Groo Tries To Grow As A Gamer

[Kersus]

As for difficulty and iron man.... I usually start any game on the hardest setting and only fall back if it seems "impossible." Ironman in the old games, sure, sometimes. In the modern ones? I find the quirkiness (read: my lack of knowledge) of the mechanics make it harder than it should be. I'm happy to die in game because of a mistake or even bad luck, but when it's just a lack of utilizing game mechanics to their strongest, I sometimes get irritable and that's when I'll reload to an earlier point.

We could not be more polar opposite in our approaches, old friend. Usually because of financial issues, when I get a new game there's an understanding that this will be played again, and again, and (wait for it) again; I just don't have the funds to treat these increasingly costly entertainment items as disposable.  Those first easy settings and frequently reloaded run-throughs are where I *LEARN* the mechanics of the platform - to game the system, if you will. Could you imagine learning how to play chess, but not bothering to figure out that Queens can move diagonally as well as straight across? How much would that hobble your ability to enjoy the dance?

The same but different, yes. I prefer to learn Chess by having my rear-end handed to me on a silver platter by a Chess master. I also look at games and replayability before purchasing. Indeed I was a wee bit disappointed in how short XCOM seemed compared to thew original but I still loved it and played it multiple times. I learn best in trial by fire.

We have a mutual friend who is IMO a musical genius but he has this thing where if he sits at a new musical instrument and can't figure it out and play his music within a few minutes, he moves on. I doubt I'm as good at anything as he is at music however it might be the same thing with games - even tabletop ones (which really, XCOM is a tabletop wargame with a GM but on a computer). If I can't figure out the game quickly and then concentrate on the fun stuff, I may move on. The only exception recently is Eastside Hockey manager that took me days and many hours to figure out. XCOM in any rendition doesn't take me long to pick up (well, Apocalypse, which I moved on from) and so I play despite quirky mechanics I never take the time to understand. In fact there are probably quite a few things from the first game I never understood.

Also, just so we're clear, if you haven't taken a stab at XCOM2 yet and have the means, I would highly recommend it. Very much a sequel to the XCOM reboot, not just a repackaged expansion pack designed to make money.

Oh, I have it and have played it. I think I just got busy or went away or who knows; when I returned I sort of forgot about it for awhile and now I have a hard time rationalizing playing when I need to be working. Self-employed seems to mean, "no down-time" a lot in my world. I'm still quite eager to get back to XCOM2.

One last thing before I write my in-game analysis for the evening... as a point of order, what's the forum etiquette on posting screenshots or in-game photos? I am operating this through Steam, and sometimes a picture is worth 1000 words, or 950 words after fees, tax, and inflation. I just don't want to start killing your available space and everyone else's bandwidth... or even, if you all would suggest, losing some of the written drama by taking the easy-peasy "smile for the camera" approach... let me know either way.

Please post as you'd like. Photos are welcome. If space becomes an issue, I'll deal with it at that point. Right now we should have lots.

K