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yep another out of the blue review,
it seems that bench marking is a word from another dimension...
it seems that bench marking is a word from another dimension...
Well the comment is fair : the tester has really played the game and it shows. Of course there's a great deal of subjectivity involved, and the grades show that.
"Learning curve: About 2 hours". How can he define 2 hours as "so overwhelming and complex that you might feel as if you'd been hit by that opening-scene locomotive" *Lol*
Silly.
Silly.
That's how the game is--unfortunately, Reviewers aren't paid to play a game for a week or two straight and take a massive amount of time (nor should they be.) So it's inevitable that's how the review will be since the learning curve is nothing short of brutal.
And it's too bad it's rated so low on the stability... The game has been a model of stability for me, and the bink problem is a pretty easily solved problem (though not without visiting the support forums, true...)
And it's too bad it's rated so low on the stability... The game has been a model of stability for me, and the bink problem is a pretty easily solved problem (though not without visiting the support forums, true...)
It's much more than 2 hours actually. Without the help of this forum it could be more than 10 hours.
And I think the manual is not sufficient and I regret that there is no tutorial.
What's the point of a reviewer who doesn't like the genre reviewing it?
You don't see RPG lovers reviewing FPS and saying "it's not enough rpg and the game moves too fast"
This is not a complex game. It's got about another handful of major features over EU, it's hardly rocket science. There is a steep learning curve, sorry all games don't just need WSAD and a mouse to play.
Bloody Bollox review
You don't see RPG lovers reviewing FPS and saying "it's not enough rpg and the game moves too fast"
This is not a complex game. It's got about another handful of major features over EU, it's hardly rocket science. There is a steep learning curve, sorry all games don't just need WSAD and a mouse to play.
Bloody Bollox review
Yeah...it´s a shame that he his game keeps crashing. Mine hasn´t crashed one single time yet.
Finally a review where the game was played for a change. You may disagree with his marks, but the content is right on the mark.
First they become a pay-site and now this! I used to trust gamespot reviews, but lately their ratings seem to be on par with the marketing budget of the games they review. Coincidence??
I used to trust gamespot reviews, but lately their ratings seem to be on par with the marketing budget of the games they review. Coincidence??
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I don't think he is a Grognard. Its not pretty, its to hard, its to deep... but this is gamespot, right?
I don't know. I'm definitely in this camp. He played the game, and there are some things not to like about it, especially if you're not a passionate fan of the niche. Do I think it's better than a 6.7? Yes. I think it's a LOT better than that. But I think for a lot of people it IS a 6.7 or even lower. So I think it was a thorough review by somebody who played the game and assigned it an honest score. And especially if he experienced those massive stability problems that sucks.
Needless to say, my gamespot readership will continue. They're obviously the best game review site on the net, to me.
To be honest, I think that the reviewer just read every article on the front page of the forums and then made a review based on that.
I mean the points that he mentions are mentioned here as well.
I mean the points that he mentions are mentioned here as well.
I get the feeling this guy never discovered the ledger shortcuts. Yes, there is a large amount of micromanagement, but since when has a Paradox game not had that? I fell safe in assuming that the majority of us like it that way.
I'm also surprised to hear of his stability problems. Victoria has distinguished itself as one of two games on my system that is not published by Matrix, Shrapnel, or Battlefront and has never had a single problem. Mafia is the other. Then again, all other things being equal, stability on one system is CTD city on another.
I also think Vicky is rather bug free. I mean, it's enormously complex and there are no real show-stoppers. The only reason I got it so soon after release was because it seemed apparent that Paradox won the "let's release it in beta!" fight with SFI. Good show, guys.
I do agree that a tutorial would've been helpful. That initial learning curve was a veritable cliff for the first three hours, even for a guy who plays EU2, HOI, Space empires IV, and Uncommon Valor.
9/10
Or so sayeth grog wannabe von Murrin.
I'm also surprised to hear of his stability problems. Victoria has distinguished itself as one of two games on my system that is not published by Matrix, Shrapnel, or Battlefront and has never had a single problem. Mafia is the other. Then again, all other things being equal, stability on one system is CTD city on another.
I also think Vicky is rather bug free. I mean, it's enormously complex and there are no real show-stoppers. The only reason I got it so soon after release was because it seemed apparent that Paradox won the "let's release it in beta!" fight with SFI. Good show, guys.
I do agree that a tutorial would've been helpful. That initial learning curve was a veritable cliff for the first three hours, even for a guy who plays EU2, HOI, Space empires IV, and Uncommon Valor.
9/10
Or so sayeth grog wannabe von Murrin.
He does make good points about the failings of the economic model though. There's way too much money flying around in this game as it is right now.
I think its a pretty fair review. Most of his issues with the game are with the UI, and its the same reason that although I really like the game, I wouldn't even try to convince my friends to play it.
Someone really needs to go over the engine and really spend some time thinking about the UI, and how to seriously streamline it.
The truth is this isn't a game that requires a grognard. There is very little reason this game couldn't sell equally to civ3, well, very little reason aside from the UI.
If the Civ team redesigned the menus dropdowns, ledgers, etc. Vicky could be very accessable, and would have a chance at mainstream success, I guarentee.
PS: I don't mean to criticise Paradox. Compare the difference in funding behind Paradox and behind Maxis or whatever mega company mades Civ, and you will see a different world. More my focus is that a paradox game like Vicky COULD sell big, could cross over to the mainstream, and still retain everything you all love about it. If only the UI/player feedback system was really redesigned instead of tweeked.
Someone really needs to go over the engine and really spend some time thinking about the UI, and how to seriously streamline it.
The truth is this isn't a game that requires a grognard. There is very little reason this game couldn't sell equally to civ3, well, very little reason aside from the UI.
If the Civ team redesigned the menus dropdowns, ledgers, etc. Vicky could be very accessable, and would have a chance at mainstream success, I guarentee.
PS: I don't mean to criticise Paradox. Compare the difference in funding behind Paradox and behind Maxis or whatever mega company mades Civ, and you will see a different world. More my focus is that a paradox game like Vicky COULD sell big, could cross over to the mainstream, and still retain everything you all love about it. If only the UI/player feedback system was really redesigned instead of tweeked.
I was thinking the same thing as I was reading the review.
It could just be that they guy is really good and found all the problems himself thou. One thing I feel sure of is that he's definately spend some time here.Yeah and then they would charge us $20 every time they patched the game.
Exactly! Isn't it nice to know that what problems do exist will be fixed? OTOH, Sid and team will have to work extremely hard to get another buck from me, even (or especially, remembering the half-baked abomination that was Civ3) if they're remaking Pirates!.
Im not sure if games in the genre of europa universalis and victoria could ever 'sell big'. There seems to be a fairly limited number of genuine strategy enthusiasts cum history buffs. Games like Victoria could never have the sales of FPS's like Counter Strike though it could aspire to Civ. This would invariably mean that the game would have to be made less complex to meet the requirements of the mainstream.
THe fact that Paradox hasn't given in to such commercial pressures when it came to Victoria is something for us to be thankful for.
Gamespot be damned
THe fact that Paradox hasn't given in to such commercial pressures when it came to Victoria is something for us to be thankful for.
Gamespot be damned
He does make two good points. One, his paragraph about the economic model does make sense. Second, I really think that what may end up being the curse of this game--for newbies and reviewers-- is the rather poor manual.
The manual is a lot better than HOI or EU and explains the interface well, but seriously lags in trying to explain HOW to play. If, I hadn't played EU and HOI and had an idea what a Paradox game expected from me, as a player, I may have tossed vickie out the window by now. But I knew from experience that persistence would pay off and am greatly enjoying my third GC.
A newbie may be very overwhelmed. And while the "it's all explained on this forum" may work for us; a reviewer cannot take that seriously.
What I find shocking from the review is his issue with bugs and stability. This is by far the most stable and bug-free game released by Paradox.
The manual is a lot better than HOI or EU and explains the interface well, but seriously lags in trying to explain HOW to play. If, I hadn't played EU and HOI and had an idea what a Paradox game expected from me, as a player, I may have tossed vickie out the window by now. But I knew from experience that persistence would pay off and am greatly enjoying my third GC.
A newbie may be very overwhelmed. And while the "it's all explained on this forum" may work for us; a reviewer cannot take that seriously.
What I find shocking from the review is his issue with bugs and stability. This is by far the most stable and bug-free game released by Paradox.