Civ IV and Other Computer Games

Civ 4 comes out today. IGN gives it a 9.4/10 rating, which is pretty good for them, and declares it the best Civ yet. Of course, IGN also gave Master of Orion 3 a 9.2, and that game stunk. But I doubt that Civ 4 will suck, if for no other reason than because of the Sid Meier factor.

The other game that has my eye is F.E.A.R., which stands for "First Encounter Assault Recon". It's a first person shooter (FPS) ala Quake/Half-Life. The thing that makes the game particularily interesting is that it crosses the FPS with a bit of horror ala the X-Files. I played a demo of the game, and it was seriously creepy. Flickering lights, eerie mood music, and supernatural elements that pop out of nowhere to scare the crap out of you when you least expect it. It's very well done, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole demo. I jumped out of my seat at least once.

I suppose as long as I'm talking about computer games, I should mention that Vanguard (the next big MMORPG from the people who did Everquest) is entering Beta 1. The world is supposedly HUGE, and they're introducing a lot of interesting ideas. Whereas many characters from recent MMORPGs have a separate advernture/crafting class/level, Vanguard adds a THIRD sphere in the form of diplomacy. Yes, you'll be able to choose a diplomacy class (including "Charlatan" and "Thug"), and go parlay with NPCS. Cities are a diplomat's dungeon. I'm really curious to see how that works out. Other interesting changes are that clerics/shaman are no longer intended to be heal-bots, but will play more the role of spot-healing while helping to engage the actual encounter, and that mages will not only play the role of offensive spellcaster, but also counterspelling enemy mages to ensure they don't obliterate the group of PCs. But perhaps the best part of Vanguard is that the game is going to be aimed towards the core MMORPGer who wants a tough, challenging game. In other words, the type of people who liked EQ1.