Recent Computer Game Disappointments

K. Fields
2020-05-06T13:36:36-04:00
Video Games

Given the large number of video games in my collection, it is unlikely I will ever get around to playing many of them. I have been tackling them in chronological order of their original release dates, more or less. That approach is usually fine but it is becoming more and more problematic. Unfortunately, compatibility problems are more frequent with older game titles. Recently, I ran into issues with a couple of games I wanted to play.

Europa Universalis III—I really looked forward to this one. I knew it was going to be complex, based on its reputation. That certainly turned out to be true. Unfortunately, the tutorial was horrible and did little to prepare me for the depth of the game. It was too short, too superficial, and too buggy to be of much help. I started the Grand Campaign anyway. I really wanted to play as France but thought it might be overwhelming. I decided to play as Portugal, thinking a smaller nation might be more manageable. Ultimately, it didn't matter. The game was too unstable. After way too many crashes, I pulled the plug on this one and uninstalled it. Hopefully, I will have more luck with Europa Universalis IV when I get around to playing it.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare—This was another game I eagerly anticipated. I thought the modern setting would be a nice change of pace from previous World War II first-person shooters I had played. I knew the game was no longer officially supported by Aspyr. They are only supporting 64-bit Mac games now and this was a 32-bit offering. Although the game installed fine, it refused to register my activation key. Perhaps they discontinued the license key server for this game. Oh well. It's time to pick another game to play.