Titans of Steel: Warring Suns. Anyone have this?

[Bonegavel]

Titans of Steel: Warring Suns is a mechwarrior/battletech game that is more of a database than a game per se. Has anyone played this and, if so, what do you think of it?

[Bee]

AStott has a dynasty using it in the Dynasty section. I picked it up but haven't actually loaded it on my computer yet. It's on my stack of games I want to get to in the near future when I have free time...yeah right.

[Glengoyne]

I have it. Astott has a dynasty going on over in the dynasty forum. I enjoy it a lot. It took me a couple of hours to figure out how to use the interface, and then another few hours of game time to really understand how to use the innovative interface to speed up the game. I recommend playing a bit, then going to the forums, and reading the tips and interface guide that are there. Also learn to use the keyboard shortcuts.

Now that I have said the playing interface is counter intuitive and innovative, I will follow up and say it really does work very well. Once you get beyond the interface, the game really does shine. It is a lot of fun, and the combat is pretty challenging.

[Bonegavel]

Nice, that is exactly what I was hoping to hear. I read the review in PC Gamer and W. Trotter (a great reviewer-even with his lazy eye) gave it glowing ratings but bitched a storm about the interface. In fact, his quote about the interface made me laugh out loud on the John C. Hopefully, I can find it and quote it for you.

Nice. Just found out that an EB near me has it and they have it set aside for me to pick up tonight. Sweet.

[Blackadar]

I tried the demo, which is the old version. Found the interface and the graphics were so poor on that version that I just couldn't get into it. Without a true demo, I won't buy it.

By the way, Trotter isn't a great reviewer unless you are a die-hard wargamer. I know the guy (he lives in the same town) and he's never met a wargame he didn't like. That's really all he reviews now and he so "locked in" to that style of game it's tough to get a true reading on whether a casual gamer would like it.

[Bonegavel]

So you're saying he is like the John Cleese character in the Scott of the Sahara Skit on MPFC (scottish director) where, no matter what was asked, he said "Great" ???

Well, I am the Database kind of guy, so I think I will like it. They were bang on with Korsun Pocket (same issue) being a great game. That game is a Grognard's wet dream. To be fair, he did bash the interface something fierce. Here are his words regarding the interface:

"The steepest obstacle you'll encounter is the game's interface, which is possibly the most complicated, user-repellent labrynth of multiple windows, read-outs, and bafflingly eccentric icons I've seen in my 13 years as a reviewer." WH Trotter, PCMag Nov 2003

That is pure gold, and he only gave it a 79%, which, to them, is a GOOD rating. But, he said enough right about it to make me want to slog through the interface problems.

Is he a good man (lazy eye and all) ?

[Bonegavel]

Nice! Picked the game up tonight at a local EB and I'm not even a a few moves into the tutorial and I can see this is going to be fun. Luckily, I've played my share of wargames, so the interface isn't too daunting. The amount of options is a grognards wet dream. Sweet-diddly-eet.

[EDIT: $20 bucks! I had to raid 3 EBs to find it. Matrix Games online store has it for $30. Muwahahahaha. Damn, it doesn't take much, does it?]

[Glengoyne]

My favorite Computer Gaming Review quote came from A Computer Gaming World review of Kingpin. After pointing out how wonderful the plot and dialogue were, he added that they were only marred by the inordinate number of F-bombs dropped every other word. His way was better..."It was like watching a David Mamet play that had been entirely casted with Tourette's patients."