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Veldor -> RE: Diplomacy, Squad Leader & Paradox (10/21/2005 12:56:13 AM)
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Alright, so now that I have spent more time with the game I can ammend my previously mostly positive review..
So here are my faults in the game:
1. Music/Sound - OMG is it awful. I can't remember a single game in the last 2 decades that has had such bad background music that I actually had to turn it off. It's not just that its repetitive, its simply composed of the most annoying sounds imaginable. Which fits right into the sounds for the game so accurately described by Mr. Falcon as pornographic in nature. Equally as annoying. That leaves a few dings and blips here or there of which are not suprisingly disappointing. Wargammer gave this game I think it was a 2/10 for Sound but if this game isn't a 1 in that department, then I don't know what game would be.
2. Tutorial - OMG is it awful. Not only is there some kind of font problem (" look like high-ascii symbols and such) but it is filled with mispellings, incomplete sentences, and poor grammar. Even if thats excusable, it reads more like a long winded forum post than a concise, well layed out and thought out tutorial. The author goes off on so many tangeants I half expected to start reading about his grand kids a few screens later. This was clearly a last minute effort. I honestly would have prefered simply reading a tutorial in the manual (And reading the whole manual actually turned out to be quicker than going through all the tutorials!!!). Not helpful at all I tried to stay committed but had to quit after the 3rd one I think. Couldn't take it..
3. Resolution Phase. Though the interface is very well done, its almost impossible to make sense of whats going on when the computer resolves all the moves/combat etc. The screen jumps around oddly, has the most boring animations I've ever seen (complete with the most boring accompanying sound effects) and I simply find it so useless that I have just turned it off altogether. This also nicely eliminates the porno's from playing. I would have prefered some kind of review screen where I could scroll about and see what moves were placed, then again once it was all resolved. Anything but how it is now.
4. AI - I have to partially recant my previous praise here. It's an all to common problem. It's not that the AI is dumb. Its WAY SMARTER than the last Diplomacy game. The problems are:
1. Other countries fail to realize when you are growing 2 strong and do not decide to alter diplomacy or attack destinations based on that.
2. When faced with the same decision, it makes the same predictable move every single time regardless of its "personality".
3. It lacks strategic understanding in many of those decisions.
Perfect example. I play Russia and usually move on Sweden leaving my highest resource point unguarded. The brits generally take Norway. If I continue to leave the resource point unguarded, they will take it with their naval unit from Norway EVERY SINGLE TIME at the next fall turn. The problem with this is that they 1. Never move something else into Norway, so I just know to issue an order to move 1 unsupported unit there. 2. More importantly they have no means of defending what they just took, whereas I do. Often they just abandon it algother and move back out to sea. 3. The point being they didnt gain a thing, they "swapped" territories and got a less defensible etc etc. Just overly aggressive and risky.
Which would be fine if it varied up what it would do. But it seems more and more like it doesn't. I can consistently win as the Russians will little more diplomacy than a Non-aggression treaty with Italy. Though I am more proficient in Russian Strategy than in, say, the Germans who I have a much harder time with due to their central location in the game. I suppose If I could consistently win with the germans it would be a bad sign :)
But the game is still a brilliant design. It shows how added abstraction in a wargame, done in the right way, INCREASES the strategy in the game. Its chess like in how you have to think ahead what your opponents might be doing, where they might be moving. Add to that social aspects of figuring out who you can really trust, whose really willing to help you, who will stab you in the back... and throw in some wargaming..
The game may well have its faults but I'd still classify it as a must have.
I'd also assume Paradox will patch the A.I. to be better over time (crossing fingers)....
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