The Discerning Grog, or Just an Ornery Old Bastard?

[MetalDog]

^From your thread I am really tempted but I have failed at every other Paradox title I have tried...they just don't click with me. Unless EUIV is truly different from previous games, I don't want to waste the money.

If it was EUIII, I would say, you are right.  Don't waste your time and money.  It isn't that III is a horrible game, it is not, but, the trade system blows as well as how you get your money.  In IV, they have streamlined things to the point where you can concentrate on other mechanics rather than babysitting your money. 

Now, I will say that if you just don't care for Paradox titles, then IV is more of the same.  I bought it for ten bucks a couple of weeks ago.  I'll get my ten out of it and more.  My advice is to hold out for your price point and get it then.  You'll get what you paid for.

And to address your original problem, I have played long involved games as long as I have had a computer.  Civilization, Hearts of Iron, Total War, etc.  Each one of them scratches a particular itch, so, I go back to it when I feel it.  In recent years I have added Warlock and CK2.  I sometimes have, "I've fired the computer up, now what the hell am I going to play?!," syndrome, but, that'll pass.  Read a book.  Watch some tv.  You'll come back to it.

[besilarius]

Gus, remember as a kid when your folks went into a really good bakery?  Everything looked so delicious.  The cakes, the chocolates, the creamy toppings? 
But if you were able to try a lot of them, maybe over a long time, after some tasting they lost their attraction.  A lot of the eye candy was just on the surface, and it all came down to the blend of sugar, flour, and cream. 
Finally you find the right mix of flavor and have a favorite pastry.  The others still look good, but don't inspire that hungry, desire to eat them all.  (Used to love rum cake, but now it's too rich and can't stand it.)
Same with games.  You find what you like, and it's a waste to keep trying the ones you want to like, there's only so much time and energy in your days.  This isn't being ornery, it's being mature and realistic.

[Shelldrake]

So I had these grand visions of gaming this weekend but didn't get around to sitting in front of my PC until Sunday night. Launched AoE 2 to play the Dracula campaign and decided...I can't really ever play this game again, it's just too old and back in 1998 I put probably 1000 hours into it...but that was then, etc. Then I launched Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for a few minutes and thought...damn this game is just too twitchy and on rails...can't do it. Deleted both games off my drive.

I think I've finally reached the age where I just don't struggle with a game anymore if it doesn't grab me within a specified amount of time, whereas just a few years ago I would keep pounding at these games, trying to force myself to like them. Not anymore.

On the flip side, earlier this year, I played Unity of Command for weeks, really enjoying learning it. Years ago it would have probably been too deep and serious a title for me to get into. So either now I am really ornery, really old or really mature. Maybe a combination of both. I am hoping this new found sense of a 'discerning gamer' helps me save money moving forward :)

But it also leaves me with the simple question: wtf am I going to play? I intended to 'cleanse my cleaning palette' after playing Rome 2 for about 6 weeks straight (and loving it). Do I just stick with what works and forget about trying to expand my gaming horizons? I'm leaning in that direction as Rome 2 has really been scratching my gaming itch lately, and Pontus beckons.

I hear you Gus. These days gaming time is too precious to waste on a game that you have to force yourself to like. Like you I keep going back to the Total War series. Much to my surprise XCOM Enemy Unknown really grabbed me. It is the first game in ages that I have played to the end...twice!

[Nefaro]

Gus, remember as a kid when your folks went into a really good bakery?  Everything looked so delicious.  The cakes, the chocolates, the creamy toppings? 
But if you were able to try a lot of them, maybe over a long time, after some tasting they lost their attraction.  A lot of the eye candy was just on the surface, and it all came down to the blend of sugar, flour, and cream. 
Finally you find the right mix of flavor and have a favorite pastry.  The others still look good, but don't inspire that hungry, desire to eat them all.  (Used to love rum cake, but now it's too rich and can't stand it.)
Same with games.  You find what you like, and it's a waste to keep trying the ones you want to like, there's only so much time and energy in your days.  This isn't being ornery, it's being mature and realistic.

Besilarius wins "Most Embellished Forum Metaphor Of The Week" award. 

:P

;D

[Gusington]

I do like me some rum cake.

Ok so it seems that I have been diagnosed as older and more discerning and a bit of a bastard. I can accept that.

Ultimately I think this new found gaming selectivity is going to be a good thing...at a minimum it will save me money and if I think ambitiously it will probably save my sanity and even give me relief from my gaming OCD. I don't have to like aomething and I defintely don't have to force myself.to like something, like I have done for years.

Thanks Bart for the wargaming recommendations. And for reference I have played Pirates and finished it mulriple times. Played and finished Skyrim too. Next up will be he Dark Mod and some Shogun 2, Fall of the Samurai, and the  Assassins Creed Black Flag.

Earlier games in those series have always made me happy.

[Anguille]

I don't see why you should stop playing Rome II if this is the game your currentely enjoy...i've played some games for months and months (Knights of Honor, Master of Orion or Birth of the Federation to mention a few)...of course, now i still have "new" from the last 15 years i have to learn and play but i don't mind (i look at you Anno 1503 and others)...oh, and AO2 is still on my to do list (just played some scenarios but was too busy with AO1 back then).

All in all...enjoy the games you have fun with...

[Gusington]

Only because I feel like I should mix it up a little. But I'm starting to not feel that way anymore.

[Anguille]

Only because I feel like I should mix it up a little. But I'm starting to not feel that way anymore.

Not being the youngest, i understand you very well. For long i had different games on my playlist...now i am limiting my games to a few i focus on at any time (less motivation to play, not enough time, too tired). Last month i played 2 games of Master of Orion II which i hadn't played for a long time and enjoyed them a lot. Now i am playing again Birth of the Federation. The motivation to play some games won't come up for a long time and suddenly you have the wish to play them...that's why i never completely dismiss a game and keep a door open.

[MengJiao]

If it's PC games then you can't go wrong with these in my opinion. These are the only games so far not to be uninstalled at some point and they deliver each time.

Hearts Of Iron III + Semper Fi + For The Motherland + Their Finest Hour + Black Ice Mod, specifically the latest Black Ice (http://blackicemod.com/about) which is a complete historical overhaul of HOI 3 and the best WW2 grand strategy game I've played so far.

Fable, The Lost Chapters (http://store.steampowered.com/app/204030/)

Sid Meier's Pirates (http://store.steampowered.com/app/3920/)

Skyrim (http://store.steampowered.com/sub/28187/)

The Saboteur (On PC there's one caveat: the screen resolution must be set to one of the 1280 sizes because the in-game map of the city gets un-scaled if you don't. 1280x720 seems to be the best.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYQ8inPC0mw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvLErlSGpA8

Your avatar is wonderful.  Oh, and some advice for Gus -- gaming is a kind of random and irrational thing.  If nothing grabs my attention, I just go read a book or play a boardgame or watch TV.  This weekend I suddenly decided I had to play a lot of CLOD.  Okay, I sort of know why.  I was feeling nostalgic for a lot of Buffalo scenarios I made in IL-2 long ago.  I fired up Il-2 and realized I CANNOT FACE THOSE GRAPHICS ANY MORE.  Well, the graphics in CLOD are probably the best anyone will see in quite a while (BoS is going to avoid the CLOD overly-detailed thing so it will probably not quite reach CLOD levels of graphic wonder).

[FarAway Sooner]

Gus, you should be able to have your cake and eat it too.  Be a discerning, ornery old bastard and embrace it.

I find myself being a lot more selective about titles than I used to be.  In the last few years, the games I enjoy most are games that mix and match pieces in novel new ways.  Examples from the last 5 years include titles like AI Wars, Eador, Din's Curse, or Space Rangers 2.

I find myself less interested in games that many others on these forums love, which are refinements on an existing genre.  Titles like Rome 2, Civilization V, or Endless Space all leave me admiring the game system but just feeling "been there, done that".

The good news is, with a busy family life, I hardly have time to game these days anyways, so at least my reduced demand is more than offset by scarce supply!   :D

[undercovergeek]

im finding i end up buying games for either sentimentality or because theyre AAA and i think im supposed to like them and will miss out on them..... there are some really cool games out there but at last ive joined the ranks of the sensible and wont buy, because i know ultimately itll get 10 hours of play and never see light of day again

Im always jealous of the likes of MD and Anguille who can pour 1000s of hours into 1 game - im yet to find that one game but there are a few out there this year that might satisfy that itch

Just be more selective, over the last few months ive actually sat there playing game A wishing i was playing game B but because i thought i should like A and it was expensive i will play regardless of whether im enjoying it or not

Right now im very, very happy with EU4, CKII, Rome 2 and Banished which tells me im mainly ops as opposed to tactics but now that i know that i know what to buy and what not to buy

[Gusington]

You're definitely as ornery and old as me.

So...will probably play Dark Mod tonight. I'm doing that because it is free and I want to recapture the way I felt when playing the older Thief games...and I don't think the new Thief can do that.

[mirth]

You guys are over analyzing. I say Gus is just an ornery old bastard.

Why isn't whiny bitch an option?

[Gusington]

Because we're not talking about (fill in blank with random forumer or your mom).

[Martok]

Gus, I think your gaming tastes have simply become more...refined.  And when I say "refined", I mean that in its most basic sense, which is "free from impurities" -- the "impurities" in your case being games you simply can't get into (irregardless of how much they *theoretically* should appeal to you). 

By this point, you've been around the block enough times that you know which games you're likely to actually get into (e.g., R2TW), rather than games you can only enjoy as a concept (such as EU4).  Perhaps this wasn't a conscious process on your part, and perhaps it was; but either way the end result is still the same.  In any case, I agree it's a good thing.  :) 

You guys are over analyzing. I say Gus is just an ornery old bastard.

Why isn't whiny bitch an option?

EDIT:  Gah!  Ninja'ed by Gus!  :P