December Best Bets [Think]
Looking to tax your noodle more than your reflexes? Be sure to check out these three brainy games: the latest from Sid Meier (the creator of the Civilization series), the third iteration of an old "Tycoon" favorite, and a strategic romp through Middle-earth.Sid Meier's Pirates!
PC
Developer: Firaxis
Publisher: Atari
Release Date: November 23
Years and years ago, game designer Sid Meier (Civilization) elevated the act of software piracy to an art form with Pirates!, a game about the salty lifestyle of scurvy sea dogs. While there was plenty of boat battling, it was mainly a game of exploration and making smart trades, finding the right balance of crew to properly pillage while turning a profit. It was insanely addictive, and stands today as one of PC gaming's finest hours. Now, Meier and his crew have updated the classic with 3D graphics. It's a genre-bender, to be sure: The game is actually more like an assortment of stripped-down-to-the-essence sub- games, including exploration of the Caribbean, managing trade and crew, and pirate ship battles on the high seas (these sequences take some reflexes); a single pirate captain's "life-span" can be finished relatively quickly, and the game is highly replayable. But most importantly, all the fundamental good stuff that made the original Pirates! so great is back...just be warned: based on what we've seen so far, a few new "pieces" (including a landlocked treasure hunt and an "escape from the city" stealth sequence) may wind up doing more harm than good to the gameplay. Even then, a treasure trove of awesome.
The Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle-earth
PC
Developer: EA LA
Publisher: EA Games
Release Date: December 6
We're hard pressed to imagine EA's mining of the Lord of the Rings movie license going any further than this, but Battle for Middle-Earth is looking like a good way to end a winning streak. Developed by the studio formerly known as Westwood, the Command & Conquer veterans have found their own unique way to streamline the RTS process (much like Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War). Here, buildings can only exist on preordained circles, and gathering peons are nowhere to be seen, leaving lots more time to concentrate on what really matters -- war! The graphics are looking great, and literally hundreds of orcs, elves, and men can appear on the screen at the same time, making for some really epic battles. Good stuff.
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3
PC
Developer: Frontier
Publisher: Atari
Release Date: Now
Among the myriad games that lets you simulate cities, theme parks, zoos, railroads, office buildings, fast food joints, hospitals, hoedowns, or hereafters, Chris Sawyer's Roller Coaster Tycoon series has always been the most popular. After disappointing fans with a too-familiar 2002 sequel, it's good too find the series back on the right track with a completely overhauled graphics engine that models individual park-goers right down to family behaviors and hat-buying tendencies. The visuals are the biggest draw: Riding the coasters in 3D is a sight not to be missed (be sure to pack some Dramamine), and anyone who's ever wanted to build their own amusement park would be hard-pressed to find a better place to do it. It's even got a cool, 3D lenticular box for those who care about such things. The game could have done with a little more time in the hopper as far as park- goer A.I. is concerned, however. It's often frustrating to try and figure out why, exactly, your best rides are totally abandoned (fans are waiting for a patch), but this has got all the guts of a great sim game.
