What changes have been made from Civilization 4 to 5?

Question

I've read the surprisingly light Wikipedia article on Civ 5 and it seems to be lacking coherent comparison of features between it and its predecessor. I'm also reluctant to bring down the 4Gb demo on a whim...

Please could I have some clarification on the following:

• Has the speed of conquest been slowed down even further?
• Are wars any easier to end (and avoid re-igniting) diplomatically?
• Are there still culture-related borders?
• Is the AI as aggressive as the article seems to indicate, or is it possible to have stable diplomatic neighbours?
• This one's rather subjective, I'm afraid: With regards to improvements, is this an XP to Vista kind of upgrade, or Vista to 7? By which I mean are they generally look driven, or core gameplay driven improvements?

Let me know if this should be a community wiki, or needs clarification.

Answer

Some of these are opinion only, but here's my take on it:

• Has the speed of conquest been slowed down even further?

It takes longer to capture cities, if that's what you mean, but I think the hex-based, 1UPT, ranged units, and the fact that a unit doesn't necessarily die at the end of each combat (both sides can survive, for example) makes CIV V's combat strictly superior.

• Are wars any easier to end (and avoid re-igniting) diplomatically?

Kinda speculative; this is difficulty and AI leader personality dependent.

• Are there still culture-related borders?

Yes.

• Is the AI as aggressive as the article seems to indicate, or is it possible to have stable diplomatic neighbours?

Again, depends on leader + personality + difficulty level. Stable diplomatic neighbors are possible, however.

• This one's rather subjective, I'm afraid: With regards to improvements, is this an XP to Vista kind of upgrade, or Vista to 7? By which I mean are they generally look driven, or core gameplay driven improvements?

Personally, I would say Windows XP to Windows 7. Both looks and core gameplay.

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How do I choose between the console and PC versions of a game?

Question

How do the versions for PC, PS3 and XBox of modern games (like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Need for Speed, etc.) compare to each other? Is a version for a given platform normally better than the others, are they equivalent, or it depends on the game?

Are there other aspects to be taken into account, besides platform performance (e.g., cheating, multiplayer, DLC availability)?

Answer

I think it depends on the game.

One way that some developers approach developing a game is to make it for one platform first, and then port that to the other platforms - this is typically called having a "lead" platform.

For example, from what I have read DICE is developing Battlefield 3 for the PC first, and then working on the console versions. This can be seen by all the early footage from the PC version, but not really seeing anything on the console versions until E3 this year. Also in this case, the PC version will support more players at once in multiplayer (up to 64 IIRC, not sure on that though).

However for a game like Modern Warfare 3, that (at least from what I've read) seems to focus on the Xbox 360 version first. This is definitely the case for DLC, since Activision has a deal with Microsoft to release all DLC for the 360 first. Also, I don't think they have finalized plans for Call of Duty Elite on the PC yet, due to potential issues with users running their own dedicated servers.

Overall, I think that in order to choose "correctly" you'll need to evaluate each game on its own merits. There are so many ways to develop a game that there really can't be any hard and fast rules that make a certain version always the best one.

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Is Braid on PS3/PC different in any way? Is there a definitive choice?

Question

gals and things,

I'm one of the few poor souls who hasn't played Braid yet. I don't have an xbox so my choices are PS3 or PC. The game came out on both platforms a little while after the xbox version, so I was wondering if the content on all three is the same. Are there extra levels or anything in either of those two versions? Are the graphics different/higher res on PC? Any other notable differences?

Also, (this part of the question is more subjective) I don't have a game pad for the PC, so it'd be played on my keyboard. Does it play ok like this or is this enough of a reason to go with the PS3 version?

Thanks a bunch!

Alex

Answer

They're all exactly the same. And since Braid only has 2 speeds of movement (moving or stopped) I can't imagine it being very different gameplay-wise on either platform.

I personally own the game on the Xbox 360, and think it's great! I'd probably have to suggest going with the PS3 version of the game, because the Gamepad is a nice way to layout the controls.

Braid is all about the puzzles, and art style, but the audio track is nice too, so you may want to take into account the quality of the sound system[s] you have your PC and PS3 set up with as well.

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Edit:
It might be interesting to note that on Gamespot, Braid for Xbox 360 and PS3 received a 9.2/10 critic score, where the PC game "only" recieved 9.1/10. A slight difference, to be sure, but it's there.

Also, please read the comment below by 'RiMMER', as it mentions a few minor details that are different between versions. In general however, the games are wholly identical.

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Is Super Meat Boy really harder with a keyboard?

Question

While poking around on Youtube I found many commenters saying "yeah, now try that with a keyboard." The game itself, however, only seems to suggest a controller to keep the "feeling" of the game.

I played with the keyboard so far, and I'm 10 levels from completing world 5. Sure, my completion rates for worlds 2-5 are below 30% and I only have 11/100 bandages so far – I still do value my sanity – yet I'd rather think it's me not being good enough, than thinking I'm bringing artificial difficulty onto myself for not wanting to buy a controller.

The only gripe I have with the controls is that you need to release Space after having gained enough elevation before you can jump again by pressing Space again. I'm not sure using a smaller button, or a different finger, would make this any less frustrating however.

Is Super Meat Boy actually harder to play with a keyboard?

Answer

Super Meat Boy is harder to play with a keyboard.

Gamepads can detect how much you are pushing the control stick in a direction; there are partial actions. Jumping to the right with 30% of run speed is possible to do.

Keyboards only detect whether you're pressing a key or not; you are either performing an action or not. So if you want to jump to the right with 30% of run speed you have to tap the right key at a certain frequency to simulate what the gamepad would otherwise do for you. This is especially difficult with a less than perfectly responsive keyboard.

Buying a gamepad is worth it depending on your experience with PC platformers. The gamepad and keyboard have different mindsets, and having already played through a good chunk of Super Meat Boy with the keyboard you'll have to spend time switching to the gamepad mindset. If you're a long-time player of PC platformers this will prove a painful transition. If you're not, then getting a feel for the gamepad will happen after replaying a few levels and you'll find the game much easier.

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What are some pros and cons for the different Zerg and Protoss research options?

Question

In Starcraft 2's single player campaign, two new research options unlock for every 5 Zerg/Protoss research points recovered, up to the maximum of 25 research points per race.

What are the pros and cons of the choices available at each tier for Zerg and Protoss research? Are there particular combinations that work particularly well together?

Answer

There are three that come to mind that I strongly feel have a better alternative.

"Build 2 SCVs at once" or "Vespene Geysers do not require SCVs for gathering"

Choose build 2 SCVs at once. Doubling the rate at which you build SCVs has an exponential impact on your economy. The 3 or 6 SCVs you lose to mining gas is negligible compared to how much faster you can get your economy going. Especially in the last mission. I completed it on Brutal, and was non-stop building SCVs for gathering minerals and repairing units. Not having to gather gas is really only a significant help in one of the campaign missions.

"Tech-reactors" or "Drop pods"

Choose Tech reactors. Not only do Tech-reactors allows you to spend fewer resources on structures, and more on units, but they also increase your unit production rate. The drop-pod ability is late in the game, and faster deployment for ONLY Barracks units is not as helpful as faster and cheaper production.

"+25% Geyser allocation" or "Instant Supply Depots"

If you are good at keeping track of your supply count, choose the +25%. While calling down Supply Depots instantly has its uses when you are trying to create a wall-in. If you can keep track of your supply count, there's no reason to miss out on +25% gas allocation.

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Rift vs World of Warcraft

Question

From the ads that I've seen, Rift looks very much like a WoW-clone. (One ad's tag line was "We're not in Azeroth anymore") What are the differences between Rift and World of Warcraft?

Answer

Rift is, in many ways, an homage to World of Warcraft. There's two factions, the UI and interface is very similar, heck, the rogues even use the same 5-combo points and energy system as their WoW brethren.

The most obvious difference is Rift's Soul system. WoW has 10 classes, each with 3 talent trees each, whereas Rift has 4 Classes, with 8.5 talent trees each (8 full talent trees, or "souls" as they're called, plus a class-specific PvP sub-spec). While in WoW, each class has a core bunch of abilities that they learn regardless of spec, Rift's abilities are entirely dependent on which soul tree you select. You pick up to 3 souls at once, and can spend as little or as many points in all of them as you wish.

The other major difference is the titular "Rifts", which are open world PvE objectives that dynamically appear (in both strength and number) depending on the active players in the zone. Rifts are an alternative to questing or grinding, and provide comparable gear upgrades at the planar vendors.

Like WoW, Rift has battlegrounds, instances, heroic instances, and raids. You can queue for the battlegrounds from anywhere (called "Warfronts" in Rift), and like WoW, Rift has a Dungeon Finder tool that lets you queue for dungeons, raids, and group quests.

There are undoubtedly more differences between the games (Rift appears to be much larger and harder to navigate; "flightpaths" aren't nearly as numerous as in WoW), but the Soul-system and the Rifts are definitely the two biggest.

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