What Video Games have you been playing II: Have you finished that backlog?

[Zack]

Playing Shadow of Mordor and loving it. The Nemesis system is fan-freaking-tastic in an open world.

 

[Commodore]

Fire up your DOSBox, man! Atttaaaaack! It's a pity that UFO: Enemy Unknown never had any flamethrowers available. Heavy Plasma-armed wall-busters were great for attackign grounded ships, although giving a sniper a Flying Suit and a Rifle guaranteed the death of those damned Sectoids. Die, brown devils, die!

I don't even need DOSBox! About a year ago steam had a deal for the entire XCOM franchise for ridiculously cheap and all the old versions work just fine without DOSBox.

 

[HannibalBarka]

1. It has it's issues but there aren't a lot of games like it, and it's one of the few games that can give you a good feel of what real battles must've felt like. As for whether it is too violent, YMMV. It's "less" violent than a shooter, sure, but again YMMV. Just watch some videos of the game in action to see what you think.
2. Both. The game is divided into two parts - the battle and campaign modes. In the campaign mode you move troops around on the map, have diplomacy with other factions, build your infrastructure, manage your dynasty, and so on. I generally find this part lacking compared to other classic strategy games because it's not the true focus. The true focus are the battles. While there are superficial similarities with your average RTS, it is much grander in scope for one thing and it also is more realistic (relatively speaking) - for instance attacking a bunch of archers or musketmen up on a hill would be difficult, or you have to time a cavalry charge right for maximum damage.
3. These aren't versions of the same game so much they are different games in a series that focus on different eras. The main games are:

Shogun: The original, outdated by today's standards but it's possible to enjoy it. According to older fans the best game of the series for its AI and difficulty. It's campaign mode is closest to risk compared to later installments. It had an expansion pack that focused on the Mongol invasions.
Medieval: Like Shogun, it's campaign mode is closer to Risk compared to late games. Also considered a solid addition for older fans. It's expansion focused on Viking-age Britain.
Rome: The game that really made TW popular. It's starting to show its age, but it has plenty of mods still around. In my opinion it's also the first "modern" TW game, as it introduced a campaign mode less like Risk, for instance. It has a few expansions, one that shifts the time period from the rise of Rome to its fall, and one that deals with Alexander the Great
Medieval II: At first glance it looks like a superficial re-dressing of Rome in a medieval setting, but it has it's differences and strengths. For some fans, this is the last true classic of the series. It's expansion pack adds in four new campaigns dealing with the Crusades, the northern Crusades, the British Isles, and the conquest of the Americas. It is the total war with the largest numbe of mods, I believe.
Empire: Taking place in the 18th century this was rather controversial at launch due to great ambition but arguably questionable execution, poor AI, bugs, and other issues. It's been more or less fixed since, but to me it's still a bit of a mess in some ways. Anyways, it included naval battles for the first time in the series. It has an expansion focused on North America, but it's pretty crappy in my opinion.
Napoleon: Though technically a "new" game, this is basically just Empire 2.0. It's what Empire should've been - better AI, sleeker gameplay, and so on. The focus on the Napoleonic Wars does make the setting more restricted, but more intimate and active at the same time. It has a small expansion that adds in a new campaign taking place during the Peninsular Wars.
Shogun II: I think this is a pretty good addition to the series. The AI isn't the greatest, but the main appeal of this is that they streamlined the series and focused on the basics. It had two expansions, the first, Rise of the Damurai, focused on the, well, Rise of the Samurai in the 12th century. I particularly enjoyed the second expansion, Fall of the Samurai, which basically is The Last Samurai except much more historical (relatively) - and it has Gatling guns and naval bombardment and explosions and other cool things.
Rome II: The newest installment of the series, at launch, it had crappy AI, many bugs, questionable features, and was seen as too ambitious (kinda like Empire). For some it's improved since, but for others this has finally began to tarnish the TW name. It features a number of DLC campaigns, but whatever.

Personally, my recommendations would be Medieval II and Shogun II. Get Empire, Napoleon, and Rome I if they're on sale, and for Rome II I suggest watching some videos to see if it suites you.

Hope that helps and did I just spend all that time typing this up.

Waou, thanks a lot for this very informative answer. I appreciate you taking time to write all this. I mean it. And now that I am at it, I had wonderful moments playing World of Legends

 

[hobbsyoyo]

I've had a bit of time to play Sword of the Stars I lately. It's old (2006) but it's just that good that it's still one of my go-to time killers. A ton of fun.

Unfortunately, they massacred Sword of the Stars II. To begin with, they released it when it wasn't even close to being finished and it was unplayable and took months of weekly patching to get it fixed. Also, SotS I was built on the theory of basically having a simplified interface with minimal micro-management. With all of the expansions they did for SotS I, there was some micro-management creep but overall it stayed pretty simple. SotS II is apparently micro-management intensive and becomes a chore to play. Or so I've heard.

Any of you tried it? I'm interested in trying it but I've heard soooo many bad things that I'm leery. I guess I should watch some youtube play-throughs or something.

 

[Commodore]

I've had a bit of time to play Sword of the Stars I lately. It's old (2006) but it's just that good that it's still one of my go-to time killers. A ton of fun.

Unfortunately, they massacred Sword of the Stars II. To begin with, they released it when it wasn't even close to being finished and it was unplayable and took months of weekly patching to get it fixed. Also, SotS I was built on the theory of basically having a simplified interface with minimal micro-management. With all of the expansions they did for SotS I, there was some micro-management creep but overall it stayed pretty simple. SotS II is apparently micro-management intensive and becomes a chore to play. Or so I've heard.

Any of you tried it? I'm interested in trying it but I've heard soooo many bad things that I'm leery. I guess I should watch some youtube play-throughs or something.

Agreed 100%. I have played SoTS II and there is definitely waaaaay too much micro-management. Even conducting research is a chore. I like that they attempted to bring realism to research, but it just doesn't translate into fun gameplay.

Fleet movement is also hopelessly convoluted. You can't just move ships to a different system like in SoTS. First you have to build a naval base, then you have to station a fleet there. Now say you want to explore a system: You have to tell the fleet to go to that system, and instead of them staying there to await further orders, they will automatically move back to their naval base. You also must wait for that fleet to return to its naval base before you can issue new orders to it.

I really want to like SoTS II, but I just can't get into it because if all the micro-management. A lot of it seems aimed towards creating a more realistic empire management game, but it just doesn't work. Not because the features are poorly executed, mind you (in fact I think the features are executed quite well), it's just a case of realism not translating into fun and enjoyable gameplay.

 

[Spidernova]

Agreed 100%. I have played SoTS II and there is definitely waaaaay too much micro-management. Even conducting research is a chore. I like that they attempted to bring realism to research, but it just doesn't translate into fun gameplay.

Fleet movement is also hopelessly convoluted. You can't just move ships to a different system like in SoTS. First you have to build a naval base, then you have to station a fleet there. Now say you want to explore a system: You have to tell the fleet to go to that system, and instead of them staying there to await further orders, they will automatically move back to their naval base. You also must wait for that fleet to return to its naval base before you can issue new orders to it.

I really want to like SoTS II, but I just can't get into it because if all the micro-management. A lot of it seems aimed towards creating a more realistic empire management game, but it just doesn't work. Not because the features are poorly executed, mind you (in fact I think the features are executed quite well), it's just a case of realism not translating into fun and enjoyable gameplay.

Thank you. I love the SoTS universe, and crawling across the map as hivers is one of my favorite things. SOTS2 is a total mess of a game, my only real regretted purchase.

 

[Tahuti]

I have been picking up EU IV again, as Divinity: Original Sin simply is not going to have any resolution it appears.

 

[ummmm........]

Guild Wars 2. I never thought I'd play an MMO, but it's so much different than I expected, and no subscription so why not?

Dear god I sound like an advert . . .

 

[Phrossack]

Just started Stronghold Crusader. My brother got it as a gift a decade or so ago and never played it, and it's one of the few games my laptop can handle, so why not?

Turns out it's pretty fun. But I'm a bit puzzled at the inclusion of prickly pear and saguaro cacti in the Middle East. Did the devs even bother to check?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

The original Majesty. Still fun.
Battlefield Bad Company 2: Vietnam. MP.
Kentucky Route Zero. The third chapter remains.

... as Divinity: Original Sin simply is not going to have any resolution it appears.

What about the resolution?

 

[cybrxkhan]

I now officially have logged in 300 hours of Skyrim on steam.

Still not as much as Oblivion, though it's not all logged in on steam my conservative estimates put my total hours of Oblivion played at 700 hours, while I suspect the actual amount is around 1000.

Anyways, on skyrim, just dicked around as an imperial legionary, getting into some scuffles with those storm cloaks. Ambushing one of their camps with some grenades and then some pew-pew-pew gunfire was fun. Unfortunately can't finish off the generals in those camps, but whatever.

 

[bhsup]

Anyways, on skyrim, just dicked around as an imperial legionary, getting into some scuffles with those storm cloaks. Ambushing one of their camps with some grenades and then some pew-pew-pew gunfire was fun. Unfortunately can't finish off the generals in those camps, but whatever.

Say what? You been dabbling in mods again, boy?

 

[Commodore]

Finally got around to playing Space Hulk. I have never played the board game version of Space Hulk but from what I have read it is a pretty faithful recreation of the board game on PC. Anyway, I am having a blast with it...except when the Terminator guarding my flank has his Storm Bolter jam when he has 10 Genestealers bearing down on him. It's pretty much game over at that point.

EDIT: For clarification, I am talking about the PC game Space Hulk made in 2013 that mimics the board game, not the real-time FPS made in the early 90s. Just in case there was any confusion as to which game I was talking about.

 

[Ajidica]

Finally got around to playing Space Hulk. I have never played the board game version of Space Hulk but from what I have read it is a pretty faithful recreation of the board game on PC. Anyway, I am having a blast with it...except when the Terminator guarding my flank has his Storm Bolter jam when he has 10 Genestealers bearing down on him. It's pretty much game over at that point.

That's when you break out the Imperial Navy.
"Oh, just glass it."

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Playing SimCity 4 again, this time seeing if I can break away from the tyranny of the grid.

 

[otaman1]

Playing Alien: Isolation, in the dark, alone, around midnight.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

Woot, just FINALLY unlocked my last achievement in Skyrim. Now I need to decide if I want to be done with this game or reinstall Requiem + other mods and have a proper difficulty run at it.

 

[cybrxkhan]

Say what? You been dabbling in mods again, boy?

Yup. Me myself, I don't use a lot of mods, but the mods I do use, I make sure they're real fun for me.

The mod with the grenades and rifles is called flintlock project or something. Best one in the biz.

 

[Arakhor]

So far, I've only played with SkyRe, but Requiem is supposed to be really good.

 

[Alba]

Spelunky!