RTS/Sim Games

[Roland Deschain]

I am a huge fan of both RTS (real-time strategy) and Sim (simulation/god) games, and have been ever since I first laid eyes on Sim City back in the early 90s. Ever since then i've been hooked, and have spent so many hours building cities and empires, that it would be impossible to make an estimate on exactly how long. They give me somewhere to relax and unwind, not to mention somewhere to live out my dreams of world domination (thanks, S.P.E.C.T.R.E), and allow a little problem-solving too. Among my favourite games are:-

The Sims 2
The Sims 3
Civilization 3
Civilization 4
Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War
Sim City 4
Rome: Total War
Medieval 2: Total War
Empire: Total War
X3: The Reunion
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3
Children of the Nile
CivCity Rome
Spore
Tropico
Tropico 2
Tropico 4

And these are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head (I own them all). Does anyone else here feel an affinity towards these types of games? I'm sure i'm not in the minority here. I love other types of game too, but these genres just absorb and assimilate me like no other. When I start, I almost cannot stop, as I want to experiment with things to see what happens, whether that's within a structured level system (eg - Tropico), or within a very open game world (eg - Spore).

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

I've played some of the ones you mention, true.

But I lean towards the first-person type games myself-- typically shooters, but my favorites involved far more than that, Deus Ex series.  And no, I've not yet played the prequel (the latest in the franchise).

I have played all the single-player Quakes, though, and most of the Dooms. 

I shy away from on-line multiplayer games, as there are too many basement-dwellers who's sole pleasure in life, is harassing newbies to the game.   Pass. 

[Griffin NoName]

My favourite game ever was the original zork - in my view any modern gamee with graphics will never beat it.

I do own a cross-section of other more modern games, but currently am not in the mood for some reason.

I loved Doom, American McGee's Alice (totally brilliant). I've given up on Myst as per the thread on that. I 've got the original Half-Life which I am stuck on near the beginning. I have the later versions of Zork etc, played some but not all. Have the Sims 2 but not got very far with it. Also have The Lady in White, a Myst type game, which haven't played yet. Since I bought it the "Game" shop has gone into administration (ie. bust) so my purchase was obviously not enough to save them.

[Roland Deschain]

The Doom series was excellent. I played the first and Doom 3. Not played any of the Quakes or Deus Ex games, though. One FPS I loved, and still do, was HL2. What an amazing game that is still as fresh today as it was the day I first opened it.

I have a few more to add to my list above:-

Railroad Tycoon
Sid Meier's Pirates
Theme Hospital

That's it, lol.

[Griffin NoName]

Theme Hospital sounds fun.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

You should try Half Life 2, with 3 screens and a field of view of 180 degrees.  Stunning.



I'm thinking of getting the new Portal 2 game, but have not yet taken the plunge.

[Swatopluk]

I tended more towards round based strategy and switched of the fog-of-war whenever possible.
I prefer it, if I can proceed methodically. I hate it when the computer zerg-rushes me before I even have the lay of the land.
I never was a good chess player though. If I can lose a game in a single false move, then it is not for me.
(somehow all sentences but one have started with I, What an egocentric guy I am).
I warmed a bit to RTS over time.

Die Siedler (I, II)
Cossacks (I, II), less sucessful with the follow-up American Conquest
Original War (why the hell did they never produce a sequel?)

I liked the classic Sierra adventures since I bought Kings Quest I-III in a box for the Atari ST

I played most of what Bluebyte produced
The Battle Isle series (round based strategy), Albion (RPG), Schleichfahrt (military flight simulator just underwater), Die Siedler (see above)...

Now I am into 1st person RPG
Arx Fatalis
Morrowind
Oblivion (currently)
Preferred way of playing: brutal sneak. Low risk to yourself, maximum damage. Get close to your enemies with 100% chamaeleon then put a nuke under their bum. Steal like a magpie but always choose the moral option. In other words, rather questionable 
I played Thief/Dark Project for some time and before that Tomb Raider but found it too much of 3D jump-and-run, too much dependent on perfectly timed sequences of movement. In the case of Commando I lost interest when I reached a mission where everyhing hinged on a single timed move that I never got right and that did not allow a repeat. What I really like about this game though was that it did not allow to sacrifice any character. One down, you lose. I generally like to play that way even when it is not mandatory. Original War was a favorite because one could grow attached to the characters. The experience system encouraged the player to minimize losses but even 'expendable' characters had so much personality (at least in the German dub, samples of the English dub I heard were dreadful, I do not know about the original Eastern European version) that to lose them was not an option. I even occasionally chose certain characters for a mission despite them not being the best as far as skills were concerned.

Sid Meyer too was a favorite, at least in the older versions of his games

[Roland Deschain]

Out of the games you mention, Swato, i've only ever played the Tomb Raider ones, from PS1, PS2, and the re-releases they did in HD a while ago. The older ones, specifically the PS1 games, were much harder. How on earth am I meant to find a switch that blends into the wall texture so well? Not that i'm complaining, as i've loved all the ones i've played.

I've wanted to get into the The Elder Scrolls games, but fear of spending my entire life in the universes they've created holds me back. That and I really need the time to devote to them fully, which is kinda the same thing, lol.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

Looking at my STEAM library, and based on what I have purchased from them so far, they recommended a new game, Hard Reset, a first-person shooter set in a cyberpunk-like setting.

It plays a bit like Bioshock 1 (I've not played 2), at least the demo does.   I was having issues with the audio, but have not yet resolved those-- I won't buy it until it is.

But the demo was amusing.

[Roland Deschain]

Bioshock is a beautiful game, with some great level design and gameplay. I love art deco, gothic, and steampunk, so seeing the fusion in the game was something to behold, especially as they could make things rusty due to being underwater. The run-down look was superbly done. I have the second game, but not played it yet. I'm still busy with Little Big Planet 2.

[Griffin NoName]

I just had a look at the Bioshock website, brilliant, just the sort of game I really like. One question, why do all these games have virtually the same music, presumably there's a whole career path in writing music that has tiny variations to other games music. OK, that's two questions.

[Bob in a quantum-state-of-faith]

LOL Griffin!

I hadn't noticed-- I typically shut the in-game sound track, and substitute my own.

Bioshock is an interesting first-person shooter, with the usual kill everything you see (if you can)... only there's a twist:  some of the encounters, you may not wish to kill, but to interact instead... the game's engine gives you plenty of warning about which is which.

Another difference:  instead of giving you better and better weapons (in the way of "upgrading") you get these biomodification thingys, that let you modify things you can do-- think spell casting, I suppose (as good an analogy as anything).  You have a limited number of slots, and you can change what's in there too, but you have to have the correct amount of goo, and you have to locate a changing station, so it's limited.

What you choose for the slots affects the gameplay, obviously, and you have to live with your choices (at least until you find more goo and locate a changing station).

The storyline takes a couple of unexpected twists as well, makes for pretty good motivation.  I've played it twice on my Xbox 360, but have not played the sequel (don't own it, actually).   The sequel lets you play as some of the "monsters", and to me, was not as compelling a storyline.