a mixture of priests, it can be worth while to track how many 'priest-rank-turns' you accumulate, so you can return some to more productive tasks if you'd go over 40. (Holy priest mages researching/forging, inquisitors preaching, etc)

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

I love this game, and I enjoyed the demo too.

I remember being so frustrated that I couldn't cast spells above level 4, that I looked through all of the nations and themes to see if any had starting spells that were above level 4. I stumbled upon Jotunheim/Niefelheim and their Illwinter spell, so I ran a game with them and hunted some slaves and was finally ready to cast it. And what happened ? The game crashed and the "något gick fel"-text appeared (I guess because I was violating the level 4 limit). Well I'm Danish, so reading this made me laugh my *** off and wanting the game even more http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Why do you assume that the turn limit has cost dom 2 sold copies? There is little or no evidence that the game has sold less copies due to the 40 turn demo limit. There was however some evidence that a few players was so well saisfied with playing with the demo of dom 1 that they thought it enough for their dominion needs and therefore never bothered to get the full game. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">but in the dominions 2 demo you already could only chose 7 nations and the lvl 4 research limit was still in it http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
so i think the 40 turn limit was unneccesary because even without that you only saw about 25% of the game so you still want to buy it but have a bit better overview http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

the dominions 1 demo was like 50% of the game that was of course too much


a question : i myself "only" own dominions 2 because i heard the first time from dominions 3 months ago . i played the dominions 1 demo while i waited for my dominions 2 copy arriving http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif
because dominions 2 is perfect i see no need to buy dominions 1 too .
if i knew from dominions before dominions 2 came out i would have bought this too http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

so my idea : because i would still love to play dominions or your former game conquest of elysium once (if only for a short time because dominions 2 is simply even better) .
but still paying 20-30$ for conquest of elysium or dominions 1 i don't see any reason to because i know from the demo that dominions 2 is even better http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif .

so when you offer dominions 3 could you perhaps include an original copy of dominions 1 + conquest of elysium as bonus ?
i think when dominion 3 comes out no one still buys them but it would be a nice bonus because i could test them and others could wallow in nostalgy and get a new replacement for their old scratched cds of conquest of elysium + dominions 1 http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

this should make no or almost no extra costs but would be nice i think http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Of course, you have the power to pay them back. Kalevala-mod! Make it replace Vanheim to add an insult to injury, no more norses around. ;p

But were someone make such a mod, I'd think Vanheim would be a proper nation to be replaced as they share many traits in common - a bit of a cold preference, mythology originated near same geographical area, both at odds with same kind of people; Jotuns / people of the north. (for some reason I've identified Jots with the northern people of Kalevala: well, they're more north, bad guys and that Hag is somewhere in between norna and gygja, although a lot beefier)

I was entertaining a thought of making something a bit... similar just for a pastime a while ago, but it seems I won't have time/energy to start any mods as I feel there's so much to learn of the original nations still.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The essential advantage of the turn limit is that it removes functionality, not just limit the features. At first when the dom 2 demo was released a few players complained that there were more than enough features and that some time spent on making these features should have been spent in other ways instead, improving graphics and whatnot. These players might well be satisfied with a demo that is just feature curtailed and that does not have a turn limit, so in order to encourage these players to buy the game the demo was slapped with a turn limit. Shrapnels staff also suggested this, and they have prior experience in this area. 40 turns is plenty time to grasp enough of the game to conclude if you will like it or not. A less restrictive demo might lead to less frustration amongst demo players but I doubt it would impact sales in a positive way.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">What?! You're really in it for the money? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

I wouldn't have bought Dominions I if the demo was as restrictive as the DomII demo - I loved the fact that I was able to complete games, and the fact that me with my full Version could netplay against demo-using friends of mine. This was great.

I finally bought it because I wanted to see all facets. And because it was cheap, and very very enjoyable. I only preordered DomII because of being (still) in love with DomI, and I'll preorder DomIII for the same reason. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Quite honestly, a turn limit demo would just make me upset, upset enough not to buy the game (and perhaps obtain it in um... other ways).
Though I didn't check the demo before getting Dom2 =P
You have to remember that its a pirate world out there and there's nothing you can do about it besides being nice to the paying customers (or having really cool MP option with really sucky SP options and an Online CD-Key check for MP).

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

I find the title of this whole topic kind of odd. How can a person be ripped off for paying exactly nothing for the demo?

The one sole purpose of a demo is to get a person to plunk down money for the full game because it is proven as a good product. If a turn and magic limit help to achieve that goal for the developer, then the demo was successful. Heck, had they asked me, I would have said a level 2 magic limit would be even better as there are a lot of really cool level 3 and 4 spells out there that people would be dying to try out.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">The demo is intended for people who aren't integrity-challenged and honesty-impaired. The sort of people who do not consider "other ways" to acquire merchandise that is normally sold, and who feel an obligation to reimburse merchants for what they receive. There is no point whatsoever to catering to folks on the Kazaa network, since such folks won't pay for games (or anything) even if the selling price was $5.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Originally posted by The Panther:
"I find the title of this whole topic kind of odd. How can a person be ripped off for paying exactly nothing for the demo?"

Ironically?

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Yes, and I eat buttered babies that I cover in fudge.

No one is getting fat of dominions, if you don't believe me you can look on the shots from origins. Neither JK nor Kristoffer is making anywhere near a regular salary of their dominions work. So if they were only in it for the money they would spend their time elsewhere. That said illwinter is not the Mahatma Gandhi of the game industry, illwinter does not eschew money, if illwinter made buckets of money everyone here would be delighted, but both JK and Kristoffer are for the most part more interested in doing what they feel like when they feel like it than making money.

There seem to be an odd sense of entitlement underlying some of the Posts here. The demo is free. It is intended as a teaser and as an example of what you'll get if you buy the game. The demo as it stands does just that. I don't get why a limit on the demo pisses anyone off. Releasing the demo is a market device. It is the equivalent of a movie trailer, and much like the movie trailer it is incomplete and intended to be so. Complaing about it's limit like you have somehow been tricked or robbed by it is absurd and infantile.


Karacan: are you named Björn Lösing (I don't recall the exact spelling) by any chance? Also you can still netplay with your friends, only you have to finish or upgrade in 40 turns.

EDIT: I just wanted to point out that I did not mean to imply atrocities in this post since I assumed his cry of despair was good natured and joking.

[ August 04, 2004, 00:24: Message edited by: johan osterman ]

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

demo limits and copy protection have very little to do with piracy. Its not really worth considering pirates in any decision. Nothing will change their numbers either direction, and their numbers arent higher than the number of people who will refuse to cross that line.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">That is so true. I would totally refuse to load a game for free through piracy no matter the circumstances. The people who make these fine games deserve pay for their work.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

Ya, I am sure Attrocities was joking with the title.

The Dominions I demo was great from a player perspective, since you could play (and lose) entire games with it. I intended to buy it after having so much fun losing my first game (as Man), but I put it off, well into my second game (as Ulm), mainly because the web ordering process seemed like a hassle. What spurred me into buying Dominions I was actually wanting not the higher-level spells (quasi-sacriligious as Ulm, anyway http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif ), but to get the Black Plate Infantry of Ulm units and the Guardians! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif No question this game was worth the money, and I was sold for Dominions II without needing to see the demo. The 40-turn limit seems like a wise move, though - I would think that more players would tend to hit that limit and want to buy the game, compared to an unlimited demo, where they might decide to do without.

PvK

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Not every game is fine. It is actually very hard to discern whether a game is good or not before you have actually played the original.

Why?
1) There are certain game magazines which(not to say most) sell their honesty for exclusive demos or a bag of money

2) Demo games, as already said below, have a tendency to hold more content than the rest of the game. Those of you who remember Quake 1 will surely agree that the first episode you got for free had more content then the other ones afterward. It even had it's own boss, while the other episodes except the Last one had none. I was very disappointed after I bought the game. Same thing with diablo 1 and the butcher / undead king (can't remember the name). 2 unique bosses in the demo levels, no more after that till you meet diablo.

[ August 04, 2004, 01:28: Message edited by: PrinzMegaherz ]

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Well, that is why I Subscribe to CGW and no other pretender. I have never seen an instance of a review being slanted in CGW in over 5 years. Oh, reviewers are slanted, but I am pretty good with knowing this and taking it into account. I suppose this comes from about 10 years of uninterrupted subscription of CGW.

I trust Bruce Geryk as the main man for strategy reviews at CGW. If he says a game is good, then it is. Of course, he and I have the same taste in games, as I well know from long experience. But still...

In fact, when Bruce said all strategy gamers needed to go and buy Dom 2 at once, I obeyed his orders immediately. Good thing too.

I have made the mistake of buying games on a whim that sounded good (so and so gave it five stars!!!) only to find it a lousy game and then CGW subsequently gave it 2 stars or less in a review. I have truly learned my lesson on this.

Re: I Was Ripped OFF!
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Tom Chick would probably dispute that. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/tongue.gif