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21 May 04
Well, there hasn't been a stampede in the contest yet, but that just means your odds of winning are better. Don't forget to send in your entry before June arrives if you want a chance to win Railroad Tycoon 3.
It's Friday so it must be highlight time. Today we're looking at Age of Mythology. In my view, AOM was a huge leap forward from the earlier age games. Perhaps it was just the fantasy setting or the epic campaign, but it really felt more fun to me.
So what are the high points of AOM? First, there's the mythic setting. You're thrown into a world of battling gods, mighty creatures and heroes whose names will not be forgotten. Sure other people have used the units before, but AOM really feels like you've stepped into something that Homer might sing about. It's a world where imagination meets reality. And it's fully realized into the game setting.
That brings us to our next highlight. What good is a great setting if there's no story to tell. AOM gives you the struggle between gods, men and titans. You start out with some minor battles known as the siege of Troy. Then you move on to the meat of the story. You chase classic mythic villains such as the trickster and the cursed son of a god. You meet strange new allies who join forces to save the world. Even when it might cost them everything.
So you have a great story in a great setting, but is it worth playing. Yes, and flexibility is the key. You get to play three different races (four with the expansion) that each have a unique feel to them. Even within a race, you have a great deal of flexibility. You can go defensive, offensive, or balanced. You can choose infantry, cavalry, ranged and siege units (that doesn't even get into naval combat) or you can focus on building a mighty mythic army. There are plenty of choices for unit buffs and artifacts can change how you play. Even if things aren't working out as planned, your choice of minor gods can let you switch your strategy on the fly. The gods also grant you the god powers. Correctly used they can turn the tide of a battle or even the whole war.
Finally, there's the flair put into the game. Watching minotaurs chuck soldiers around the field never gets old. Seeing your hydra grow a new head after a kill is very rewarding. Mighty creatures shake the earth with their battles. Units are distinctive enough they stand out in a crowd and heroes have a heroic aura surrounding them. Even the dialogue is slightly formal as if being spoken by someone larger than life. It immerses you in the game.
Today's game doesn't have quite the flair of AOM. It's 1503 AD: The New World (official site) from Sunflowers. It's an empire building game and a RTS wrapped up in a shiny colonial package. As you found colonies you have to balance security with need for gold supplied by trade and conquest. They've recently announced an expansion is on the way.
Jason
Comments?
20 May 04
Howdy. It's a short update today, but hopefully an interesting one. It's finally time for us to have our first contest. Our budget is limited and strangely publishers aren't beating down my door for me to give away their games (yet). So we're going to start small. It's not much but for our first contest we're giving away a copy of Railroad Tycoon III (official site) from Poptop Software.
Yes, it's also the game of the day. RT3 has a beautiful 3D engine on top of the deep gameplay the series is known for. Your job is to run a railroad and turn it into an empire. You have a realistic stock market at your disposal. Start small with a short line and a few trains. Expand into large cities with new cargo. Build industries in those cities and use your line to get goods from place to place. Or if you prefer, just build your dream railroad in sandbox mode.
I suppose we should have some rules:
1. Only one entry per household.
2. All participants must be registered members of the site (it's free, just click on news, then register).
3. I've been advised to limit it to the US and Canada due to some weird international contest laws.
4. Participants must be 18 years old or have their parents permission to enter.
5. To enter send an email with your name and your member name to contests@talkstrategy.com put RT3 as the subject.
6. Entries must be received by 11:59 pm on 31 May 04.
7. On 1 Jun 04 all valid entries will be put in a hat with one randomly selected as the winner.
If you're not interested in the game, please tell a friend who might be. If you have any questions about the contest, please email me at my normal address. Sorry, we can't be responsible for lost email, but if you wish a response, just indicate it in your entry. Since we're such a small site, the odds of winning are pretty good. If we grow into a major site someday, you'll have the honor of saying you won our very first contest. Enjoy.
Jason
Comments?
19 May 04
I was going to write about something else today until I read Slashdot. Perhaps I should stop doing that. Anyway, it's full of things to talk about today. Of course, the big topic of conversation is something that turned out to be false. There was a report that EA and the NFLPA were close to signing a four years billion dollar deal that would give EA exclusive rights to the names and likenesses of NFL players. Of course, this would be a death blow to all the other football games out there, but with 989 and MS sitting out this year and EA making a similar exclusivity deal with NASCAR the impossible seemed possible. Well, both sides have denied the report and the original publication has admitted that it was an error that was caught after it had gone to print.
Briefly, common sense says that if the NFLPA wants to continue to get top dollar for their members they need continued competition. Competition also makes the games themselves better. That increases interest in football so the players win again. If there are enough games on the market, one of them might get a player's stats to his liking. Exclusivity just doesn't make sense for the NFLPA. Even EA can't outbid the combined value of Microsoft, Sony, Midway and Sega.
Next on /. I saw this article. It's about what if real time strategy games tried to model the real political world. It ends up being more of a rant on politics than gaming, but does make for an interesting read. I've already talked about what my idea of the ultimate wargame is (and you can look it up using the search feature on the news page). I'm afraid the author isn't adding much to the gaming discussion, but that probably wasn't his point. I do admit that two of his ideas could add to the genre. A public support meter could be an interesting idea for a RTS. I could see bonus units and more experienced units coming from home on a campaign with high public support. Research could even be faster. The negatives for low public support couldn't be too bad, but at least enough to get your attention.
His second idea sort of ties into that. Effectively using the press to increase your public support. Having reporters on hand for key victories or discover of chemical weapons facilities, could help greatly. You'd have to distract them or keep units away from bad fronts or any questionable activities of your own. They wouldn't be easy ideas to implement, but if done well, they could add great depth to a game.
Finally, there was this article. Here the owner of a website was arrested. It was in Japan and he'd posted screenshots scanned in from magazines and didn't get permission from the publishers. I hate to think how much of the US internet is made up of scans of magazines that people don't have permission to reprint. But here it wasn't the magazines that were having him arrested. It was the publishing houses. Look I understand that if a company gives an exclusive image to a magazine, you can't just take that image and use it wherever you want. I don't think publishers really want to be putting a chill in the atmosphere for webmasters who might post screenies of their games.
There is a difference between a prerelease image granted exclusive distribution and a post release screenshot that a user creates themselves. I don't think publishers out there have any beef with people putting up images of the games they play. Then again I wouldn't have thought they'd have a problem with additional publicity on a major game site. I guess they didn't want any unauthorized person making money off their property without permission. The article doesn't mention whether any cease and desist letters were sent.
Today's game is another RTS from Russia. It's World War I (official site) from Dark Fox. Ok, so it's not an original name. It will be a challenge to win a war fought in such a dirty and ugly way. Good tactics and prioritizing targets are keys to winning. The War to end all Wars will start again in the last quarter of the year.
Jason
Comments?
18 May 04
I was trying to explain the site and its purpose to someone whom I was trying to convince to write an article for us. While the games (strategy and tactical) are central and so are the stories, after action reports and reviews, what this site essentially is about is you. It's about the community of gamers. Sure I sit here and yak about all kinds of stuff, but really what matters is less what I write and more what you think of it and how it relates to games and gaming and writing.
That's why when Innocence wanted to be able to directly comment on each of the articles I write here, I fairly quickly saw the light and added it at the end of each article (just click on the comments link). That way in addition to communicating back to me what you thought, via the email link for example, you can talk to the whole community. Admittedly the feature hasn't been used too much, but it also says something that it is there.
The community here is still growing. There are new people all the time. If I could figure out how to get them all to join, we'd be huge. Still, I'd be remiss if I did send out a big thank you for spreading the word. So thank you.
The reason that the community here is so important, is that that is how the site works. People sharing their passion and enjoyment for these games with each other. Together we recognize the mental challenges that go into any good strategic or tactical game. We work to improve our own and each other's play.
There's also the deeper layer. We identify the best in games. We dig out the things that separate the good from the great. Part of finding great strategies is finding how game designers created a game that left so many interesting possibilities open. By looking deeply we're trying to improve the gaming space overall. First we're pointing out the games that inspire passion and loyalty. Then we play those games hard. We play together and talk about it. Sometimes we dissect every part of the game. Finally we can go forward with one voice and say make more games like this, and make sure you keep these key features. They work.
So that gets us back to the beginning. We love the games, we talk about them, we break them down, we provide the feedback to developers and they come back to give us the next generation of games to love. We also smack down the developers who don't learn the lessons of the past. It's all in love. That's why the site is here. That's why your role is important. Thank you again.
Today's game is another genre bender from guess where. Yes, Space Rangers 2: Dominators (official site, Elemental site) from Elemental Games is coming later this year from Russia with love. It combines a space based RPG with planet side RTS action. Sentient war machines in the Berserker mode have started their assault on the galaxy. Can you withstand the Dominators?
Jason
Comments?
17 May 04
Well, I'm still trying to digest all the E3 information. I didn't go even though I was invited to some cool press events and several companies did offer interviews and appointments. That was a pleasant surprise. I'm afraid the budget just didn't allow it. There's always next year. Since everyone is expecting the new consoles next year it might be the one to go to. We'll see.
Back to the information though. I'm not sure I understand how anyone at E3 could really get a feel for how it went. After all, I'm still absorbing all the material, and I'm just reading the websites and watching some of the G4/Tech TV hybrid. Apparently the new G4techTV goes live on the 28th.
You can check out the hybrid channel line up Here. It looks like there will be less dead weight and repeats on the joint network, but it also reminds me of how many of the shows on both don't interest me at all. Oh well, a little overboard E3 coverage can't hurt though.
Nothing seemed to shock E3 this year. That's probably the big headline. We're getting more polish as the consoles enter the back end of their primary life cycle. There were a lot of sequels especially in the big games, the next Zelda, next Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell 3, Half-Life 2, Doom 3, GTA San Andreas, Battlefield 2, Devil May Cry 3, KOTOR 2, Black and White 2, the Sims 2, Ground Control 2, and Rome: Total War.
So maybe publishers aren't taking chances, but that makes sense. With all the new hardware on the horizon, it's quite understandable for them to hedge their bets now to prepare for all the risks associated with new hardware. Just ask Nokia, already on version 2 of the NGage, aka the QD.
Well, today we continue to work through all the strategy games coming from 1C in Russia. Today's installment is Desert Law (official site) from Arise. Apparently, we're now further from the Apocalypse (seen in the Cuban Missile Crisis, although no actual relation). Now the world is progressing nicely along the way to Mad Max. Gasoline is the only currency and battles are fought with homemade war machines. It's due in the last quarter of the year.
Jason
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