Thu Oct 01, 2009 8:06 pm
I'm doubting I'll get Vicky, at least not on release.
I own EU1, 2, CK/DV, Vicky+Rev, HoI and HoI2&DD, plus EU3+Add ons and Rome.
Now, P'dox' released were always messy, though they usually managed to clean and polish them up nicely with their patches. I was on their betas for CK, Vicky/Rev, HoI1&2, and initially in the EU3 pre-beta (was kicked off the latter due to inactivity).
I thought EU3 was disappointing at release (though I got the collector's edition), and frankly didn't care for the free form, equal opportunity MP approach P'dox took with 1.00 (possibly misguided by EU2's longevity as MP game). The two expansions turned this into a game I enjoyed.
EU:Rome seemed like an interesting subject. Unfortunately the original release didn't manage to keep my interest, and I didn't bother with the expansion.
After HoI3 was announced I was not very happy, because the HoI series was never my favorite, though I did have some fun with HoI2DD. I followed the dev diaries, and they did look interesting in parts but was determined to hold out. I tried the demo and was not thrilled. Biggest turn off to me - a map lover - was the questionable map with rivers and towns hundreds of miles off, or some cities inexplicably not represented as "urban" (e.g. Ruhr, Budapest, some Dutch towns, etc.). I decided to watch the forums to see what the fans' reaction would be. I don't want to go into detail, but I was not favorably impressed.
In hindsight, my jokes that I might buy it when the two expansions are out and the whole thing bundled at bargain price seem to have been only too accurate.
Hence I don't have high hopes for Vicky 2. The first, though ambitious, had some serious design flaws (POPmania, black hole world market, to name just two), so there's room for improvement. However, I thought the amount of innovation vs. steps back and quality of release and current Paradox business model (expansions galore? *grumble* but sprite packs? what the heck?) leave me less than excited (unlike when Vicky1 was announced).
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
The brutality and inhumanity of war stood in great contrast to what I had heard and read about as a youth.
- Reinhold Spengler, war volunteer 1st Bavarian Infanterie Regmnt., 1916