Veracity
Liturgist
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2006
- Messages
- 155
I've been wondering about picking this up for some time, given that most of its press seems to mention overwhelmingly impressive single-player AI and decent diplomacy, both areas that are often disappointing in high-level strategy. Given the invariably obscene amount of time playing the things eats up, only for you to recognize countless hours in that you've identified and are now mindlessly exploiting AI holes, I've been steering clear of them altogether for years.
So, does the AI really live up to its hype, or is this largely reviewer exaggeration? AI that not only wrecks your game but messages you to explain specifically why you suck sounds highly entertaining, as does the fact it'll complain when you use tactics that work only because you've set it to be stupid. Once you've played for a while, though, does it devolve into the usual rote exploitation of efficient-but-possibly-slightly-indirect tactics it fails to recognize?
The other reservation I have arises from having seen it being knocked for being unacceptably buggy. Is this fair and, if so, are there significant bugs still waiting for future patches? I'm increasingly short of patience with the industry's piss-poor attitude to quality control, so several minor or a few major bugs would be enough that I'd rather avoid purchasing at least until they're addressed.
So, does the AI really live up to its hype, or is this largely reviewer exaggeration? AI that not only wrecks your game but messages you to explain specifically why you suck sounds highly entertaining, as does the fact it'll complain when you use tactics that work only because you've set it to be stupid. Once you've played for a while, though, does it devolve into the usual rote exploitation of efficient-but-possibly-slightly-indirect tactics it fails to recognize?
The other reservation I have arises from having seen it being knocked for being unacceptably buggy. Is this fair and, if so, are there significant bugs still waiting for future patches? I'm increasingly short of patience with the industry's piss-poor attitude to quality control, so several minor or a few major bugs would be enough that I'd rather avoid purchasing at least until they're addressed.