Posted June 26, 2011
You've seen the programs on TV about "eat this, not that' and they give reasons why. So, in that vein, here's my first salvo into the "Play: this Great old Game, NOT that Crappy New Game" and an explanation why.
Play:
the Good old Game Master of Magic or Age of Wonders 2/Shadow Magic, NOT Elemental: War of Magic.
Why?
Both MoM and AOW have finished game mechanics and beautiful graphics rendered with thought and precision. A fully-thought out and activated magic tree complimented by increasingly superior creatures and units. In AOW there is a campaign of epic proportions which allows the player to immerse themselves into another world and 'believe' they are a wizard struggling for survival/supremacy whereas E:WoM is a lame excuse for a tutorial without having the decency to call it a tutorial. AOW has a somewhat more reliable diplomacy AI than MoM, but even MoM's AI doesn't declare war both because you are too small and because you are too large. The economies in both GoGs are simple, uncluttered, yet effective while E:WoM is cluttered, confusing, frustrating, and tedious. The random scenario generator (in AOW, or regular play in MoM) offers a variety of options and endless replayability rather than E:WoM's lackluster 1 continent (or 2 connected by a land bridge). MoM and AOW have 'neutrals' that matter, RPG elements (monster caves or Dragon's Hoards, for instance) that make sense and are visible at all times so you can plan for them, AND the chance to excel as either a horde-churning empire or a magic-reliant one, not the former over the latter. E:WoM's developers decided to cut their losses with their broken game and develop a SECOND game based ont he world of the first, completely abandoning those who bought the 1st game. Finally, MoM is $6 and AOW is $10 (each) - E:WoM is $50 and STILL needs patches a year after release, allowing you to buy 3 GREAT games for less than 1 that was rushed to publication.
Play:
the Good old Game Master of Magic or Age of Wonders 2/Shadow Magic, NOT Elemental: War of Magic.
Why?
Both MoM and AOW have finished game mechanics and beautiful graphics rendered with thought and precision. A fully-thought out and activated magic tree complimented by increasingly superior creatures and units. In AOW there is a campaign of epic proportions which allows the player to immerse themselves into another world and 'believe' they are a wizard struggling for survival/supremacy whereas E:WoM is a lame excuse for a tutorial without having the decency to call it a tutorial. AOW has a somewhat more reliable diplomacy AI than MoM, but even MoM's AI doesn't declare war both because you are too small and because you are too large. The economies in both GoGs are simple, uncluttered, yet effective while E:WoM is cluttered, confusing, frustrating, and tedious. The random scenario generator (in AOW, or regular play in MoM) offers a variety of options and endless replayability rather than E:WoM's lackluster 1 continent (or 2 connected by a land bridge). MoM and AOW have 'neutrals' that matter, RPG elements (monster caves or Dragon's Hoards, for instance) that make sense and are visible at all times so you can plan for them, AND the chance to excel as either a horde-churning empire or a magic-reliant one, not the former over the latter. E:WoM's developers decided to cut their losses with their broken game and develop a SECOND game based ont he world of the first, completely abandoning those who bought the 1st game. Finally, MoM is $6 and AOW is $10 (each) - E:WoM is $50 and STILL needs patches a year after release, allowing you to buy 3 GREAT games for less than 1 that was rushed to publication.
