Gamespot review and #1 game

Adeptrain · #1 January 23rd, 2004, 07:42 PM

Hello alls.

Don't know if anyone here goes over to gamespot but I saw something quite interesting in regards to Dominions II. 1st of all, Dominions 2 only got a 6.2 out of 10 at gamespot...Grrrr!!!! BUT, even with a D grade IT IS TODAYS #1 RANKED GAME ON GAMESPOTS MOST POPULAR STRATEGY GAME LIST!!!

BWAHAHA....here's the link for those interested.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy.html

Adeptrain

Raz 24 · #2 January 23rd, 2004, 09:04 PM

Harr-Harr-Harr I knew that sometime the fools will praise a good game and not something like Age of Empires

Dominions 2 is really worth more than #1 It should ascend!

Saber Cherry · #3 January 23rd, 2004, 09:17 PM

You know the big problem? He listed the learning curve as "About 1 hour". That, if nothing else, should discredit his entire article - he's off by a factor of 100, at least... not to imply that you could learn Dominions in 100 hours, but at least you'd get a feel for what's a good idea, and what not to do in that timeframe.

PvK · #4 January 23rd, 2004, 09:18 PM

Is it #1 because there are no other strategy games on Gamespot?

This is a big part of the reason why The Wargamer has a policy not to give numerical reviews, but rather to explain what seems good and bad about a game. Dominions is a 10 at what it does best, and thus a 10 for players who appreciate it. It might be a 6 for players who'd rather be shooting 3D Pokemon, but that's really irrelevant.

PvK

Xavier · #5 January 23rd, 2004, 09:37 PM

Not at all - they list the the top 10. The Sims 2 is #2.

Anyone wanna venture which game had the bigger production budget?

HJ · #6 January 23rd, 2004, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Rankings based on information requests on GameSpot

In other words, it's the number of clicks it recevied in the past day.

[ January 23, 2004, 19:51: Message edited by: HJ ]

Breschau · #7 January 23rd, 2004, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
You know the big problem? He listed the learning curve as "About 1 hour". That, if nothing else, should discredit his entire article - he's off by a factor of 100, at least... not to imply that you could learn Dominions in 100 hours, but at least you'd get a feel for what's a good idea, and what not to do in that timeframe.

I suppose it depends if he means the learning curve of just learning how to play, or if it means of learning how to play well.

As in, just learning the basics of navigating the interface, what the commands do, etc vs knowing not just all the commands, but understanding exactly how they all work and interact and learning what is and isn't a good "move" or strategy.

An hour is probably still a little optimistic even for the former, but based on my own experience not by that much. Without any manuals, guides or forums I was able to do the basics of the first game (summon/recruit units, move them around, research and cast spells, create items, spread dominion, conquer territory, etc) within maybe 1.5 to 2 hours. Although the first 20-30 minutes were an absolute brick wall - I was clicking end turn just cos it was the only thing I understood

PvK · #8 January 23rd, 2004, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by HJ:

quote:
Rankings based on information requests on GameSpot

In other words, it's the number of clicks it recevied in the past day.

More deep and useful information from the pop media...

onomastikon · #9 January 24th, 2004, 05:58 PM

Quote:

As previously mentioned, Dominions is a game of staggering depth and complexity--qualities that most fans of strategy games highly appreciate. However...

That was actually a fairly fair review (in general, even if I dont agree with his "tilt"). It seems that the "howevers" outweighted it for him (although certainly not for us!). If he found a different interface / AI, I bet he would have given it a 9.

ceremony · #10 January 24th, 2004, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by onomastikon:

quote:
As previously mentioned, Dominions is a game of staggering depth and complexity--qualities that most fans of strategy games highly appreciate. However...

That was actually a fairly fair review (in general, even if I dont agree with his "tilt").

"Tilt" is a reflection of how much the reviewer enjoyed the game, so it's the one rating aspect that really can't be disagreed with - the low score reflects the fact that the reviewer didn't enjoy the game all that much. Others (like me) enjoy the game a whole heck of a lot, but that doesn't invalidate the reviewer's experience.