Recent reviews by Tocharius

Ladies and Gentlemen, Crusader Kings II is now back to what it's supposed to be - except better than ever before! The DLC Syndrome is over.

[Now I go to the game to play it for days, then come back to continue the review.]

The duel system and option to antagonize opponents fill the game with adrenalizing "Shakespearean" drama. This is a FUN and streamlined expansion, making even defeats fun with how they can turn into satisfying epic storylines... which comfortably immerse you in your own defeat as opposed to you rage-quitting.

...There are also many gorgeous updates to the art which add to immersion - and stand as testiment to how video games are a form of culture. The aesthetic has improved, especilally with portraits and the "paintings" that come with each event pop-up.

Now Crusader Kings II feels streamlined and intense, and sparkles.

One of the best game mechanics for computer RPGs, no exaggeration there in the slightest. Probably THE BEST. HOWEVER: The 3D graphics scheme doesn't cut it - I know back in the day it was a milestone, like going to the Moon - the next logical step in graphics after isometric Baldur's Gate so on (and other games like WoW would take up this kind of 3D graphics and actually succeed). So, now we can see that the even older Baldur's Gate etc. had better graphics, and that their older isometric graphics are what Neverwinter Nights desperately needs to be totally great (as opposed to half great). It's half great because the mechanics with all their wonderful nuance honed in decades of D&D playing are there! - but the quaint charm of Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale - those older titles by the same company - are missing. If you could take the game mechanics and put them in Baldur's Gate, then the game would be perfect; and if you used present-day isometric graphics as in Pillars of Eternity, then the game would blow all RPGs out of the water... a money-maker and all-time classic waiting to be created.

Initial review: Updates to the Mac OS in the past several years have made playing Neverwinter Nights with Wine impossible. However, as of March 27th this is no longer the case. That's pretty good because at last I can satisfy my curiousity! I've done the character creation several times, and it is all certifiably old school. The game mechanics are 3e. What I want now is ACHIEVEMENTS.

Update: Oh! THERE ARE NOW ACHIEVEMENTS!!!

2nd Update: Why do all the achievements have the same image/icon? That needs to be remedied (which I'm sure it will, so I'm waiting lol).

3rd UPDATE: It's now possible (again) to play the original Neverwinter Nights thro' WINE on a Mac. I get the impression that the original non-enhanced plays more smoothly than the Enhanced Edition. A way to fix this is to uncheck all the video buffer rate options.

CONCLUSION...

Well, here's something I don't want to say. The game is called the "Enhanced Edition," but I feel the proper term would be "Steam Edition." Enhanced would mean the graphics would run streamlined and fast - super fast because the game is old... but the graphics are still clunky, and often even clunkiER. Obviously you don't play the game for the graphics - which is to say a LOT for how AWESOME the game mechanics are. Take a look at D&D Players Manual for Editions 3 or 3.5 - get into that, and then play...

...If you're a Dungeon Master into coding and design, you can use this game engine to design your own multiplayer modules. However the RPG designer is hidden or missing, or "un-enhanced". It was already loopy in the original - and needs to be unlooped rather than hidden. Otherwise it's a resource lost in time, or known only to the initiated. But for those in the know, it makes Neverwinter Nights not primarily a game, but a computerized system to help people play 3rd edition. You can think of the modules that come with the game as examples and tours of what can be done.

...Which means:

...just like Nietzsche said of the human race - that what's great about it is not that it's a goal that has been achieved, but that it is a bridge to achieving a worthwhile goal. Since originally NWN came out (almost 2 decades ago), there have been many computer RPGs. Yet the very fact that NWN would make a comeback indicates the goal of a GREAT COMPUTER RPG has not yet been quite accomplished - all attempts have been seriously flawed. This is one of the least flawed CRPGs. Where others may succeed graphically, Neverwinter Nights is one of the few, likely the ONLY, CRPG to succeed with near flawlessness with the game mechanics. That's due to 1) D&D 3rd edition rocks, and 2) NWN sincerely and authentically has D&D 3rd Edition rules... NWN seems coded around the rules, instead of the rules being made up ad hoc to simplify the coding.

Neverwinter Nights is one of the top 10 CRPGS that exist. It's the one with perfect game mechanics. Pillars of Eternity is the one with perfect graphics. Put the two together - someone! - and make yourself a heap of gold... PLEASE! There are hordes of fans waiting.

Slowly but surely, Paradox is break through to new AMAZING aesthetic. If you know what I mean, and feel it in HoI4, then you should enjoy this expansion - especially for 'the little things'.

HoI4 is the next new shining evolutionary phase of strategy games. Paradox out-did its own masterpieces Victoria II and HoI3 in this one game alone. The interface and gameplay are now streamlined and more intuitive - in such a way as to give Civ5 a run for its money!

UPDATE (2018): The wait is over! Now, finally, right from the get-go you can press the button "Oppose Hitler". What took them so long? Now the game deserves another star - but they're already maxed out.

This is the greatest game there is... Just make sure you play with all the expansions. When it first came out, before any patches, many diehard Civ fans were disappointed and still considered Civ IV far better, and this Civ to be just a stepping stone to a true sequel. In fact, there are Civ fans who still consider Civ II the best. I've followed the series since Civ II in the 90s, and I can honestly say that somehow this Civ -- WITH all the expansions -- is Civilization coming ever more into its own. It is polished, slick, streamlined and extremely aesthetically pleasing. You can play aggressively or passively; you can be a good guy and not choose war as your answer, or whatever you wish: win through religion, diplomacy, science, culture -- though sometimes circumstances will force you to make choices. I just wish there were more expansions coming out; and I assume there isn't because recently Civ Beyond Earth just came out, I suppose instead of an expansion. We should all yell for several more exapansions!!!!

This game is brilliant. Its complexity and depth are endless, and that is the beauty of it, although that means you will have to spend time getting the feel for how the game operates. The game will force you to wake up areas of your brain you didn't even know you had! There is much work to do, but you will find your cup overflowing with feelings of satisfaction. However, the game is grand and epic, and so has many ups and downs. Again, that's part of the beauty, although it means right whem you think you have it made, the rug is pulled out from under your feet -- or vice versa: anything can happen. Additionally, the game has incredible research behind it, and you will find yourself on Wikipedia or in other references to learn up on parts of history you weren't even aware of, and that you would not have otherwise found interesting. You learn a lot from the game -- it's like weight-lifting for your brain; and it is a history teacher that allows you to write your own textbook. AMAZING!!!