Confused by opinions

[Spear Dog]

Reviews and opinions and ratings of the game are all over the shop. Are some opinions more equal than others? Which members opinions are worth paying attention to. Would a vote of confidence for other users by other users be OK or is that too close to "discussing" other members. I want to know what's good about Rome 2, how this title surpasses previous TW games, not the repeated complaints about probably minor gameplay issues that will eventually be sorted and may possibly be system or preference issues specific to individuals.

[Swerg]

My current speculation is that CA only tested Rome 2 on a very small number of computers, leading to poor performance on those systems not similar to theirs. Looks like I'm going to be waiting a few days myself before I get to play.

Unfortunately, given that I can't play the game since the entire battlefield is a giant, blobby, shadowy mass, I can't really give you an opnion on those things that surpass previous TW games, even if they are there.

[Sebt1890]

I'm not too picky on a lot of things. I consider myself a casual gamer though I've been playing this series since the beginning. I love this game, and while there are some new mechanics involved, it's definitely for the better.

[mahu]

If you want to know the good and bad sides of R2, then you should just play it yourself. Asking for opinions (especially on this forum) will not give you any answers, because everyone sees game a bit differently, and what some people see as gamebreaking issue others may see as a decent feature. Some people like their colorful Romans. Some hate attack dogs. But most of all it's your own opinion that should matter to you the most. If you like the game, then you like it, and no amount of negative opinions should change that. Unless, of course, you want someone to tell you what to think. Just give it a go. I can't, at least for now (i'm at work).

[Spear Dog]

If you want to know the good and bad sides of R2, then you should just play it yourself. Asking for opinions (especially on this forum) will not give you any answers, because everyone sees game a bit differently, and what some people see as gamebreaking issue others may see as a decent feature. Some people like their colorful Romans. Some hate attack dogs. But most of all it's your own opinion that should matter to you the most. If you like the game, then you like it, and no amount of negative opinions should change that. Unless, of course, you want someone to tell you what to think. Just give it a go. I can't, at least for now (i'm at work).

No body has ever been able to tell me what to think, which is probably why I'm a mildly anti-social homebody sitting at a pc playing long drawn out strategy games instead of some MMO FPS with a horde of borderline future psychopaths. It's clear there is a tendency in these forums for a number of readily identifiable individuals to dedicate themselves to trashing this game with repeated comparisons to past editions in the Total War series. That makes no sense to me. I have played every TW title my system can play and don't need anyone to tell me what they were like or refer to problems I never had. I don't get the hate for Empire, it's one of the best games of all times and any limitations it had in relation to history or reality can be dismissed in this way - It's a game! There is no gunpowder strategy game like ETW that I've played or even heard about (when you google 'games like...', and read reviews and such you realise all other strategy games are playing catch up with TW). Total War is always a couple of generations ahead of the system I'm running so I always get to the next title late in the release, pick up the 'gold edition' at a discount price and renew my love affair with one of the few games worth the playing time you give it. If you love the Total War series and have played them all you'll know that each new title comes with a steep learning curve, even for veterans, and that that is part of the game. Each release is different and that too is one of the strengths of this series. This release does seem to be gathering a consensus that it is a beta release that will have to get better, so I won't rush out to buy this one straight up, as much as I want to. I'll get the system upgrade first and catch up on Shogun II which is getting some great press at the moment as an aside to the criticism of RTW2.

p.s there was a thread here early yesterday "who's having fun" or similar that had some good +ve feedback that told me more about the game than all the pedantic whingers who seemed to be expecting perfection and - weirdly - reality.

[Sanzo Hidochi]

Buggy*

[Knonfoda]

Double post.

[Knonfoda]

There's no real way to tell, you'll have to read between the lines to see what sort of issues are popping up most and perhaps the most frequent complaints, and then gauge through them to see what may and may not be applicable. Right now, from my own gameplay experience and other people's opinions (I'll fall short of calling them "reviews") the most common issues seem to be graphical problems, faction/language gripes, unintuitive user interface, and buggy AI/AI that leaves to be desired.

The first two can arguably be attributed to individual PC/driver setup and personal preferences, while the latter seem to be legitimate gameplay issues. You could even argue maybe the graphical issue is inherent to the game at this stage in time (maybe patches will come out and so forth) but there is no way of knowing.

Don't take my word for it though, play the game yourself - it's the only way to know for sure, which is what I'm doing.

[wulfgar610]

The contrast is poor on on my system, whether it comes up better on a hot graphics card I don't know. There's a huge load of resolution in the game. I'd rather they had less resolution and better contrast.

[Ac3]

I'm really paying attention to what the staff says.

[Manco]

Reviews and opinions and ratings of the game are all over the shop. Are some opinions more equal than others? Which members opinions are worth paying attention to. Would a vote of confidence for other users by other users be OK or is that too close to "discussing" other members. I want to know what's good about Rome 2, how this title surpasses previous TW games, not the repeated complaints about probably minor gameplay issues that will eventually be sorted and may possibly be system or preference issues specific to individuals.

If you want to hear a reasonable opinion, paradoxically it might not be the best idea to go to a site dedicated to the game in question.
On a dedicated site, opinions tend to the extremes. Either they're bashing it out of disappointment/disgruntlement, or they're praising it out of some sort of loyalty; add the inevitable trolls on both sides, and the masses who'll be silenced by the noise of the aforementioned.

On a different games' site or a general one, people tend not to be as invested or aren't being dragged down by the flow of conversation, giving them a bit more distance and hopefully objectiveness. Plus if you're a longstanding member, you tend to get an idea where the other regulars are coming from.
For example, there's hardly any regular here I tend to really rely on for opinion on TW games. In the general gaming forum however, there are several members who's opinion I tend to seriously consider.

[Sanzo Hidochi]

No, not all opinions are equal. Fanboys are blind and haters are dumb. There's a good middle ground where there are reasonable criticisms and opinions are certainly verified. I'll give you this opinion of mine (which I think is fair). Rome 2 is a great game and worth buying, but it's difference and buddy.

[TheChronoMaster]

The best place to look for opinions is in people you personally know, or in small forum communities.


If you go to TWCenter, you'll get two opinions on the latest Total War:

1) Best release yet.

2) Ruins the franchise.


There is no middle ground, because people, for some crazy reason, love to become partisan -- see politics. Anyone who defends a game design decision is bought and paid for, anyone who points out a legitimate flaw is a whining pedant.

[♘Top Hat Zebra]

I have heard a lot about it being poorly-optimized and not running well. I don't know about that because it runs well for me.


So, for the game play? It's a Total War game. If you have liked other vanilla Total War games, this one is a little better than Shogun 2 was at launch. If you didn't like vanilla Total War games and instead relied on mods to make them historically accurate or some such, then you probably will not enjoy this vanilla Total War either.

People are in an uproar because when they read "Rome 2 Total War" they actually heard "Europa Barbarorum except with good graphics." And so they based their expectations on a made-up idea of what the game should be, instead of actually looking at the previews and videos and pictures that CA put out, and then looking at the other games in the series, and thinking "Yes, it will probably be like that."

[Spear Dog]

I have heard a lot about it being poorly-optimized and not running well. I don't know about that because it runs well for me.


So, for the game play? It's a Total War game. If you have liked other vanilla Total War games, this one is a little better than Shogun 2 was at launch. If you didn't like vanilla Total War games and instead relied on mods to make them historically accurate or some such, then you probably will not enjoy this vanilla Total War either.

People are in an uproar because when they read "Rome 2 Total War" they actually heard "Europa Barbarorum except with good graphics." And so they based their expectations on a made-up idea of what the game should be, instead of actually looking at the previews and videos and pictures that CA put out, and then looking at the other games in the series, and thinking "Yes, it will probably be like that."

I'm new to mod's, again, system isssues - but I'm a convert with Darthmod Platinum and can say that I like vanilla and I like the mods. I'll play both no problem, in fact it's reassuring that after 600 hours play I can install a mod and get a whole new fresh perspective. This will be my pattern from now on and with my new system I'll be going back through my titles and revisiting them with mods installed. The surprising thing about Darthmod was, after everything I'd read in these forums, how little it actually differed from vanilla in actual gameplay. I see no reason I can't have the cake and eat it too! My future gaming fun is assured by all those generous modding geniuses out there. A big thankyou to them. The final mod/s for Rome II will be legendary!

[♘Top Hat Zebra]

I agree, mods will certainly improve the game.

I honestly would recommend Rome 2 if you are a fan of the series. It's great. I would go on about why it is great, but honestly, Im too busy playing it right now.