Have you ever decided that a game sucked for one reason or another? You come to this forum and see that others live it but you don't get it. Oh, you've TRIED to play it but it's just bad.
Then one day you fire it up out of boredom. Something happens and you end up playing longer than you did before and discover that yeah, it's a great game?
Happened to me yesterday with "Endless Space: disharmony" I had always disliked the game and found it too simplistic. I had no idea that there were so many improvements you could build on each system. No idea that I could customize my ships as much as I could.
I just had not played long enough to unlock the stuff. I also like the combat system. At least I can choose which enemy ship to target and what ranges to use various weapons.
It's no distant worlds, but it's polished, had a great AI and once you get 100 turns in...an unbelievable amount of buildings and improvements. Also a huge tech tree.
So, not trying to sell anyone...but I was wrong. This is a god game I enjoying. Kind of makes me want to pick up other games i shelved and force myself to play for an hour or two!
I was kinda surprised some people were calling ES a simple game. It actually has a good amount of options for a 4x game. I especially like how each system and planet is modelled (along with other things like the interface). It's certainly more filled-out than the GalCivs. Those are simplistic 4x games.
great post - huw and i had a blast on Co-op over teamspeak with it
for me, maybe Fallen Enchantress Legendary Heroes - i need a good long run up at it which ill get in this week but i think its great, having not gotten on with the legendary Shadow Magic i thought it may be more of the same but definitely not
this and Wargame Airland Battle - i thought id be overwhelmed by the clicking, but its not like that for me - i need to spend more time with that too!
Funny you mentioned those: Wargame EE and Fallen enchatress are the two I plan on visiting next with my new "play for two hours before quitting" plan
I've spent sixty some hours on Fallen Enchantress and then on Legendary Heroes. I'm impressed with the changes in Legendary Heroes, it is well worth your time. As with Endless Space you've got to give it some time and get "under the hood" so to speak to really start experiencing the depth these games have to offer. Make sure to acquire new weapons and gear for your heroes and troops as they become available to keep up with the arms race.
I was impressed with the AI in Endless Space recently. I was configuring my new ships during a prolonged war to counter the single damage type of the enemy ships and it wasn't too many battles later that the enemy ship's weapons and armor configurations started changing to counter mine.
Great thread.
Yeah, I went through an RTS funk a while back where none of them did anything for me.
First Warhammer RTS was like that. I bought it and played a little and hated it.
Then I came back a couple of years later and wondered what I'd failed to see about it. Which reminds me, I should probably reinstall it (thanks, Steam!) and give it yet another whirl. Good stuff there.
I did just that with XCom: Enemy Unknown after foolishly paying a full $49.99 for it when it came out. It didn't get its hooks into me. I was doing not too shabby but I was waiting for that typical XCom hammer to fall...you know, where you haven't lost a man yet and are doing great, go out on a mission and everyone dies? I knew that was going to happen soon...strangely I was getting far less enjoyment out of it the more I played it.
I guess that's the opposite of what this thread intended. So to remain on topic, I could say this about Skyrim before I ever played it. I wanted so much to like the Elder Scrolls world, but never could get into it. I tried really hard with Morrowind and Oblivion, but just couldn't get into either. I didn't want to try Skyrim, either, but after I did, now I'm wondering about going back...but at the same time I'm afraid of being even more disappointed by comparing them to Skyrim, if that makes any sense.
X COM is another game but I'm going to have to go back and sit down and play for a couple hours
The original Combat Mission looked like a dog to me in the pre-release screenshots and all the big promises made by Battlefront, that it was going to be computer Squad Leader, and the game delays had me believing there was no way it would be worth the time. Thankfully they released the demo for it early and when I tried it I was struck dumb by how wrong I had been about it. Screenshots are important to me in judging a game's worth but never the deciding factor anymore.
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 16, 2013, 10:39:04 AM
The original Combat Mission looked like a dog to me in the pre-release screenshots and all the big promises made by Battlefront, that it was going to be computer Squad Leader, and the game delays had me believing there was no way it would be worth the time. Thankfully they released the demo for it early and when I tried it I was struck dumb by how wrong I had been about it. Screenshots are important to me in judging a game's worth but never the deciding factor anymore.
I had the same experience. Gad, the early combat mission looked very bad in the screenshots -- actually the games looked okay if you didn't get right up in the faces of the infantry.
Another bit of folly from that period was that I thought Operation Flashpoint (the original proto-ARMA flashpoint) sounded silly. Well, it sort of was, but it turned out to be a lot of fun and I've played all the ARMAs since 2002 (but not 2001 when it first came out).
Dominions was a game like that for me.
First time I tried it I couldn't really see why people where so amazed by it, but once I really took the time to get into the intricacies of the game it really took me by surprise and I have been a fan ever since!
Quote from: Yskonyn on December 16, 2013, 01:45:42 PM
Dominions was a game like that for me.
First time I tried it I couldn't really see why people where so amazed by it, but once I really took the time to get into the intricacies of the game it really took me by surprise and I have been a fan ever since!
Same here.
My first run was bleh. But I fired it up a short time later and dug down into all the wonderful stuff and it clicked. I think my initial nose-wrinkling first experience was just due to the fugliness of the random maps.
Great thread topic.
I was like this with Achtung Panzer! I got it and just could not get over the "Russian" UI hurdle. However, right around the time APOS came out and before they made the switch to GT, I forced myself to get into it and I now firmly believe it is one of the greatest games of our time.
I remember Wizardry, the first RPG game I ever played, I created a party, went into the dungeon and died, again and again, about a dozen times then quit. Months later I tired it again and enjoyed the series for years and years.
^ LOL...sounds like some Bard's Tale and Might & Magic I games I've played...
There's a period of several years in the mid-2000's where I played essentially nothing but WoW becuase everything looked bad to me. I've been having a lot of fun going back and buying "classics" on the cheap and playing them. The latest is Temple of Elemental Evil, which I picked up on GOG for $2.99 the other day. Having a blast with it.
The Elder Scrolls games, specifically Morrowind and Oblivion were games I didn't play when they came out becuase I thought they looked weak. Then one day I saw my son playing Oblivion, saw the day/night cycles and the weather, saw some depth...and lost something like 500+ hours to it.
I'm sure I have an entire list, inclusive of some of the games mentioned above. I did really like Endless Space right from the start, though.
OTOH, there are a bunch of games I feel like I should like, but simply can't get into no matter how hard I try!
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 15, 2013, 04:31:56 PM
this and Wargame Airland Battle - i thought id be overwhelmed by the clicking, but its not like that for me - i need to spend more time with that too!
we seem to be of the very rare opinion that the game isnt a clickfest.
Every time I try to get into Witcher 2 I play for maybe 20 minutes and then get mercilessly slaughtered, no matter what path I take. I just can't get into that game.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 16, 2013, 06:46:59 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 15, 2013, 04:31:56 PM
this and Wargame Airland Battle - i thought id be overwhelmed by the clicking, but its not like that for me - i need to spend more time with that too!
we seem to be of the very rare opinion that the game isnt a clickfest.
yeah, i dont know if people are getting in too deep, too quick and getting overwhelmed - i made sure to take it a step at a time and i love it, just forgotten to play it
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 16, 2013, 02:35:26 PM
I was like this with Achtung Panzer! I got it and just could not get over the "Russian" UI hurdle. However, right around the time APOS came out and before they made the switch to GT, I forced myself to get into it and I now firmly believe it is one of the greatest games of our time.
That's a pretty solid endorsement...would you still recommend picking up the original AP: kharkov or the AP: Operation Star?
Quote from: Jack Nastyface on December 16, 2013, 09:32:10 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on December 16, 2013, 02:35:26 PM
I was like this with Achtung Panzer! I got it and just could not get over the "Russian" UI hurdle. However, right around the time APOS came out and before they made the switch to GT, I forced myself to get into it and I now firmly believe it is one of the greatest games of our time.
That's a pretty solid endorsement...would you still recommend picking up the original AP: kharkov or the AP: Operation Star?
I highly recommend APOS, as well as the more modern Graviteam Tactics titles (ie. Operation Hooper and Shield of the Prophet.
APK43 is no longer supported by Graviteam and cannot be updated.
It's over 4 years old and outdated.
Everything from APK43 is in APOS(GTOS).The graphics are better now and so is the gameplay.
Plus there are many more features with APOS(GTOS).
You also can't add any DLCs to APK43.
There's really no point in getting APK43 unless your nostalgic and want an older inferior product then what is being offered now with GTOS.
I keep a copy of the APK43 demo on my PC just to look at how much this game has improved and come along over the past 4 years.A very amazing and welcome transformation.
I would recommend skipping APK43 and going for APOS then update(free) to GTOS for the better experience with this game.
I didn't think I'd like Bioshock Infinite and I was 100% sure that Minecraft was a scam because I'd stumbled upon it early before all the hype. I remember pressing the purchase button hoping I would actually get something in return. lol
But the biggest surprise for me is probably World of Tanks. I was spending the night at a friend's house when I got my beta access. I set it to download while we went out to eat. I don't remember anything except World of Tanks for the remainder of my visit. :)
Evocrhon Mercenary was a nice surprise as well.
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 16, 2013, 06:46:59 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 15, 2013, 04:31:56 PM
this and Wargame Airland Battle - i thought id be overwhelmed by the clicking, but its not like that for me - i need to spend more time with that too!
we seem to be of the very rare opinion that the game isnt a clickfest.
Huh. That never occurred to me either that it's a clickfest of an interface. I can see how it might be, but that's if you can't leave well enough alone and constantly adjust your units. So far the AI seems to manage my units' movement rather well. I won't have a chance to get more into this game until the holidays, but I'm looking forward to it.
Quote from: Banzai_Cat on December 17, 2013, 08:06:43 AM
Quote from: GDS_Starfury on December 16, 2013, 06:46:59 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 15, 2013, 04:31:56 PM
this and Wargame Airland Battle - i thought id be overwhelmed by the clicking, but its not like that for me - i need to spend more time with that too!
we seem to be of the very rare opinion that the game isnt a clickfest.
Huh. That never occurred to me either that it's a clickfest of an interface. I can see how it might be, but that's if you can't leave well enough alone and constantly adjust your units. So far the AI seems to manage my units' movement rather well. I won't have a chance to get more into this game until the holidays, but I'm looking forward to it.
Keeping in the spirit of the thread I may visit wargame European escalation and find that it really is a good game. For now count me among those who find it to be a clickfest. it's fine until you actually make contact with the enemy, then all of a sudden there's missiles and explosions everywhere. by the time I figure out what the Hells going on all my units are exploded
I bought Strategic Command: WW1 without realizing that it had "squares" instead of hexes. I thought this sucks and put it away for a while. I re-visited the game a couple months later and found the game very easy to get in to and that the squares actually worked well. It's about all I'm playing right now in my very limited gaming time.
For me it was Batman Arkham. I really didn't like the game and regretted purchasing it for close to full price when it came out.
After about a year later I pulled it out to play feeling that since I spent a good chunk of cash on it I should give it another try and this time it hooked me. I played all the levels and achievements almost non stop. I particularly liked the hidden question marks from the Riddler that you had to line up and discover.
Con
I can honestly say that I've never played a game where I thought it was bad but upon revisiting it later loved it. For me it's always the opposite that's true. There are quite a few games I've bought that I instantly went ga ga for and couldn't get enough of. Then all of the sudden out of the blue I detested that game with a violent vengeance.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown was just such a game for me. I know quite a few here love the game and so did I initially. I couldn't believe how good a job Firaxis did on recreating the old XCOM game without changing much about what we all knew and loved of the old games. Then the ugliness that is this game reared it's head at me one day. I really can't stand that game anymore. They should have had Slitherine or AGEOD make the new XCOM.
I don't know that I've ever played a game I considered to be truly bad, and then later changed my mind on it. For me to pronounce a game as being actually bad, I generally had to have played it quite a bit in the first place...in which case I'm highly unlikely to later change my mind anyway.
I *have* changed my mind on a few games that I initially found to be decidedly mediocre, and/or was less than impressed with at first. Probably the best example of that (for me) would be Armada 2526.
Closest I can come is Fallen Enchantress, because with the purchase of Legendary Heroes, I'm 5x more interested.
I also had a similar experience with Eador: Genesis. The first couple times I played, it seemed like a repetitive, visually uninspiring and kinda simplistic remake of Heroes of Might & Magic. Then, the complicated goodness of it started to bubble up, and the next thing I knew, I'd spent a couple nights in a row playing until 2 in the morning. ???
As for Martok, when Armada 2526 was released, i wasn't interested. Even less as i read that you had to micromanage population transports...with the patches coming out and the population transport was fixed, i decided to give it at go...now i love it.
Some games i bought without great expectations and ended up loving: Celtic Kings: Rage of War and Conquest: Frontier Wars.
I should add the Third Age mod for MTW to my list. Knowing MTW's unpredictable campaign AI I thought in no time at all the Elves and the Dwarves would be allied and invading the Shire or Gondor and Mordor would team-up against Rohan but.... I was wrong. The mod did an excellent job of keeping the bad guys on their side and the good guys on theirs. The use of cultural differences, victory conditions, and Sauron in the role of an evil "Pope"(no offense intended to my catholic brothers) really worked very well.
Quote from: Sir Slash on December 19, 2013, 09:38:21 AM
The use of cultural differences, victory conditions, and Sauron in the role of an evil "Pope"(no offense intended to my catholic brothers) really worked very well.
(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.sodahead.com%2Fprofiles%2F0%2F0%2F3%2F4%2F5%2F2%2F1%2F3%2F9%2FEmperor-Pope-102227671972.jpeg&hash=cbcceeb576d56d580cc66fafa5fef90e418a474d)
That's him Nefaro. He wants me to conquer Dwarves. ;D