The Video Game Revue

GalCiv II - First Impressions

My most recent acquisition is Galactic Civilizations II, the formidable new 4X genre game. I've only just begun to play it and am still heavily immersed in learning the game, but so far it's been very enjoyable. It does remind me of Master of Orion, only a bit more detailed and with a more overt and silly sense of humor. The dialogue for the science advisors when they explain new tech advancements are quite amusing, as are some of the random events, although these things might dampen the mood for you if you're dead serious about your space-faring wargame experience. Still, overall GalCiv II has been more-or-less exactly what I wanted it to be. I was curious about the game for a while, and reading some recent glowing reviews for the game pushed me into buying it.

Another PC game that's been getting good reviews lately is Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Once again this is exactly the kind of game that I'd be all eager to rush out and get if it weren't for the fact that I simply don't feel that I have the time for it. The aging nature of my PC hardware is also a factor; I have a Radeon 9600 which makes it possible to play games like Age of Empires III and F.E.A.R., but I'd really like to get a new PC and replay some of these games for the "full effect." Anyway, according to some of the reviews I've read of Oblivion, it's more accessible and prettier than its predecessor Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, which I've tried to get into unsuccesfully. I'd still like to get properly into Morrowind and see what all the fuss was about (er, four years ago, I guess), but then again, there are so many games like that at the moment.

Speaking of which, it's hard to believe, but even after all of this friggin time, I still have Xenogears, Digital Devil Saga, and Disgaea to complete. I actually made some time to play Disgaea yesterday, and I am drawing tantilizingly close to the final chapter of the game, although it will be several hours of play-time yet before I can cross that one off (then I have Phantom Brave and Makai Kingtom to play.) Similarly, I am on either the last or next-to-last dungeon in Digital Devil Saga, and it should only be a matter of hours before the game is concluded (then I have Digital Devil Saga 2 and Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne to play.) As for Xenogears, well, I'm not on disc 2 yet. Actually, I haven't moved an inch in the game since I last mentioned it several weeks ago.

As for games that I actually have made progress in, well, I did go back and get the "good" ending for Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (with a bit of help from GameFAQs in tracking down the last of Dracula's parts), and I've started up on Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. That Castlevania Double Pack GBA game is such a great deal--both of those games are beautiful and addictive. I've decided to put off Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow until I'm done with Aria of Sorrow, and it really isn't that hard because I have so many other Nintendo DS games to occupy my attention in the meantime. Mario Kart DS, Metroid Pinball, and Tetris DS are a powerhouse of casual gaming fun that provide incredible gaming value whether you plan to take your DS on the road or not. I'm also still enjoying Resident Evil DS, although my progress in the game has really slowed down. I intend to polish that one off pretty soon.

Literally a couple of months ago I talked about picking up Ace Combat 5 and Devil May Cry 3 Special Ed. for cheap. At the time I opened Ace Combat 5 and played through a significant portion. Amazingly, I still haven't opened up Devil May Cry 3 yet, and I'll have to fix that soon. My fear at the time was that starting on DMC3 would kill any chance that I had of finishing Ace Combat 5. It should be quite obvious to you that this problem occurs frequently with me, and as a result I have not only a large library of games that I haven't finished, but also a growing population of games that I've been too nervous to even open! Some of my unopened games aside from Devil May Cry 3 include Atelier Iris: Eternal Mana, Beyond Good and Evil, Dark Cloud 2, Star Ocean: 'Till the End of Time, and Riviera: The Promised Land. Several of these are bargain bin games or used copies that I picked up for cheap, although Atelier Iris is a game that I bought way back in the fall and still haven't touched. In a matter of months the sequel, Atelier Iris 2, will be out, and I want it even though I still haven't started the original game!

Now obviously I have games piling up on me faster than I have time to play them, which is not something that I feel bad about (quite the contrary--it's fun and exciting), but there's also the fact that I've been in a bit of a gaming slump the last couple of months. At some point in the next few weeks I think that my appetite for video games will pick up again, and I'll be able to take a bite out of this huge buffet of gaming goodness laid out before me. Who knows, maybe I'll even take a few days off from work to mark the occasion. ;)

posted by Parappa @ 11:39 AM