Dominions II - Low Budget and Overpriced? I think not.

[Unwise]

Just a data point:

I think I am typical of the new crop of Dom2 players. Having never heard of Dominions or Shrapnel games, I read the glowing review in CGW this month... and still wouldn't have bought it, not with Civ3: Conquests still warm in my hard drive. I read the cool three-page battle report in the back of that same magazine and that convinced me to download the demo.

I played the hell out of the demo for a couple days and decided that I would buy the game. Sure, the graphics and sound were terrible, but the game-play more than makes up for it, I figured. So after searching the major on-line retailers to no avail, I finally went to Shrapnel's site and followed the link to the purchase page. Then I nearly choked.

$50 for game with nowhere near the production values as its contemporaries? Ok, it's got top-notch game-play that will no doubt keep me entertained for hours, but so does Civ3 ($40), BF1942 ($30 for the basic game) or KOTOR ($50). Forget it, I said, and shut off the browser in disgust. If I were still young and poor, I probably would have tried to find a "warez" Version somewhere, but I'm too old and rich for that nowadays - it's not as if I couldn't afford the game, it was the principle of the purchase.

I dithered over the decision for a few more days - effectively exhausting the demo - and eventually sucked it up and bought the game. My gaming buddies are still in the "that's CANADIAN dollars, right?" sticker-shock phase. If the game were priced at $40, it'd be a no-brainer for them, but there is something about paying half a C-note that gives people pause.

Anyway, one man's opinion. I paid for it, so how smart can I be?