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Drudge said:
I do love turn based strategy games. I have quite a few. So a few questions on this one. Can this be played enjoyably in single player?
Also, this is more or less a very general question. The graphics seem to be very outdated to say the least. I do understand as every strategy gamer knows, or should know, it's the gameplay that makes or breaks a game. So what is so special about this one as compared to some of the other fantasy TBS games out there with far better graphics?
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I will be talking about Dom2 (because I haven't seen Dom3 yet). Single player is pretty good, even though many discussions may give different impression. The key here is that Ai doesn't give justice to the depth of this game. In MP the richness of strategies and tactics is just unbelievable which makes Dom2 as MP stand in a class of its own. Unfortunately, in single player, AI plays pretty straightforward game, that is relatively easy to counter, so the player doesn't need to explore various strategies which he would need in MP. Besides, in SP a lot of options related to countering various strategies remain dormant just because AI doesn't use them. All this makes Dom2 SP more similar to other strategy games (perhaps at the same level with better strategy games). Average person may spend few months learning to play vs AI. But unlike most SP games Dom2 SPdoesn't necessary have to go from one's hard drive. While being a strategy game, Dom2 has unusually strong RPG flavour. Instead of beating AI efficiently one may start trying various nations using "role-playing" strategies thus discovering new parts of the game and new tactics even though they're suboptimal vs AI.
I wouldn't say that Dom2 graphics is worse than in your average strategy game. "Outdated" is probably better term. If you consider graphics as consisting of two elements: art and computer rendering, Dom2 is pretty good in first and "outdated" in second. When you look at massive battles, those low-pixel/low-polygon-count units, unimpressive when looked one by one, when seen in huge numbers do create epic feelings. Other art elements (writing, sound, music) all fit together to create rather unique impression. So generally, aside from the gameplay depth, the game has very high artistic value, making it enjoyable experiencing Dominions world.