Forum Pulse: Other Games You Enjoy/Have Enjoyed

[cleverwise]

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The idea behind the "Forum Pulse" series is to get a better understanding of those that make up this community.
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Topic: Obviously we all enjoy BotF, however what other games do you enjoy (or have enjoyed) that are worth a shout out!


Lead Off:

StarFleet Academy (haven't played it in ages - crashed many hdd's)
Rome: Total War (awesome turned based game with realtime combat)
Transport Tycoon (original and updated version Locomotion)
Sid Meier's RailRoads!
Total Annihilation (best of its class with awesome AI and still has some community development behind it)
Command & Conquer (Generals is my favorite - still fire it up once in a while. I never got into later ones but enjoyed original, Red Alert 2, original Tiberium Wars, plus Renegade was interesting first person POV.)
Simcity Series (1-4, I haven't played the newest one but seen it several times)
RollerCoaster Tycoon Series (1-3)
Zoo Tycoon (1 & 2)
Ceasar (I-IV, I still own the original on 3.5" diskettes)
Diablo (only owned the original, although the latest v3 has awesome graphics)

Over the years I have played many other titles such as fighter combat sims (Comcache series, Aces series), sub sims, some first person shooters, etc.

Still I prefer more strategic based games and that's why I keep returning to BotF.

[Martok]

Oh my goodness. Where would I start??!



Three other strategy games I've spent literally hundreds of hours playing are Lords of the Realm 2, the original Shogun Total War/Mongol Invasion, and the original Medieval Total War/Viking Invasion. Including BOTF, I've probably spent almost as much time playing those four games as I have all my other computer titles combined.

As far as other space 4x games go, Distant Worlds: Shadows and Armada 2526 Supernova round out my top three (along with BOTF, of course).


Other honorable mentions include (in no particular order):

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
Klingon Academy
Shogun 2: Total War (Gold Edition)
Galactic Civilizations 2: Twilight of the Arnor
Fallen Enchantress: Legendary Heroes
Imperialism II
Descent
Descent 2
Neverwinter Nights (Diamond Edition)
Star Wars: Empire at War
Crusader Kings 2
Imperium Galactica 2: Alliances
Sango 2
Alpha Centauri
SimCity 4: Deluxe Edition
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-Earth



As you can see, strategy games dominate my playtime. They always have.

[cleverwise]

I understand it can be an overwhelming question. So many games over so many years. You listed many good titles.

I have played a lot of Star Wars based games such as Dark Forces and sims like X-Wing and Tie Fighters. I forgot about Descent. Its been ages since I have thought about that title. The Total War engine is awesome isn't it? I always wanted to play Star Wars: Empire At War but never bought the game. I keep meaning to grab a copy off Amazon or eBay.

Good list Martok. BTW a Klingon handle with a Romulan ship. ;-)

Anyone else?

[Flocke]

I loved to play X-Beyond The Frontier and it's extension X-Tension a while back (would love to try it's newer sequels), and later Freelancer, but that's both years ago
even earlier I loved Pirates Gold
and oh yes StarCraft ofc
the rest is mostly been casual gaming whatever came across
many nice games but to me nothing exceptional
well, Dungeon Keeper II was great and also Klingon Academy was alot fun by that time
but the one and only I always came back is and remains BotF

[Tethys]

All the games I have bought/downloaded and played (enough to know what I am doing at least )

-Starship Creator and, yes, Warp 2
-Starfleet Academy (yes, with Commodore Aex Rotherot)
-Starfleet Command 2, 2 OP, and 3
-BIRTH OF THE FEDERATION and most supporting mods
-Dominion Wars (didnt play this much, it crashed alot on XP for me)
-Elite Force 1 and 2 (not much I admit)
-Armada 1 and (very briefly) 2, I was once the Mighty Santa Bombwar champ (fleet of 8 Steamrunners, closed map, so intense and I am up for a game or 2 sometime)
-Bridge Commander (favorite game, beats out BotF but not by much, and I think once MPR and GALM is 100% complete that could very well change)
-Legacy (I did not really want to list this game but Ive played it, once, )
-Star Trek Online

Others that are not Trek games:

-Battlefield BC 2
-Counter Strike Source
-Diablo 2
-NBA 2k13
-Prince of Persia 4 (PC) 2 and 3 on console I also played. (The movie was also very good )
-Wing Commander: Prophecy
-Star Wars KOTOR 2
-A few of the NFS racing games

I think thats all or most of the important ones!

[Martok]

I understand it can be an overwhelming question. So many games over so many years. You listed many good titles.

Thanks! I know it's not as, ah, diverse as some, but I just love strategy games.

The Total War engine is awesome isn't it?

The engine, yes. It's nothing short of brilliant.

However, the series itself is more hit & miss for me: I love STW/MI and MTW/VI (obviously), but I did not care for any of the games after that until Shogun 2. In fact, Rome remains one of my most despised PC titles of all time, and I hated Empire as well -- I devoutly wish I'd never purchased either of those games.

Thanks to how Shogun 2 turned out, I'm cautiously optimistic Rome II will be good as well, but I'm trying very hard to not let my hopes/expectations get too high. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I always wanted to play Star Wars: Empire At War but never bought the game. I keep meaning to grab a copy off Amazon or eBay.

It's a decent game, and a credit to the to the franchise. I won't say it's brilliant (as EAW is somewhat shallow), but it's definitely enjoyable enough.

BTW a Klingon handle with a Romulan ship. ;-)

Heh. Believe me, I'm aware of the irony.

Martok is by far one of my favorite Trek characters of all time, but the Romulans are my favorite playable faction in BOTF. Hence, the contradiction.

[Dr_Breen]

100 hours+ Games:

Botf
Unreal tournament 2004
Armada 1, if anyone can get this running on a newer PC, let me know
Battlefield 2
Elite force 2 ( i'm up for a game all against me anytime. perhaps this is my 1000 hrs+ game)

others:
Half life 1
Half life 2 and all episodes
Half life 3 (as soon as it comes out)
Battlefield Vietnam
Battlefield 3
Armada 2, Fleet ops mod
Bridge commander
Elite force 1
Jedi Knight 2
Jedi knight 3
The force unleashed 1
The force unleashed 2
Empire at War
Freelancer
Quake 3
Quake 4
Warsow
Unreal Tournament 3

[Tethys]

I think I have played Armada 1 on Vista back in college. Ill have to check some day, long lost my CD though...

[QuasarDonkey]

Anyone else here still playing Theme Hospital?

My top favorites are (in no particular order): Minecraft (PC), Theme Hospital (PC), DOOM (PC), Tetris (NES), Mario 64 (N64), Super Mario Bros 3 (NES), Wizards & Warriors 3 (NES), and I like a lot of old point-and-click adventures too. And of course BotF.

[cleverwise]

@Martok:

As I have stated that is my preferred type of game too so I totally understand where you are coming from. There were a lot of good Tycoon games, and some really cheesy ones, but that was always a draw because you had to do more than just mindlessly shoot at something. Still from time-to-time it is fun to just blast something away in a first person shooter. I am not saying there is anything wrong with shooters but they do require less thought.

So you didn't like Rome? I think it is an awesome game. What turned you off? I think Empires is a cool idea and brought powder (gun powder) into the series with interesting ship battles. I used to enjoy Age of Sail. However I have heard it is really buggy as it seems the game needed more time to bake. I personally would love to see a US Civil War theme on that engine. Plus WW1 and WW2 would be interesting.

I agree Martok is a very cool character. I always look forward to when DS9 advances to the story line with him.

@Dr_Been, another good list. Battlefield Vietnam was a good game to jump and blast a few things for a bit. Did you ever play the original Dark Forces?

@QuasarDonkey, I had never heard of Theme Hospital. It looks much like the Tycoon type games. Doom that is an old series. I still have the original Doom on 3.5" diskettes and I know that series is still alive. Did you ever play Heretic or Duke Nukem?

[Jourin]

Games that have stayed on my hard drive that I periodically play and have actively modded
1. Civ 4 (like it a lot better than Civ 5)
2. Space Empires 4 (SE 5 is also good but the interface in 4 is better IMO)
3. Baldur's Gate - complete series
4. Galatic Civiliations 1 (like 1 better than 2)

I just rediscovered my BOTF disk two weeks ago - it was lost during my last move 10 yrs ago and I just found it in some box. I thought to give the game a try...discovered this WEBSITE and the awesome support and thought - WOW.
Maybe BOTF will be added to my list

[Martok]

So you didn't like Rome? I think it is an awesome game. What turned you off?

I could honestly write an entire book on why I loathe RTW so much. (As it is, I've ranted on the subject plenty of times elsewhere.)

What it essentially boils down to, though, is an almost-total lack of atmosphere/immersion, combined with the absolute worst AI I've ever seen in a strategy game. (Yes, the AI in BOTF is crappy too, but Rome's AI is a whole new level of terrible.) I can forgive a strategy game that has bad AI *or* lacks atmosphere/immersion, but not both.

In contrast, the first two Total War games had atmosphere in spades (despite the older graphics engine) *and* decent AI. Coming from that, to Rome, was a rude shock.

I think Empires is a cool idea and brought powder (gun powder) into the series with interesting ship battles. I used to enjoy Age of Sail. However I have heard it is really buggy as it seems the game needed more time to bake.

Yep, that's pretty much it. Also, the game -- like Rome -- suffered from the "Black Knight AI" phenomenon, which obviously didn't help.

I personally would love to see a US Civil War theme on that engine. Plus WW1 and WW2 would be interesting.

The ACW would definitely work on the TW engine. I don't think it would work as a standalone title, as there'd be only two playable factions, but I could see it as an expansion for an existing game.

I still don't see how either World War could work on the TW engine, given that warfare of the time didn't really lend itself to discrete, set-piece battles.

I agree Martok is a very cool character. I always look forward to when DS9 advances to the story line with him.

Yeah, he's a "Klingon's Klingon". And J.G. Hertzler does such a wonderful job in the role.

[cleverwise]

@Jourin, I never got into the Civ series but I know it was a good set. I am new myself but welcome to the board. BotF is an awesome game isn't it? I, too, recently dusted off my copy of BotF and found this forum so I know where you are coming from.


@Martok:

I could honestly write an entire book on why I loathe RTW so much.

I see. Rome is the only TW game I have played. I didn't care for their earlier games due to the time periods covered, like Castles, which don't interest me, but I am fanatical about Rome. I soak up Roman documentaries like a sponge and even took Latin in school, not that I remember much. I really liked the Caesar series; Simcity meets Rome. When I saw Rome TW I jumped on it. The hours I spent on it, although now I don't even have it installed much less play it.

I do agree the AI is weak. In battle the same tactic always worked and once I figured it out I always won. In most games the AI is lacking. I know it isn't easy to program. As for the weather a better engine would rock. When its raining troops should move slowly and get bogged down.

I found the music score awesome. The turn based action with realtime combat was a great mix, IMO. The graphics, for the day, were awesome and some TV shows even used RTW in documentaries to show combat of the day. Plus I enjoyed, like BotF, developing towns/cities by choosing what to build. We will see what Rome 2 brings but the initial peak looks awesome. Of course actual gameplay will reveal the truth.

The ACW would definitely work on the TW engine. I don't think it would work as a standalone title, as there'd be only two playable factions, but I could see it as an expansion for an existing game.

Well for fun you could throw in external powers. The South tried many times to get Britain to enter the war. So you could have North, South, Britain, France, Spain, Mexico, and Canada. I mean imagine if Britain had entered the war? Or France? Or even if Mexico or Canada tried to take advantage of the situation and expand North or South?

As for WW1 and WW2 I don't see why it wouldn't work. In WW2 units were standalone too. Sure there was overall strategy but x or y army was told go do this or that. In the other TWS and games like BotF hopefully the player has an overall strategy. So while units may be "standalone" there is still a global picture.

Yeah, he's a "Klingon's Klingon". And J.G. Hertzler does such a wonderful job in the role.

He was awesome in that role. It is a great scene when he is complaining to Sisko about his promotion.

[RomSurprise]

Many favorites, but who has time to read them all?

Space Empires 3 offers planets with little micro-management owing to the fixed buildings and lower population benefits. You build up a planet with research or mining, and you might just ignore it afterwards. I always spent time inventing new ships - I'm still surprised I can play a game for years, and continue devising new combinations of components with interesting effects. Fun customizing ships.

[MrGwangGwang]

My List:

FPS

Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force
Counter-Strike: Source
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Battlefield: Bad Company 2
Battlefield 3

Strategy

Caesar III
Star Trek: Armada
Star Trek: Armada II
Star Trek: BOTF
Company of Heroes
DEFCON

Other

Minecraft
Silent Hunter III
Eve Online