Well, I've come back to a happy posting thread after trying to bury myself in the oh-so-hyped, oh-so-disappointing Civ 5.
"Happy" U, say? Yeah, as in; misery loves company. Glad(?) to know i'm not the only hardcore, longtime Civ lover/player that thinks & feels the corporate overlords really lost touch with the essence of Sid M's genius... what makes a classic game, whether it's Diplomacy, chess, or Civilization, is trade-off's. Having many choices & thus many outcomes, but only limited resources/units/options = excitement, anticipation, limitless possibilities... good & bad.
Since some posters have correctly stated that we should give praise where due; i want to thank 2K & the other corporate-profit-is-our-motive middle managers. They have FINALLY managed to help me break my Civ habit(!) by dumbing down & slicking up a classic. Oh yeah, & now i have yet ANOTHER invasive internet-connected program on my computer just so some perv's at yet another corporation can track when & how i choose to play MY game in the privacy of MY home or office. Nice work corporate kids. Hope U make alot of money selling such info to other corp's so they too know our likes & dislikes & gaming addictions(!).
Unfortunately it cost me $100 for the 1st-day-issued "collectors" version* & over $200 to upgrade my 2 computers' graphics cards & power supplies... just to get it to play. Now, if i want to actually SEE these wonderful new visuals thru anything but an screen 60% filled with interface nonsense that'll cost another $200 in upgrades.
To those that try to defend this "prettier, simpler-to-play" version, i submit to U, that this is/was a THINKING man's contest. Speed is NOT the issue, thinking & learning are the essence of a STRATEGY game. To follow some of the logic i've seen presented here defending this "improved" version, is like saying checkers is an improvement to chess.
Couple of true positives that can be said about Civ 5 are that the switch to hex-based maps is SO much better than squares & the attempt to bring warfare out into the field where most major battles are REALLY fought is commendable (now if U could find a balance between massive stacks of units & one-per-tile)
Enuf from this former fanatic, that is now just barely a fan... & >$300 poorer.
* speaking of poorer; any suggestions where one mite find a buyer for a "classic collectable"? It's barely been used; the cute little figurines haven't even been taken out of their foam & the background books have only been touched once. The seal on the disc of course was neatly plied open. Any offers?