Replayability and price

[mgdpublic]

I just tried out the demo and have to wonder about the price especially given my concerns about replayability. For the same reason that designers chose not allow the player to play Rome, it seems there are only a few smart choices for Hannibal as well. While the cards may be different every time, that doesn't seem like enough for real replayability.

This game is pretty clearly based on the awesome board game "Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage" but is much much more stripped down and only playable as one side. The upshot of this game is the AI of course. But $40 just seems like too much for the amount here. This seems like a 25 or $30 game at most. Can someone convince me the full game is really worth that price?

[PJJ]

In my opinion, it definitely is. I know I've wasted more money into some games that I've played much less than Hannibal. There are quite a few things that can happen and change how the game plays out, and the AI puts up a really good fight, especially when playing at the hardest difficulty level. Gameplay is so smooth that it's very easy to start a game and see how it goes. If you happen to lose, it's not a big deal to start over and do things differently. There's no trace of the usual tediousness of wargaming here. I'd say this is a must buy if you happen to be interested in ancient history and warfare.

It'd be a shame if people didn't support this game and any potential future projects in the series just because they hope to save a few dollars. Are Matrix games really that expensive when you think about how easily you can waste the price of a game by going to a restaurant (or something) for a couple of hours? [;)]

[Brutus]

ORIGINAL: mgdpublic
[...]
This game is pretty clearly based on the awesome board game "Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage" [...]

No, it is not based on the really great Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage but on the older and much less popular Hannibal: Rome and Carthage in the Second Punic War 219-202 B.C..

[Johnus]

After running this game through my highly sophisticated, secret and proprietary "Game Valuation Calculator Program," I can state, with absolute certainty, that this game is worth precisely: $68.87.

[Rosseau]

I just played a non-Matrix "strategy" game for 30 minutes before deleting it. Can you plug that into your calculator?

With Hannibal, just a little something to sweeten the pot--maybe in a patch--would get a few people off the fence.

[emerson]

Quiet you... $68.87, I'm still playing the demo hoping by the time I compete well enough with the AI on "easy" the game will be on sale...

[NefariousKoel]

ORIGINAL: Johnnie

After running this game through my highly sophisticated, secret and proprietary "Game Valuation Calculator Program," I can state, with absolute certainty, that this game is worth precisely: $68.87.

Hahaha!!

Finally someone's poking fun at the 'value' question. [:D]

[diablo1]

Are Matrix games really that expensive when you think about how easily you can waste the price of a game by going to a restaurant (or something) for a couple of hours?

Well let's put it in another perspective shall we? Paying $40 for every game I buy on a $400 a year budget I can only buy 10 games a year. Paying $8 for discounted older games that were once great games I can buy 50 games a year. If you've looked at Steam, Impulse, D2D, Gamersgate, and GOG lately you'll see they have a lot of great game choices for that $8 figure a lot more now. Why I even got "Time of Wrath" for $7 the other day off of Gamersgate. Look how much Matrixgames wants for it here. hahaha

I really hope more and more independent developers move to Paradox and Stardock and those other places for their distribution avenues. Because they aren't getting anything off of "no sales at $40 here" vs at least something off of an even $8 sale at those other places.

As it is I don't buy 50 games a year, but, then again I don't spend $400 a year on games anymore either.

Now I'm not saying every game Matrixgames sells is "overpriced" like Forge of Freedom and Crown of Glory are certainly worth their prices for all you get, but, this game and BftB are certainly overpriced.

[Miket_nz]

Given how few good games there are on this particular topic, I would have probably bought it even if it was bad. Just to encourage game designers to treat this era in the future.
 
Fortunately, this is a cracker of a little game and well "worth" the money in my opinion. But then "worth" is a very personal value judgement. The constraint I have is time not money for games, so I am really really happy with Hannibal, because it plays relatively quickly causes me lots of headaches in tough strategic choices and when you beat the romans you are really really satisfied...
 
The AI is razor sharp and will hand you your head on a platter if you are not 100% on your game, even then you risk getting beaten....
 
I rate this game a must by and it only cost me "6 pints" where I live, so for the price of a [insert here 40 mins to 3 hours] drinking I've had a bloody good time with Hannibal and his chums
 
 

[NefariousKoel]

ORIGINAL: diablo1

Paying $8 for discounted older games that were once great games I can buy 50 games a year.

You're not gonna find new games for $8. Sorry.

[diablo1]

ORIGINAL: NefariousKoel

ORIGINAL: diablo1

Paying $8 for discounted older games that were once great games I can buy 50 games a year.

You're not gonna find new games for $8. Sorry.

It depends on ones definition of "new", newly released no, new to me, yes and yes to $8

[papajack]

They are cheap but once the company go bust , you lose the ability to reinstall the games and they are as good as gone  

[Rosseau]

Speaking of sales, Battlefront has slashed everything. And that does not make me happy, because I paid full price for all that stuff over the past year. If I waited, I would have saved about $110.

So, bizarre as it seems, I sort of like Matrix's policy. I don't have to worry that the game I buy for $40 will be sold for $20 in six months. Time of Wrath and a couple of others are exceptions to the rule, but they were discounted by the big outlets.

So when Grigsby's WitE game comes out, I can buy it immediately and not feel I should have waited for a sale.

Sorry, back to Hannibal...

[derwho]

Hi,

This is definitely worth your money. This is the best s*it I've played since I first got my hands on Armored Brigade.

Cheers,

Anssi

[diablo1]

ORIGINAL: papajack

They are cheap but once the company go bust , you lose the ability to reinstall the games and they are as good as gone  

Nope, because now there is GOG and you can get games of companies that have been long gone for nearly 20 years now. Like Master of Magic, Master of Orion 2, Betrayal at Krondor and many more and they are getting more old games all the time now. Their games range from $2.99 to $9.99 also and many great games that will work on Vista and Win7 machines now.

[Arctic Blast]

ORIGINAL: diablo1

ORIGINAL: papajack

They are cheap but once the company go bust , you lose the ability to reinstall the games and they are as good as gone  

Nope, because now there is GOG and you can get games of companies that have been long gone for nearly 20 years now. Like Master of Magic, Master of Orion 2, Betrayal at Krondor and many more and they are getting more old games all the time now. Their games range from $2.99 to $9.99 also and many great games that will work on Vista and Win7 machines now.

And none of them are new games by a long shot, meaning they hardly apply in a discussion of new game pricing.

[diablo1]

ORIGINAL: Arctic Blast

ORIGINAL: diablo1

ORIGINAL: papajack

They are cheap but once the company go bust , you lose the ability to reinstall the games and they are as good as gone  

Nope, because now there is GOG and you can get games of companies that have been long gone for nearly 20 years now. Like Master of Magic, Master of Orion 2, Betrayal at Krondor and many more and they are getting more old games all the time now. Their games range from $2.99 to $9.99 also and many great games that will work on Vista and Win7 machines now.

And none of them are new games by a long shot, meaning they hardly apply in a discussion of new game pricing.

Every one of them was a new game at one time bz. I'm not talking about every newly released game being $8, man some people need to start thinking outside the lines.

You're not gonna find new games for $8. Sorry.

Also Nefarious you are wrong here as well since shortly after Victoria origional was released it fell to .99 and just recently HOI III fell way below $8 shortly after release. So, yes I can get New games for $8 or less occassionally as well. Mount & Blade origionally also came out at $7.50 on Steam shortly after its release. Oh an another one I just recalled Combat Mission:Shock Force fell to $4.00 shortly after its initial release because it was so bug ridden like the rest I listed above except for M&B.

[Toby42]

Hey Diablo! Just wondering, have you bought this game yet?

[NefariousKoel]

ORIGINAL: diablo1


Nope, because now there is GOG and you can get games of companies that have been long gone for nearly 20 years now. Like Master of Magic, Master of Orion 2, Betrayal at Krondor and many more and they are getting more old games all the time now. Their games range from $2.99 to $9.99 also and many great games that will work on Vista and Win7 machines now.

Then that's likely where you should be buying stuff if it's the only ones within your budget. Complaining about new games not costing less than ten or twenty bucks is a waste of time and very fantastical. [:D]

[Arctic Blast]

ORIGINAL: diablo1

ORIGINAL: Arctic Blast

ORIGINAL: diablo1




Nope, because now there is GOG and you can get games of companies that have been long gone for nearly 20 years now. Like Master of Magic, Master of Orion 2, Betrayal at Krondor and many more and they are getting more old games all the time now. Their games range from $2.99 to $9.99 also and many great games that will work on Vista and Win7 machines now.

And none of them are new games by a long shot, meaning they hardly apply in a discussion of new game pricing.

Every one of them was a new game at one time bz. I'm not talking about every newly released game being $8, man some people need to start thinking outside the lines.

You're not gonna find new games for $8. Sorry.

Also Nefarious you are wrong here as well since shortly after Victoria origional was released it fell to .99 and just recently HOI III fell way below $8 shortly after release. So, yes I can get New games for $8 or less occassionally as well. Mount & Blade origionally also came out at $7.50 on Steam shortly after its release. Oh an another one I just recalled Combat Mission:Shock Force fell to $4.00 shortly after its initial release because it was so bug ridden like the rest I listed above except for M&B.

Most of the prices you're listing were temporary sales, NOT permanent price drops. Those happen regularly, then the price goes back to what it was before.

As for the actual price drops you listed...CMSF and Victoria...did those drops happen within a couple weeks of release? No. They happened over time, so it's not comparable to the situation with a game only a few weeks old like Hannibal.

Now, I DO think Matrix and others need to start looking at the prices of more of their back catalog, particularly games that have been out for years, but that's a different situation from a game that hasn't been out for a month.