What games are you playing now?

Typing of The Dead is coming to Gametap Oct 11th, Sammy! Can't remember if you said you already had it or not.

xSamhainx said:

woah, JDR, have you seen World in Conflict

I need to get that demo tonight. Check out the video review, it looks pretty sweet

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Mmmmm, I might have to check that one out if I have time.


Haven't had much time for gaming lately.

magerette said:

Typing of The Dead is coming to Gametap Oct 11th, Sammy! Can't remember if you said you already had it or not.

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Yeah, I technically have it, but it's a crappy pieced-together downloaded version with like no sound and lots of crashes! Thx for the heads-up, mags ='.'=

Just installed the WiC demo tonight JDR, gonna try it out if I can get off all these forums!

I started playing Battlefield 2142. Quite a nice FPS, since it's nice to advance in 'rank' and be able to choose if you want to specialize in one field or or be an all-around soldier and stuff like that, it's also nice to get rewarded not only for killing people but also for support, medics (healing), defending points, commander...
It's a lot more strategic than older FPSs like CS and it adds a nice new layer to the game. I'd recommend it to all FPS fans and people who play FPSs casually.
Very nicely made and the new game mode is quite interesting too even if its some kind of CTF with destroying a spaceship at the same time, it's still good.

been playing the World in Conflict demo. You know, stuff sure blows up real good.
That's about the sum of it. Remember Ground Control? Not a very good game, but man was it pretty. To me, i see kinda an updated Ground Control. Maybe it's deeper than that I guess, I just played the demo.

What I see is this: There's areas you must clear of enemies and occupy. It's almost like an action rpg in the acquiring of foes, I know that sounds weird. Youve got enemies sitting there waiting for you. You move up with your troops and pull them, if they dont move, you move in and wipe them out. Occupy the space, now move on to the next space. This is clearly a multiplayer-centric game, I was bored with the singleplayer just in the time I played the demo.

It's just too impersonal for me. I need to have a stake in the lives of my army, the creation of it, to get by with what I have by the skin of my teeth at times. To hope I'll have enough to win. This is just calling for endless reinforcements. Everything is too small, it's like I'm commanding a bunch of ants, yet you need to be out that far to effectively command. You cant appreciate the graphics way out like that, they might as well suck. I couldnt tell which units were which, i got ants with rocket launchers or rifles!

Stuff blows up real nice, but as for the rest of the game I think I'll pass. This is a strat game for the kids. I want my base back. Just call me a cranky old RTS stick in the mud!

You cranky old RTS stick in the mud!

I'm still playing MII Total War: Kingdoms. Woo hoo is it fun! I'm still on the Teutonic campaign, playing as Novgorod. Things are just starting to get thick, and I'm nearing the time to awaken my "sleeping giant" kingdom and start kicking some Teutonic butt!

i am also still playing only kingdoms as well after a month. it is awesome and immense. my first campaign i finished (tried to play the apaches but it was to different from my gamestyle to start off after a long total war absence) was the welsh in the excellent brittania campaign. i really liked the smallest and quickness of that one. even though i played a short campaign it was still by far the quickest tw campaign i've ever played despite my slow and steady building style. its cool how they had culture instead of religion, and in order to build your factions good troops you had to have a high enough culture in the territory. in reverese though you could train some of the other factions lower grade troops instead when you first took over their settlements. the permanent forts were nice as well but i hardly used them. the welsh had some really nice units that were perfect to my style. powerful ranged and devestating light-med armoured melee troops. i actually finished the campaign by turn 30 or so, way sooner than normal for me. the music was stunning much like the other campaigns and tons of the themes over this one and others for me reminded me alot of the gothic series music.

the teutonic campaign took a very long time and not only because i played the long campaign, i actually played it 'til i had taken all the territories. also i loved playing as the pagan lithiuanans and even refused to convert to christianity when given the chance. it limits you to only small citys and the equivalent castles. it was hard but worth while, and considering i was constantly being betrayed it made the diplomacy and allied battles almost non-existent. the strangest part of the campaign was early on i decided to do something i have never done in and tw game before and train zero spies or assasins aproaching paganism from a chivilarous standpoint which made the christian, and other religions demise that much more insulting.

last weekend i started up the americas campaign, but decided to give spain a go instead of a native faction. this campaign probably offers the most unique gameplay in my opinion. you are very limited in the level of city (castle aren't available) and also in what units and buildings you can build. you gain rank though as you do what conquers do best, but it adds a nice element in addition to the french and english showing up later with their own expeditions.


by the way thanks xSamhainx for the review of the demo. i pretty much feel the same way about the prior ground control games, they were kind of fun but ultimately neither of the demos had the "magic" that draws me to some rts and not others.

Wow, C und, you are more dedicated, or else way better than me. I'm not even close to finishing the Teutonic campaign yet. I too, started as the Lituanians, but was losing ground so fast that I switched to Novgorod, who fit my playing style a bit better.

I also started the Brittania campaign as the Irish, but for some reason it just didn't hold my interest. I generally lean more toward heavy Calvary units, so maybe that was the problem. I agree it has the best music though.

I'm also part of the time playing the Americas campaign as the Apaches - totally different from what I'm used to. I guess it's so different, that's what is keeping my interest!

You guys are making MII:TW Kingdoms sound very attractive. I see yet another demo icon in my future obscuring the Witcher wallpaper on my desktop.

I've been temporarily lured away from VTM:Redemption by Depths of Peril--in my selfless efforts to support the little guy and all I bought the game and now it's got me hooked. Insidiously addictive little game.

i too lost some ground to the teutonics early on (i eventually had some key battles that led to them being the first faction to fade away) but i quickly figured out the "good" units to use which were very cheap to train and upkeep but highly effective. i basically relied on about 3 specific units in most of the campaign. i enjoyed a nice campaign with russia/novgorod in the original mtw2 and they don't seem to have changed much but they are a lovely and "good looking" faction to play. i like ranged mounted units and they have some great ones.

i can't recall if i played the irish in viking invasion for the original mtw but they seem to have the weakest and lowest number of units. if you could play as them it would be a testement to skill for sure.

the chimerac (sp?) tribes in the americas campaign will probably who i play if and when i someday play another americas campaign. they are more tribal units like the apaches, but they worship the sun god like the other middle americans and can build cities as well. in addition they can also gain access to horses and gunpoweder like only the apaches can after winning some battles versus the "explorers". they however aren't playable until after you complete at least one campaign. although i'm sure there's a mod for unlocking them straightaway.

magerette-you might enjoy some of the total war games and kingdoms is one of the finest. however the demos for all of the games in the past have been solely battles and don't allow you to do the best part of the game (to me at least and where i spend 75% of the time) which is the turn based empire building portion of the game. in fact you never even have to fight a battle if you don't want, however autoresolving usually gives much worse results, especially on higher difficulties. i never play the highest difficulties for that reason as the campaigns would take to long for me if i was forced to fight every battle. the battles however are just as important experience and a highly visceral wonderland sometimes (i never tire of fire arrows), its just that time wise they are in the minority.

Is the empire building in MTW2/Kingdoms any more interesting than it was in Rome? Whenever I hear raves about the Total War games I go back to them and play for a bit and try to figure out just what the heck I'm missing, because I just don't see where the accolades are coming from.

Rome isn't bad, it's a lot better than the first Medieval, it has a lot more depth and layers to it which I like. But at the same time, while it gives a little more (ie Senate and People standings, more useful and dynamic generals, an improved diplomacy system) that makes me want even more. I want to be able to take a bit more control of my ability to work on my standings with the Senate and the People Of Rome for example, rather than it being a more passive system of successfully completing (often ridiculously inappropriate) Senate missions.

So does Medieval 2 with the expansion offer any more in terms of empire management?

their is no senate, obviously in mtw2/kingdoms but in the "vanilla" their is the church and theres' missions from the pope and a group of the 12 highest cardinals. having many of these cardinals from your own faction is a fun challenge and when they also become the new pope it makes your faction sit quite nice. the crusades and missions for the church are much better than the original medieval. also the city versus castles system is much more important in build options than in the past. also both and mtw2 and most of the campaigns in kingdoms have guilds which can be built in cities. each city is only able to have one guild per city, and only one master guild of a specific in your kingdom, ie you can have an explorers guild in 3 cities but only one can have a master guild. hovever you can wind up with more than one when you conquer other cities, this happens quite a lot with master thieves guilds and ever faction seems to have those. there is even a guild headquarters as well that can only be built in one location in the world. sometimes the rewards for completing the guild quests aren't that great but just having a guild in your city gives you certain bonuses and a headquarters will give all of your cities a bonus.

also they both have far more "world events" that actually effect gameplay than the prior versions had. there are probably even more differences that stand out but its been nearly 2 years since playing barbarian inviasion let alone the orginal rtw.

so i would give a wholeharded yes in saying that it offers a lot more in empire management, the changes to the real time combat are minor but those are also quite good as some of the citys, jungles, etc. are stunning. oh and probably the greatest battle addition that is in kingdoms is the ability (finally) to control the speed of combat down to the tenth. not just 1x or 2x, etc. but anywhere from 0.1 all the way to 5.9. .7 for me is such a more perfect speed than than 1.

That does sound tempting. What are some examples of world events? And are there any faction-specific events outside of the usual birth/marriage/death events?
Thanks for the detailed run-down!

Well there's the standard fare: "Mt. Vesuvius erupts leaving death and destruction!" And "Plague strikes Titicaca settlement!" But there are more interesting events as well, such as the arrival of gunpowder. Gunpowder event triggers based on the accurate historical year for its arrival, and sunddenly you may have access to new units and technology, depending on whether or not the faction you're playing utilized them in real life history. Also, in the expansion KINGDOMS, there are other events that trigger based on how the campaign develops - On the Teutonic campaign, capturing certain territories may lead to the development of the "Union of Kalmar," a pact between Norway and Denmark that makes them much more powerful, with access to more unique units. There's also the Hanseatic league, which forms when you bring certain settlements under your control and gives you huge trade bonuses. In the Americas campaign, if you are playing as the Apaches, you will be exposed to new "technology," once you fight the Spainards - meaning new units able to use horses and such, whereas before your army was completely afoot.

Other world events center mainly around religion, which plays a very crucial role now, especially for Catholic factions.

Diplomacy is for certain more complex than it was in Rome. When one of your proposals is accepted or rejected, you can now see the degree of acceptance or rejection the other faction is feeling. Meaning, if you really piss them off with a stupid offer it will be harder to get them to commit in the future. Still, it's not that complicated, and sometimes nations previously allied with you will still betray you for no apparent reason.

I also spend most of my time on the campaign map, as I am a micromanager. I'm dissappointed that they took away the feature where you can view your cities in real-time (without fighting) like you could in Rome. For those who play the total war games mainly for empire building, this may be a turn-off since the campaign map isn't too detailed - as far as cities go you only see a standard icon depending on its size, clicking on it simply shows more mini pictures of the type of buildings it contains. Still, the real-time battles are unsurpassed by any other game. They are glorious rendered at full detail, and great fun.

The whole game, imho, captures that "just one more turn" mentallity, and I for one have lost precious sleep to this monster of a game.

Installed UFO:ET and recovered my save games from the old rig, so I'm back into the game. After 3 battles, I'm showing some rust in my combat strategies. I've had a dozen injuries.

I'm enjoying some non-games, with Jam Sessions (guitar simulator) on the DS and TraxxPad (rhythm simulator) on the PSP.

Still finishing Two Worlds on the PC, and have also been playing some of Bet on Soldier: Blood on the Sahara (mediocre shooter) and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (solid tactical squad game).

The DS is exclusively Jam Sessions.

The PSP sees me finishing D&D Tactics, nearly done with Jeanne D'Arc, fiddling with TraxxPad and also playing Coded Arms Contagion, sequel to a crappy 2005 PSP shooter.

Jabberwocky said:

Also, in the expansion KINGDOMS, there are other events that trigger based on how the campaign develops - On the Teutonic campaign, capturing certain territories may lead to the development of the "Union of Kalmar," a pact between Norway and Denmark that makes them much more powerful, with access to more unique units. There's also the Hanseatic league, which forms when you bring certain settlements under your control and gives you huge trade bonuses. In the Americas campaign, if you are playing as the Apaches, you will be exposed to new "technology," once you fight the Spainards - meaning new units able to use horses and such, whereas before your army was completely afoot.

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See this is interesting and a nice feature. But, at the same time, it seems very passive, with the game code merely being triggered at certain times by vague events. I like a more hands-on approach that involves me directly in the event. Allow me to take part in negotiations and diplomatic matters in some way, rather than just watching and passively reaping any rewards.

Diplomacy is for certain more complex than it was in Rome. When one of your proposals is accepted or rejected, you can now see the degree of acceptance or rejection the other faction is feeling. Meaning, if you really piss them off with a stupid offer it will be harder to get them to commit in the future. Still, it's not that complicated, and sometimes nations previously allied with you will still betray you for no apparent reason.

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A good diplomatic system is really key for me in a strategy game. But the betrayls for no apparent reason thing strikes me as bad. Is that no apparent reason bit because you didn't see something coming, or just shoddy AI behaviour?

I also spend most of my time on the campaign map, as I am a micromanager. I'm dissappointed that they took away the feature where you can view your cities in real-time (without fighting) like you could in Rome. For those who play the total war games mainly for empire building, this may be a turn-off since the campaign map isn't too detailed - as far as cities go you only see a standard icon depending on its size, clicking on it simply shows more mini pictures of the type of buildings it contains. Still, the real-time battles are unsurpassed by any other game. They are glorious rendered at full detail, and great fun.

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That is a big turn-off. When I play a Total War game, I rarely, if ever, play for the battles. They take too long and the absolute control you have over nearly every foot step of every soldier in the army is ludicrous. So it's a huge time investment with very little pay-off (for me).

I guess my biggest complaint with the Total War games is that for all their scope and scale, I never feel involved, but rather more a spectator. The feeling of "owning" my faction or country never manifests. So I guess with each Total War release I keep hoping they'll hit that magic point where it all works for me, because they keep coming so close but ultimately leaving me feeling empty and wasting my time with the game.

actually Gallifery those events don't happen at certain times persay but when you have achieved certain, and sometimes unstated (ie not a quest) requirements. in the britannia campaign for example there are certain world events that just happen, like william wallace appearing with an army, or the king of norway. but then there is a more random one and is based on how little england (whether you're playing them or not) has control of their provinces. a league of barons can emmerge which if you are not england you can ally with and help them overthrow england or do quests for them if you want.

alliances can last very long in the game but some factions will always want to war with you since they too have "winning objectives" so to speak that mean that eventually they must eliminate you. that's why when i played lithuiana in the teutonic campaign i was destined to fight everyone simply on the fact that i stayed pagan and that certain wouldn't fly with the other factions especially the christians. novogrod were actually the only faction i think i declared war on and they were the last to go around the sametime as the danes. the brittania campaign though allowed me great diplomacy. of course i was always at war with england, but the scots and i had a nice alliance; norway didn't get involved but later they did declare war on me. howerver i never even interacted with the irish 'til the last few turns so they were never a factor.

in the americas campaign, playing as the spanish, their are a handlful of native factions i've both either held a longstanding alliance or been neutral with. obviously the mayans and the aztecs would have to be dealt with, and they were made quick work of. but the french and english expeditions can be serious pests through their many expeditions, those as of yet i've only take one city which i got back rather quick. the apaches unfortunately called a warpath on a city of mine that i had recently conquered that was adjacent to their border, and they've been my only enemy since. they are tenacious and hearty warriors and much tougher to grind under the conquistador stirrup.

Ok, so that does sound a bit more focused than the "random events" in Rome (like Stoicism being founded numerous times during the game).

MTW2 does sound interesting enough to keep an eye out for a cheap copy.

i just checked circuit city and its on sale for 27.99 and kingoms is on sale for 17.99. while you might be able to find mt2 for a few dollars cheaper thats an insane price for the expansion considering its 2 dvds worth of content.