Congratulations! It’s been cool to see your posts/progress over time. Having thrown a couple of likes your way over that period, I do kind of feel I am ~90% responsible. If you ever get really famous, I will probably tell people, “I pretty much made that guy,” fyi.
Yeah, it’s pretty okay and all, but the hype made it out to be cooler than it was, in my opinion. I’ve been playing Foundation the last day or two and I find it way more addictive, satisfying, and unique, so far. Maybe I just need to revisit Manor Lords. The trailers made the combat out to be Mount and Blade-esque, so I think that’s what really underwhelmed me. It felt more like Civilization-style “throw a bunch of units at the bad guy” combat.
My favorite from those times was Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. I’ll never forget the 2 v 2 Spies vs. Mercs. First time I experienced Proximity Chat. The spies could sneak up behind you and once they were near, they could whisper in your ear, so you’d get a lot of, “Hey, baby…” and other funny stuff before your neck was snapped. It was so much fun and I still wish for a replacement.
Victoria 2 was the gateway that finally got me into Paradox Games. Most people seem to think it’s better than Victoria 3. It’s only $4.99 right now (75% off). Victoria is an economics/trade simulator with simulated populations/demand. So your goal is to try to make a lot of money on whatever resources you choose–lumber, cotton, etc, while also providing enough to meet the demand of your population/grow various populations.
After I played that, Crusader Kings 3 got its claws into me.
Victoria 2 is easy to recommend. However, it’s tough to recommend Crusader Kings 3 and other modern Paradox games with their shitty DLC model. I’ve frankly pirated it all.
Assetto Corsa (in VR). Civilization was mostly my ex-wife. eFootball PES is kind of a weird one, but it has really great mods that have now been spun off into a totally free singleplayer game called SP Football Life.
Not really into MMORPGs, but I’ve been trying The Finals and it’s pretty cool. Like the destruction of Battlefield mixed with the movement of Apex Legends and maybe a light touch of Rainbow Six: Siege or COD. Definitely worth the $0.
Look at Hellish Quart on Steam, if you haven’t. Really cool and fun, like a spiritual successor to Bushido Blade based in Eastern Europe. Updated with impressive regularity.