I prefer reading about MMOs than actually bothering play any.

Mind you I spend more time mapping than gaming anyhow.

And thus we also have the inherit problem – the same stuff isn’t most likely going to happen to someone else and almost not in the same way. Some people are likely to come away dissapointed. However, those whom can follow the game in the same way they read the article are of course, going to get the most enjoyment. In theory I’d say people whom don’t enjoy it are probably the more ‘casual’ gamers, and those that do enjoy it the most are going to be those that are more dedicated gamers. In a way, I suppose genre will come into it as another factor too.

Apologies if I’m just repeating what you said in a different way.

Of course no one person has had an untainted experience of both, but I enjoyed that GalCiv game enormously, even more than I enjoyed writing about it. And I typically enjoy writing about such things more than I enjoy reading a good one by someone else. That’s science.

I wrote about the Guiding Hand Social Club and didn’t live through their hits, but the few story-worthy things that have happened to me in Eve were fantastic. The problem with that game is that it’s so hard to get to them. Conversely, I think GalCiv gets you to the madness pretty quickly and reliably.

Al, is it possible Benedict Cumberbatch changed his name at some point? It’s hard to believe someone could be born that British without actually being royalty.

The former is a thoughtful take on the same Napoleonic Wars turf as Hornblower. The latter is set in an old ship-of-the-line which has been refitted as a passenger transit to Australia, during the closing days of the Napoleonic wars. Both deal very well with both the superstitious, cabin fever mentality that infects all on board, the grim (and mundane) details of military warfare, and also the mind-crushing boredom of being stuck at sea for months on end. The narrator of the latter is also someone who understands absolutely nothing about masts and rigging, so it’s quite a sympathetic introduction for the uninitiated.

Hopefully, one day Ioan Gruffudd will get sick of Hollywood (or vice versa) and they’ll finish filming the later Hornblower books, when he’s captain of his own ship. They’re infectious Boy’s Own stories of a variety that I always thought I’d be immune to, and my God, they’re page turners.

How can it be that I enjoyed reading this (excellent) diary more than I did playing the game itself? As a pro writer, don’t you cringe at the poor Douglas Adams-esque attempts at humour? “Space is really big, huge in fact” – er yeah, hah hah. I can’t stand it. Is this game nothing more than a slightly shinier Master of Orion 2?

Why do I allow myself to be persuaded by these New Games Journalists into buying games that really aren’t that great? Like EVE online; it has made for some great stories, and journalists seem to love writing about it. I bought that game immediately after reading about the Guiding Hand Social Club. And it’s crap.

“Live that Iain M. Banks dream” PC Gamer UK tells me. I don’t know what Iain M. Banks dreams about, but considering that his books have lots of sex and funny robots going on really daring adventures it’s probably a lot more exciting than “WARPING TO STARGATE.”

I can’t help but view games journalism with anything other cynicism these days. Bring back Amiga power, that’s all I have to say!

Otherwise use pig latin, I already read from John’s that Lyarsay oesn’tday uiteqay Ieday, and Eterpay and Athannay lowbay upay…

Orrysay.

Aside: There are a lot of Tom Francis’ on Facebook.