At release

EWoM : D

Civ5 : C

FONV : A-

End of 2010

EWoM : C

Civ5 : B-

FONV A

Now:

EWoM : B-

Civ 5 : B+ (still some issues)

FONV : A (played through, loved it.  Will wait a year for many mods and play through again)

Chris.

I have not played any of the other games you listed, sorry!

AT RELEASE:

E: War of Magic: C-

From Day 1 I had fun with the game, though managed to get lost in the Campaign (this was before it got any changes). I didn't really see many of the flaws, other than a few crashes, until I had played for a while and began checking the forum.

END OF 2010:

E: War of Magic: NA

I did not play the game during Nov, Dec, Jan, or Feb at all.

NOW:

E: War of Magic: C+

I played last night for the first time in many months. A lot of the things that were bad about Elemental were immediately apparent as being better. I really like the changes to Mana and Population and a few other things, but I think Combat is still probably the last fun part of the game.

Is there any chance, Brad, that YOU post your report card in a likewise fashion?

Heavy question..I'll attempt to answer. First of all,I made an agreement with my wife that all games must be a mutual decision. This makes acquiring all that I want, at the very least, challenging.

my wife thinks I have TOO many games. She gets pissed that I don't play the ones I have, rants about the ones I haven't even opened, and then whines when I play one too much because I am not paying enough attention to her.

"Wow, " she laments, I wish I was that keyboard.." I can't win.

Last fall, I told her the only games I wanted were Civ 5 & Elemental. If nothing else, my first choice would be EWoM. I could hold off on Civ 5 b/c I have been playing that since inception. I always thought of EwoM as Civ with magic which really intrigued me.

I told the WF if I got EWoM I'd almost never need another game..I was pretty confident in Stardock, but I do feel Duke Nuke'em beckoning....

I rarely buy games when they first come out. In the past year or so I picked up Mass Effect2, Sins of a Solar Empire, GalCiv Ultimate Edition, Borderlands, Black Ops, Final Fantasy Xiii, Dragon Age,Castlevania, Starcraft, Fallout Vegas to name a few.

SC--same with different graphics--not my thing

Vegas--much the same as Fallout 3 fun but not compelling

Black Ops? Fun in the short term but repetitive

Dragon Age/DA II is ALOT of fun--give it an A but I still play Elemental more

(I still think the X-com series was/is a great one)

I give Elemental a B+ across the board. I have been playing since August and despite the issues, I still play. Yeah, I have Borderlands going in the other room for the inevitable crash but that's because I'm a gamer junkie. I stick with EWoM because of Stardock. I work in a place where people are focused on money. I tell them, "Let that all go--fear, doubt, disbelief...free you mind...let go of the $$ and the money will come. Focus on it and down the darkside you will plunge."

very few get sci-fi references where I work :/

For me, Elemental does have that "just one more turn" feel.

I work quite a bit. I have only so much time for my gaming addiction. When SD says "it is a labor of love and not for the $," I feel they aren't sending a flame dart up my ass, they truly believe it. Walking the walk goes a long way for me.....

B?