It's Game Time pt. 2/3

And part II, starting with a part III game:

 

Diablo III

• + The 'ching' and 'clank' of dropped gold and equipment are rewards unto themselves.
• + What monsters and gear that could be encountered drive curiosity.
• + A great community to play with (if they’re friends you know).
• - The Auction House kills game exploration (pay-to-win effect).
• - There are very few people playing now.
• - Wait, there was a story?

I, as a level 40 Witch Doctor, haven’t got much play into the title; it’s just not that fun to play solo, and most friends that picked-up the title before me play on level 60 characters exclusively.  However, once a group can be gathered, delving into the depths of Hell and to the heights of Heaven can eat hours without any notice.  There’s something to learn from the system Diablo III uses (mass clicking, random drops, little active thinking, ect.), though Dr. Seuss had better constructed stories.

Dust 514 Beta

• + Options to make any soldier role possible.
• + Really big-team battles.
• + Tanks are not threatened by regular infantry, though infantry are needed to keep tank-killers at bay.
• + Deaths matter; good gear that’s worn is lost upon the battlefield.
• - Well, the game is still in the beta stage.

I like this game; I can’t wait to see how including the E.V.E. Online community in the fun will improve the experience.  For now, every battle is a constant balance between ‘what do I want?’ and ‘what am I willing to lose?’.  It’s a solid shooter, and the number of players online at a time is quite impressive, but I’ll reserve judgment for the final free-to-play release.

Civilization V

• + Emergent narrative is near perfect.
• + A broad selection of factions and units ensure civilizations are new every time.
• + Never conquer the same world twice with the random world creation option.
• + Each game is long; the player definitely gets time for their money.
• - At times, a game can be very slow to resolve itself.
• - AI is lacking in depth of complexity.
• - Restarting a game that may be too easy is difficult due to the number of turns invested to test out a new difficulty.

I am still playing Civilization V, and will definitely be returning to it in the future.  Though no story is provided off-the-bat, this is one of the best games for players to develop their own historic story in any way they wish.  Though the AI can be bland, and the time invested in long games is immense, it’s very hard to bash a game that is as focused on player preference as it is in its delivery.

Come again tomorrow night, as the final part to my summer game session is on its way!