I’m thinking about buying one of these three games (in order of preference):
DC Universe Online: I’m a fan of the topic, not a big fan of superhero RPG’s. I read through the preliminary material online, and it doesn’t seem to to have the depth I like in an RPG. I’m pretty sure one or two builds is going to be the “best,” and there will not be great variety but they’re going to do a series of nerfs to try to make the different builds more balanced. My computer does not meet all the minimum requirements (min req is 3.0 ghz cpu or higher, mine is 2.5 ghz), and I really don’t believe games should charge a monthly fee AND a fee to buy the game.
Starcraft 2: I didn’t like the original starcraft very much. However, the word of mouth is excellent, I think Blizzard definitely has their act together, and my computer meets the minimum specs.
Civ 5: I enjoyed the first civ very much, and in general, I enjoy all the old Microprose 4X games (and I still play many of them today.) However, with Civ 2, I hate the graphics and the interface, and I haven’t played any Civ games since. My computer does not meet the minimum specs (x900 series nvidia or better, mine is an 8800GT.)
I’m leaning towards DCUO. Civ 5 might be impossible for me to run, and I just didn’t enjoy the original starcraft very much, although this might be the only option that runs well on my computer.
The genius of Starcraft 2 is in its online play, so if you’re not into that, don’t bother. Civilization 5 suffers from poor design decisions, which left me with a “Why bother?” feeling after my first few wins.
I don’t any experience with DCUO. I’ve heard it’s better than the previous superhero MMOs, but I’d be wary of any SOE game and the beta testers didn’t have much to say about it. The launch looks better than some recent MMOs though. I’d try DCUO, unless you’re into Starcraft 2 multiplayer.
Also, an 8800 GT is a 9800 series. It’s the same chip on a different board.
I think the sc 2 single player is excellent. Probably the best rts single player I’ve ever played. If you don’t like multiplayer however I’d wait for a sale.
DCUO has gotten positive reviews on the MMO boards I hang out at. I’d consider buying it, but the talk about how there’s melee combos to do (something I absolutely hated in AoC) and incessant clicking and how the controls/UI are made for PS3 has made me apprehensive. Apparently the game is fun and quite bug-free, though.
Civ5 I liked, but I seem to be in the minority. And even though I like it, there’s some things about it I’m less than satisfied with, notably how happiness works and the diplomacy with other big civilizations. The combat is lots of fun though, and far more enjoyable than the old stack-of-doom warfare. I’ve gotten almost 70 hours of gaming out of it and I’m fairly sure I will do a few more games in the future. You can also fix some of the problems (depending what exactly you hate about the game) with the mods.
ETA: They are all good games as far as I know. Obviously that doesn’t guarantee that you personally will love any specific one of them, of course.
They seem to be huge microprose fans like me, and they’ve made a series of games like the old Master of Magic and Master of Orion. I can get their MOO remake (Galactic Civilizations II with 2 expansion packs) for under $40, and the system requirements are very low. They also don’t believe in copy protection, so I can probably get it running on both my desktop and laptop.
They also do direct download with no additional charge for the retail package (except shipping and handling.)
I wouldn’t really recommend Civ 5. It’s very purdy and the design choices are interesting… or would be if the AI wasn’t dumber than a sack of chocolate hammers. As of right now, it’s not a good civ.
I can wholeheartedly recommend GalCiv II though. The graphics are a bit dated, but the game itself is great and the AI is devious as hell. The Twilight add-on also completely changes the game so once you’ve mastered the base game, tackling TotA is a very different experience.
Not sure if you’ve played it lately, but the patches have improved the combat AI somewhat. Add to that the fact cities are harder to take by default and the defensive buildings actually do something noticeable, and it is considerably harder to just roll over every enemy you see. I actually lost some units! :eek:
I’ve heard quite a few complaints about DCUO. Little customization, few powers to choose from, leveling fast through limited content, and as mentioned that it plays like a button mashing console game with a poor PC UI. There’s an SDMB threadhere on it if you missed it.
Galactic Civilizations II on the other hand is a lot of fun, I recommend it.
I just went to Gamestop, Sears, Office Depot, and checked wal-mart online…they don’t carry the new PC games anymore. Gamestop’s newest game was like Warcraft III battle chest. Best Buy still has one shelf with pc games, but they’re usually horribly overpriced.
heh I remember buying Master of Orion 2 in Korea for 10 bucks.
If you want, you can get some of the old Microprose games for free now since they went out of business. If “the underdogs” website ever comes back up, I know they archived most of them.
Heh I still play Master of Magic and Master of Orion 2. In Master of Magic, I like to start out with like 1-2 books and then keep re-rolling node fights until I get the full 14 books. In MOO2, my friend and I were having a contest to see who can kill the Guardian the fastest. I’m currently ahead by killing him in like 12 years. I kind of cheated though, I saved a good map and kept using it. Later, I found out he was using new maps each time.
I’d have to give the edge to MOO2 just because it’s better coded and easier to manage. MoM still crashes a lot, especially when chain lightning is used in combat.
One time, in MoM, I played the largest map and terraformed every single square, including the ones on the north and south border in both realms. Took a few months, iirc. I think it was something like 500 cities. The last enemy city I surrounded with drakes or something, and I would periodically send in Warrax to stomp on his houses and keep his population low.
They also don’t believe in copy protection, so I can probably get it running on both my desktop and laptop.
