Age of Empires DS

[vietgurl]

Is anyone picking this up? GamePro gave it a pretty good review and it's coming out on the 15th. Just wondering if it'll be worth the money.

[longdillon1]

Hi vietgurl.Its definately worth it.If you played it for the pc then you know what to expect.I heard they adapted certain parts to use the stylus.All I gotta say is if you liked it for pc you'll probably love it for ds.
Later,
Dillon

[Vinny]

I don't trust GamePro... but this game does look good.

But Strats aren't my thing and there are plenty of older DS titles I need, so this'll have to wait.

[captaincold]

Just saw videos for this at IGN , it looks AWESOME for a Ds game.

[botticus]

I already got it preordered at GameRush. I love SRPGs, so this should be fun, as it appears to be sort of a mash-up of the RTS from the PC games with a turn-based SRPG.

[Staind204]

I really have never sat down and gave strategy games a chance. Maybe I should try out my Star Craft 64 thats been sitting in the closet so see if I'd like this Age of Empires game. Would SC and this game atleast be in the same genre?

[Arkay Firestar]

Too bad its COMPLETELY unlike the PC version...COMPLETELY...if you're considering getting it because you've liked the AOE series on the PC, my advice is to be a little hesitant...I know I will be...

[captaincold]

I can't confirm this but on another board they're reporting that EGM gave this game the "Game of the Month" rating(it tied Drill Dozer).

[s3v3n777]

It looks good. It is NOTHING like the PC version though.

[Masterkyo]

Gamer give it 3.75 out of 5 = 7.75 out of 10. Likely i'll pickup this game :)

[munch]

Gamer give it 3.75 out of 5 = 7.75 out of 10. Likely i'll pickup this game :)

:?: How does 3.75 + 3.75 = 7.75? It would be 7.50

[io]

It looks good. It is NOTHING like the PC version though.

Yeah, my understanding is that it is more like Advance Wars (in that it is turn-based) than like the PC AoE. And you know what, I actually much prefer that. I'm definitely going to pick this up at EB.

I always use the average and range of scores on metacritic as a (very) rough guide to how good a game is. There aren't many scores up yet, but it is looking good so far:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ds/ageofempirestheageofkings

Then of course I get the game not just based on these scores, but on whether it sounds like something I might like. These good scores combined with the fact that it is a turn-based strategy game cements it for me. If I enjoy it half as much as AW Dual Strike I will be happy.

I need good airplane games and AW has been an excellent time-killer on cross-country flights. I can't play something requiring fine control or timing on an airplane, so turn-based strategy games are perfect.

[Three Dollar Hooker]

Wow, I didn't even know this game was coming out for the DS.

Finally battery life will limit how much I play.

On the PC it's always "ONE MORE TURN! MUST QUIT BUT ONLY AFTER ONE MORE TURN!".

[Cao Cao]

The magazine scores released so far have been pretty high. In addition to the reviews mentioned on Metacritic, EGM's reviewers gave it 9, 7.5, and 8.5, and Nintendo Power gave it an 8/10.

[usickenme]

Looks like Advance Wars meets Civ. There seem to a crapload of units/ upgrades in the game. Plus IIRC 5 single player campaigns totaling 40+ hours.


I've been waiting a long time for this one.

[Over easy]

This or RE:DS. Crap. Why must all these nice games come out all at once?

[rywateska]

If this game is anything like Advance Wars, I'll be picking it up! Speaking of it, does anyone have a copy to trade? Check my list!

[io]

Sounds like maybe a cross between PC AoE, Advance Wars, and Fire Emblem:

http://ds.ign.com/articles/686/686636p1.html

[cletus]

I wasn't very interested in this game before since I didn't like AoE on the PC. Now that I know it's turn based (ie Fire Emblem) I'll tempted to pick it up. I'll wait for a price drop and see what other people think of it first.

[botticus]

I hate waiting for price drops on portable games; they disappear before they get cheap half the time. Hooray for GameRush credit!

[AlbinoNinja]

:drool: , recycled AoE2 sound effects...




...it's a good thing...

[captaincold]

Hmm, since the Age of Empires license is owned by Microsoft i wonder what there reaction will be if this game is a success?

They have a nice stable of PC franchises availible. This could get interesting.

[hiccupleftovers]

I can't confirm this but on another board they're reporting that EGM gave this game the "Game of the Month" rating(it tied Drill Dozer).

Really, now that is really interesting. This game has looked great from teh get-go. I can't wait to buy it at Fry's, oh please oh please have this and RE: DS on sale this weekend.

Anybody can confirm it got Game of the Month?

[hiccupleftovers]

This or RE:DS. Crap. Why must all these nice games come out all at once?

Because that's how Nintendo tries to rape our Wallets :D. Look at the end of last year....Advance Wars DS, Castlevania, Lost in BLue, Pheonix Wright, Mario Kart, and the list goes on in a fairly short amount of time. This is just a continuation of that.

[989boi]

I think this game got a good score from EGM also.

[humidore]

Oop, Genghis Khan is in it, I think I may just have to buy it now >_<

[boyward]

IGN got their review up. I had high hopes but low expectations for this one... looks like the game's a winner, with an impressive overall score of 8.2. :)

http://ds.ign.com/articles/687/687988p1.html

[yester]

Hi vietgurl.Its definately worth it.If you played it for the pc then you know what to expect.I heard they adapted certain parts to use the stylus.All I gotta say is if you liked it for pc you'll probably love it for ds.
Later,
Dillon

Wow. thats what i always thought and i think Nintendo really delivered the best portable handheld to date.
With the stylus and the touchscreen, more of RTS games could roll out on the DS. Just imagine to play maybe C&C on the DS.
I definitly will get AoE:DS.
I just hope that more titles will come out and make good use of the stylus feature.

[io]

Preordered at EB yesterday :D
Guy had never heard of it.

[cletus]

Anyone here have it and can give us impressions? I'm interested in getting this but I don't want to be burned by a bad game.

[boyward]

Bump, in hopes that someone will post their impressions...

[botticus]

Just picked it up tonight, I might see about opening it. This is one of those rare purchases where I KNOW I'm going to keep before I buy it ;)

[botticus]

Okay, very brief first impressions:

This is a GREAT port of a PC RTS to the DS as a turn-based strategy game. The prerendered backgrounds are very similar to the PC games, we're just dealing with much smaller maps (at least initially).

You can use either the D-pad or stylus to select and move around, just as in Advance Wars. However, the stylus is much easier in this, as the grid is diagonal in AOE, so left is actually kinda up and left, etc.

The sound is very reminiscent of the PC versions. The battle sounds that (I believe) GameSpot wasn't too happy with (too repetitive and jarring, etc) are actually about what I recall. The battles are quick (essentially your party rushes the enemy party on the top screen and vice versa), and involve the grunts and roars that we're all used to when our units clashed on the PC.

The usual status is displayed after each mission (charts/graphs of all parties military strength, resources, etc), easily navigable (navigatable?).

My only complaint is that scrolling the screen can be difficult. Let's say you're in the middle of the screen and your movement range extends beyond your view. You will have to click to the side of the screen to scroll the screen to expose that area, then click back on your unit (which will move the screen somewhat to make sure they are on the screen completely), and then you click back to where you want to move. There may be a better way to do this, but I haven't messed around with anything else yet.

Final words: If you love AOE on the PC for what the game is, a beautiful strategy game, you will like this game. If you love Advance Wars and other turn-based strategy games, you will like this game. If you only love AOE because it's an RTS, then don't have high hopes; I think you would still like it, but you may just be upset that your favorite RTS isn't an RTS anymore.

[boyward]

Thanks, Botticus. I think I'm going to go for it as my next game purchase. I kind of doubt the price will drop on this one, since portable strategy games seem to hold their value pretty well.

[Robobandit]

Damn it.. my collection grows again.. after I finish Ouendan, maybe >.>

[RAMSTORIA]

ill be picking this up today at work... buy the end of my shift ill probably have a good idea of what its like

[io]

Well, I decided to crack this open last night as well. I played through about half of the Joan of Arc tutorial campaign. Botticus pretty much covered the issues. Just want to reiterate his point about the scrolling of the screen - it can be a bit annoying when trying to move a cavalry unit in particular. You need to resort to the D-pad since clicking away with the stylus to scroll will often unselect the unit. Also, the "diagonal" or isometric view makes it hard to see and select units sometimes when they are all bunched together (unlike AW where everything is clear).

Other than those two minor quibbles, though, the game is very enjoyable. It is VERY much like Advance Wars in the combat stage. You move each unit and then attack, if possible, at the end of the unit's turn. So this makes it very different from the PC version as you can attack in the best order for your units (for example, archers can weaken an enemy first, then cavalry can come in and finish them off). The big difference from AW though is in the resource collection (simplified to just wheat and gold), town building, research, and hero powers aspects. I'm just starting to get into these in the Tuturial but they are what adds depth and strategy to the game.

By the way the Tutorial in an excellent overview of the game - no need for the instructions at all, and it is fairly quick and easy to get through (at least so far, I'm about half way). The game doesn't appear to have all the ranking and bonus collection aspects that Advance Wars has (with it's 300 medals and tons of purchasable characters, maps, etc). Also I don't think there's an upgrade system for the heros like there is for the commanders in AW. So there might be a little bit less long-term replay with this game vs with AW. There are bonus goals to achieve during the campaign and these earn you points that can be used to purchase a handful of extra units and maps. But other than achieving the bonus goals there doesn't seem to be a ranking system like in AW that rewards quick and decisive victories (except when one of the goals is something like finishing in less than 10 turns). So once you achieve all the goals there isn't much reason to replay (in AW I was trying to get 'S' rankings everywhere and this can take quite a while).

But, overall, it is definitely worth $30 - especially if you like games like Advance Wars Dual Strike.

[Reality's Fringe]

Turnbased? Boo!

[botticus]

Turnbased? Boo!
You must have missed the memo where Iwata and Reggie both told you to buy it and love it.

[Robobandit]

You must have missed the memo where Iwata and Reggie both told you to buy it and love it.

If you don't like it, Reggie is going to fly to your house to take your name and maybe if you're lucky, he'll send Chuck Norris to kick your ass ;)

[RAMSTORIA]

Turnbased? Boo!

honestly, i think if this were real time it would really ruin the game. the screen is so small, it would be hard to keep track of everything.

having played it pretty much all day yesterday, i have to say that i really enjoy the game. i love hearing the old music, it still holds up. i really like the 2d art that tells the stories in campaign mode, its very clean looking and yet it looks medieval, great stuff. the units and map themselves arent the prettiest models ive ever seen. but they arent bad either, once you get used to them its not really a problem telling them apart (if all else fails look at the top screen to find out)

i like the new turn based system, like i said if it were an RTS this game might be unplayable (ill say why in a second) but the turn based system adds a new strategic element like advanced wars (though id like to say like fire emblem since there are swords involved)

i do have 2 complaints though. first, as someone said before, sometimes is a pain to move a unit long distances, this usually only happens with a mounted unit, but you hav to scroll to a part off the screen, the only way i can figure out how to do that is to switch to the dpad. that can be frustrating.

the other thing that bothers me is sometimes its hard to select a unit with the stylus, this is especially true when you have multiple units near eachother (its even worse if youre units are in the town) again, this is easily remedied by using the dpad. really, i think its only hard becaue the map is diagnol, not flat. perhaps after some adjusting it will be resolved.

now that raises the question, should you use the dpad or the stylus, personally i like using the stlylus because its easy to access the menus and for the most part the units. but there are times when the dpad can be more useful.

i would say if you were a fan of AOEII for the PC this is a no brainer, and if youre a big fan of games like advanced wars or fire emblem you should also pick this up.

[slidecage]

i hope this game ROCKS.... I just got it off gamefly for 15.38 shipped (had a 10 buck gamefly coupon)

[io]

i hope this game ROCKS.... I just got it off gamefly for 15.38 shipped (had a 10 buck gamefly coupon)

It does, indeed, ROCK.

After I finished up some work last night at about 2:30 AM I thought I'd put in a little AoE session before bed. Next thing I knew it was 6:30 AM :oops:. And I lost that last damn Tutorial mission (let them kill the Dauphin, just not enough units way up there in the corner when all those English k$$$$its showed up!).

Echoing what I said earlier (and what iheartmetal said too) you MUST use the dpad for selecting units (and buildings) at times, especially when they are all grouped together (or in your town). It is also useful in selecting who to attack, since with the stylus you can often select the wrong one.

[slidecage]

i loved AOE 1 (my pc is too old to play the newer ones) so i should love this.. if not i could probally alwasy get 15 out of it

[boyward]

If anybody buys this and wants to get rid of it, I would let you have about $40 worth of games off of my trade list.

[slidecage]

If anybody buys this and wants to get rid of it, I would let you have about $40 worth of games off of my trade list.

i should have mine Tuesday and know if im going to keep it or not by Thursday

[boyward]

i should have mine Tuesday and know if im going to keep it or not by Thursday

Great!

Hey, does this game have an unforgiving save system like Fire Emblem or is it more forgiving like Advance Wars, where you can save midgame and if you mess up you can just reload to where you were doing well?

EDIT: I just read this on EBGames.com customer reviews:

AOE DS IS DEFECTIVE!!!!!
Besides random game freezes there is a good chance that if you save and quit your game will not work any more. I've had two copies die after saving, and they will not work any more. This is unacceptable. Check other sites message boards, it's not just my two copies. While it played , I was having a great time, it was really good, but now they don't work. I did nothing more then save my game and quit and that was that. If you buy it ,good luck ,you'll never know when it might happen to you. If they recall it or at the very least re-release it fixed, I would buy it again no problem, I was having a great time with it.

This is the first I've heard of this, but I did some checking around on the forums at IGN, Gamespot, and Majescogames.com and it seems the problem is related to the "save and quit" option. If you do a regular save and then turn the system off then the glitch doesn't happen.

[memsg]

i've had the game freeze on one battle so far.

[io]

Great!

Hey, does this game have an unforgiving save system like Fire Emblem or is it more forgiving like Advance Wars, where you can save midgame and if you mess up you can just reload to where you were doing well?

EDIT: I just read this on EBGames.com customer reviews:



This is the first I've heard of this, but I did some checking around on the forums at IGN, Gamespot, and Majescogames.com and it seems the problem is related to the "save and quit" option. If you do a regular save and then turn the system off then the glitch doesn't happen.


Well, you can save anywhere, and if you lose the mission you can reload and then take a different approach and try again. I was able to win the second to last "Easy" campaign mission this way last night. By the way, this is a VERY long mission :D.

It is a little less forgiving than AW though in that there is only one save slot. I have not tried Save & Quit yet, but I will definitely avoid that from now on. I always played until I won or got beaten, but made use of the Save option quite frequently.

I had one case last night where I THOUGHT I had a game freeze. It went still (with the music still playing though) for about 15-20 seconds, but then finally recovered. It was right after a battle. Not sure what happened there but I was a bit nervous as I had made a lot of progress since my last save. But other than that, I'm about 20 hours into playing and have had no other problems.

[xboxowns]

i've had the game freeze on one battle so far.

Woah I've never had handheld games freeze on me before, they are turning into game consoles.

Anyway, I just went to Best Buy to buy the game but the bastards were sold out (or didn't get any copies, who knows). So does anyone like Advance Wars more than this game yet? I am very picky when choosing games.

[io]

Woah I've never had handheld games freeze on me before, they are turning into game consoles.

Anyway, I just went to Best Buy to buy the game but the bastards were sold out (or didn't get any copies, who knows). So does anyone like Advance Wars more than this game yet? I am very picky when choosing games.

Hmmm... I *should* be the one to answer this as I've put nearly 100 hours into AW: DS, and about 20 so far into AoE. Honestly though, I like them both. AW has better rewards/rankings/unlockables than AoE, which adds more to replayability. But on the other hand, I've only gotten through the tutorial and most of the first campaign in AoE, so it is a pretty long game just to play through once (longer than the AW campaign for sure). AoE does have 3 optional goals per mission, and I've been trying to get them all on each campaign (which makes them take longer than just winning the mission).

By the way, I just found out that the units you can purchase with your points in AoE are immediately available in the campaigns, so choose wisely (some are cheaper and better than their 'regular' counterparts).

[slidecage]

Hmmm... I *should* be the one to answer this as I've put nearly 100 hours into AW: DS, and about 20 so far into AoE. Honestly though, I like them both. AW has better rewards/rankings/unlockables than AoE, which adds more to replayability. But on the other hand, I've only gotten through the tutorial and most of the first campaign in AoE, so it is a pretty long game just to play through once (longer than the AW campaign for sure). AoE does have 3 optional goals per mission, and I've been trying to get them all on each campaign (which makes them take longer than just winning the mission).

By the way, I just found out that the units you can purchase with your points in AoE are immediately available in the campaigns, so choose wisely (some are cheaper and better than their 'regular' counterparts).


LOL i found out on the tutorial level 3 mission you need to capture the fort not destory everything... that was a waste of an hour + LOL

Overall i give it around a 5 or 6..... i probally get the 14.25 i paid out of it back

probally end up selling it in a week or two

[io]

LOL i found out on the tutorial level 3 mission you need to capture the fort not destory everything... that was a waste of an hour + LOL

Overall i give it around a 5 or 6..... i probally get the 14.25 i paid out of it back

probally end up selling it in a week or two

While I'm not entirely sure what you are talking about here, it can be a bit confusing as to what, exactly, you are supposed to do for some of the extra goals. In one of them you are supposed to defeat all enemy units while 'holding' the 4 bridges. Well, I thought if I beat everyone on my side of the bridges and beat them all back to their town, then I was 'holding' the bridges behind me. Not so - you actually have to sit a unit on each bridge, which is a bit challenging because I was down to 5 or 6 units at that point (sometimes it is good not to merge - I think one unit had 1/100 health left, but it counted for holding the bridge). But I had to replay this mission to get the 'holding bridges' goal satisfied, so there was a bit of wasted time there.

OK, if we're going to start handing out scores, here's mine. I would give AW: DS a 10/10. No messing around there, it is an excellent game. So far, AoE I would give an 8/10 - just a few points knocked for it being hard to see units, having only 1 save slot, and for there not being too many unlockables and rankings like AW.

[slidecage]

While I'm not entirely sure what you are talking about here, it can be a bit confusing as to what, exactly, you are supposed to do for some of the extra goals. In one of them you are supposed to defeat all enemy units while 'holding' the 4 bridges. Well, I thought if I beat everyone on my side of the bridges and beat them all back to their town, then I was 'holding' the bridges behind me. Not so - you actually have to sit a unit on each bridge, which is a bit challenging because I was down to 5 or 6 units at that point (sometimes it is good not to merge - I think one unit had 1/100 health left, but it counted for holding the bridge). But I had to replay this mission to get the 'holding bridges' goal satisfied, so there was a bit of wasted time there.

OK, if we're going to start handing out scores, here's mine. I would give AW: DS a 10/10. No messing around there, it is an excellent game. So far, AoE I would give an 8/10 - just a few points knocked for it being hard to see units, having only 1 save slot, and for there not being too many unlockables and rankings like AW.

that first starter round... on the 5th mission is hard as hell when you got people coming from you from all 4 sides...

[io]

that first starter round... on the 5th mission is hard as hell when you got people coming from you from all 4 sides...

Just wait till you get to the Mongol Invasion mission on the 2nd campaign :D. That was pretty hard. I'm into the Genghis Khan campaign now (which is the 3rd one and is labelled "medium" difficulty) and the first mission there was incredibly easy. It is very up and down in terms of difficulty, despite the labels.

[Renegade_Zero]

I think im gonna wait on this until I can get it for $20.

[vietgurl]

I think this game hates me. I've had it freeze on me multiple times, usually when I'm doing really well (why can't it freeze after I've screwed up and am about to restart the mission?). One time, it froze right as I finished the mission, which was the most painful thing my DS has ever done to me. I switched it out for another copy and it froze on me yesterday. I hope it's not a problem with my DS because all of my other games work fine.

[botticus]

I think this game hates me. I've had it freeze on me multiple times, usually when I'm doing really well (why can't it freeze after I've screwed up and am about to restart the mission?). One time, it froze right as I finished the mission, which was the most painful thing my DS has ever done to me. I switched it out for another copy and it froze on me yesterday. I hope it's not a problem with my DS because all of my other games work fine.
Pretty sure someone said it was an issue with the game (thought I thought it was just using the save&quit), probably not your DS. Poor Majesco, they just can't catch a break.

I need to play Drill Dozer after I finally finish Advance Wars, but then I will get back to strategy with this one. Hopefully no crashes for me.

[io]

Pretty sure someone said it was an issue with the game (thought I thought it was just using the save&quit), probably not your DS. Poor Majesco, they just can't catch a break.

I need to play Drill Dozer after I finally finish Advance Wars, but then I will get back to strategy with this one. Hopefully no crashes for me.

I've put about 20-30 hours into AoE so far and have never not had a freeze (though I have never tried "Save and Quit" after reading about the potential problem with it here). When I do a regular Save, however, there is a pause in the music for a few seconds that makes me think it might be frozen, but then it always recovers. And I had that one case where I had a 15 second or so freeze-up after an attack. I've been through plenty of scenarios where the screen was nearly filled with units as well - there is some slowdown when animating all those units, but no freezes so far.

Hey botticus, let me know if Drill Dozer is any good. For some reason my GR has a copy of this game (whereas they never got FF IV).

[pimp tyranny]

so has anyone seen price drops on this yet? i'm psyched about it now that i remember it has released. i also want to pick up Drill Dozer.

has anyone played Battles of Prince of Persia? how does that compare to Age of Empires?

[pimp tyranny]

so has anyone seen price drops on this yet? i'm psyched about it now that i remember it has released. i also want to pick up Drill Dozer.

has anyone played Battles of Prince of Persia? how does that compare to Age of Empires?

[ArthurDigbySellers]

so has anyone seen price drops on this yet? i'm psyched about it now that i remember it has released. i also want to pick up Drill Dozer.

has anyone played Battles of Prince of Persia? how does that compare to Age of Empires?

From what I understand, PoP is just a card based battle game where AoE is turn based strategy.

As far as Drill Dozer, pick it up! It is an awesome game and I think you can grab it from the Amazon/TRU sale for $20 now.

[botticus]

From what I understand, PoP is just a card based battle game where AoE is turn based strategy.

As far as Drill Dozer, pick it up! It is an awesome game and I think you can grab it from the Amazon/TRU sale for $20 now.
PoP isn't really a card-based game. I haven't played it much, but it's essentially a turn-based strategy with some card elements in it.

[ArthurDigbySellers]

PoP isn't really a card-based game. I haven't played it much, but it's essentially a turn-based strategy with some card elements in it.

Yeah, I just read more about it and you're right. Sorry pimp, I gave you some bad information there.

Not about Drill Dozer, though, it's a great.

[boyward]

Over at Majesco's forums they posted the workaround for the glitch: apparently it's caused by giving your empire a 2-3 letter name. You can avoid the glitch by editing your user name.

Now that I know the source of the problem, I'm more than ever anxious to get the game.

Unfortunately, I'm not getting much attention on the trading forums here, and I'd really like to trade for a copy of Age of Kings. If anybody here wants to trade their un-glitchy copy, I'll give you $40 worth of stuff from my tradelist. I don't have money to buy the game, and I'm REALLY wanting to play it.

[hone]

does the workaround really work? No one really confirmed on the official forums. That was one of the big reasons I didn't get the game because of the problems it's been having

Forum thread: http://majescoentertainment.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=3001&perpage=15&pagenumber=6

[boyward]

does the workaround really work? No one really confirmed on the official forums. That was one of the big reasons I didn't get the game because of the problems it's been having

Forum thread: http://majescoentertainment.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=3001&perpage=15&pagenumber=6

I couldn't tell you for sure whether it really works. But I'm willing to take the risk, now that Majesco has two plausible explanations for the weirdness ("Save & Quit", 2-3 letter empire names).

[hone]

I couldn't tell you for sure whether it really works. But I'm willing to take the risk, now that Majesco has two plausible explanations for the weirdness ("Save & Quit", 2-3 letter empire names).

Does Save & Quit sitll not work even if you have a 4+ letter name?

[boyward]

Does Save & Quit sitll not work even if you have a 4+ letter name?

I'm sure not gonna be the guinea pig who finds out! :D The only way I'll ever know the answer to that is if Majesco tries it. I certainly won't ever "Save & Quit" until I know for certain.

[botticus]

I'm sure not gonna be the guinea pig who finds out! :D The only way I'll ever know the answer to that is if Majesco tries it. I certainly won't ever "Save & Quit" until I know for certain.
I guess I can try it when I finish Battles of PoP... won't hurt me to lose my save data if I just started.

[boyward]

I guess I can try it when I finish Battles of PoP... won't hurt me to lose my save data if I just started.

Please don't! You might brick your cartridge. Unless you're willing to exchange a bricked cart for a new one, don't do it, for your own sake don't do it! Of course, if returns aren't a problem, then by all means, go right ahead! :D

[io]

Over at Majesco's forums they posted the workaround for the glitch: apparently it's caused by giving your empire a 2-3 letter name. You can avoid the glitch by editing your user name.



Ooohhh, of course, I used a 2 letter name. But I have never done Save & Quit, and so far I've been OK. I haven't played in a while, but I got through the first 3 campaigns with no problem except for a freeze that happens at the VERY end of one of the Saladin missions - I would recommend saving when you know you are near the end. When I loaded the save from *right* before the end it worked OK (but a save from slightly earlier also froze at the same point).

It is a great game and well designed EXCEPT that it also happens to be by far the buggiest piece of (non-PC) video game software I've ever seen.

[hone]

if a cartridge is bricked, won't the store let you return/exchange it?

[boyward]

if a cartridge is bricked, won't the store let you return/exchange it?

Yes, but if you're like me and you live 400 miles from the nearest Gamestop, you might not want the hassle of traveling or dealing with the mail-orders if you go the route of ordering online. ;)

Botticus will probably be alright. I just didn't want him to have to go through an unnecessary hassle for our sake.

[pimp tyranny]

and i thought SC was underdeveloped lol. oh and i lawled at the guinea pig thing, heheh. i don't think i've ever seen this game in stores, though i've never remembered to look. it's not rare i hope? i would have loved to pick one up at the last B2G1.