Pride of Nations
- June 7, 2011
- Ageod
- 30h median play time
If youve got the patience to penetrate this game, and to put up with its dawdling, youre in for a treat.
"Pride of Nations" is a turn-based strategy game that simulates the colonial era of the 19th century. Players can choose from eight different nations, including the United States, Germany, and Japan, and manage various aspects of their chosen country such as politics, economy, and military. The game features tactical battles, historical events, and diplomacy, providing an engaging and immersive experience for fans of historical strategy games.
Reviews
- Pride of Nations offers a deep and complex strategy experience, with impressive military unit details and economic development mechanics that are highly engaging.
- The game provides a unique historical simulation of the 19th century, allowing players to navigate through various aspects of nation-building, diplomacy, and colonialism.
- Despite its flaws, many players appreciate the game's ambition and potential, believing it deserves a sequel with improvements in performance and user interface.
- The game suffers from extremely long turn processing times, often taking several minutes, which can make it feel unplayable and frustrating for many players.
- The user interface is clunky and not user-friendly, making it difficult for players to navigate and understand the game's mechanics without extensive reading of the manual.
- Frequent crashes and performance issues have been reported, leading to a disappointing experience for players who expect a stable gameplay environment.
- gameplay12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a slow turn-based system that some players find tedious, with lengthy turn times and a lack of unique mechanics. While there is potential for depth and interesting mechanics reminiscent of other Ageod titles, the user interface and coding issues hinder the overall experience, making it challenging for players to fully engage with the game's offerings. Despite these drawbacks, there is a substantial amount of content and scenarios available for those willing to navigate the game's shortcomings.
“The game has interesting mechanics.”
“Not unlike other Ageod games I've played in the past, the game mechanics for Pride of Nations look like they've got a lot of potential to be really good.”
“The mechanics look great, the attention to detail in set-up situations and a decent number (4-5) of extra scenarios as well as the grand campaign mean there's a substantial amount of game here.”
“Not only is the actual gameplay quite uneventful, but the turn times are longer than the actual 19th century.”
“There are very few truly unique mechanics here, and even then they're not that special.”
“However, also not unlike other Ageod games, the user interface of the game is not up to the task of the mechanics.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received largely negative feedback, with many users describing them as outdated and reminiscent of 1995, lacking basic resolution and clarity. While some appreciate the aesthetic of the UI and the artwork on unit cards, the overall visual quality is considered low and not up to modern standards, detracting from the gaming experience. Additionally, there are criticisms regarding historical inaccuracies in the game's geographical representation.
“The simulation of the time period is well-done and evocative, the AI is a credible opponent, and I particularly like the lovely board game-like unit cards and artwork.”
“There are a lot of possibilities including the different kinds of expeditions - anthropological, geographical, natural society, military expeditions, etc. Even things such as gunboat diplomacy and naval demonstrations of force are included, which is amazing.”
“Not a huge problem, but honestly, I expect even basic graphics to at least maintain the resolution of my screen and have writing not pixel out on counters.”
“Absolutely horrible graphics, without any AI worth a darn.”
“Graphics look like they are from 1995.”
“I expect even basic graphics to at least maintain the resolution of my screen and have writing not pixel out on counters.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with users noting severe performance issues, including slow gameplay and frequent crashes. Many believe that the AI is poorly designed and that the game's graphics are subpar, contributing to an overall lack of enjoyment. While some see potential for improvement, they agree that significant effort would be required to make the game run efficiently on modern systems.
“It's a shame, because there would be a great game here if it were optimized for modern computers.”
“And to top it off, all these units' appearance and performance change throughout the years.”
“And because it has so many great mechanics and so much potential, it might not take too much to fix it in my eyes.”
“For the whole pack back in the day, and yeah it never got performance fixed. The AI is utterly braindead, it's 0 fun, a typical Slitherine publishing game, overpriced and low quality, and absolutely horrible graphics, without any AI worth a darn.”
“And because it has so many great mechanics and so much potential... no sorry, it is unfixable without great effort. I was just typing out a list of easy fixes, but many of them are not easy, and yes there are many of them. Just the code optimization is not feasible to make it at least 10x faster to be playable.”
“Other reviewers mention the game runs slowly and crashes often - I haven't encountered this problem to be honest, but yes, it does take a couple of minutes when you click 'end turn'. When you think of how much the computer needs to calculate and execute, I find it understandable and don't mind the wait.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its vibrant quality and historical authenticity, effectively complementing the game's theme and genre. Many players appreciate the fitting compositions, including references to pieces like "Land of Hope and Glory," although some negative reviews suggest there may be room for improvement. Overall, the soundtrack enhances the gaming experience significantly.
“The music is really great and certainly fits the time period.”
“I like the music; it fits with the genre.”
“Very colorful, good music, and lots of historical research went into this game.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been criticized for its poor replayability, with users noting that the systems in place and long turn times detract from the overall experience, making it feel unworthy of repeated play.
“I own the game and all the DLCs; it's just utterly bad. The systems are poor, the turn time is terrible, and the replayability is non-existent. There's really nothing good about it, except that I only paid around 3 euros.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and overly complex, leading to frustration and a sense of absurdity.
“This game is beyond ridiculous; it's imbecilic and pretentious with an endless glut of information and tedious unnecessary complexity.”
“The grinding in this game feels like a never-ending chore, draining the fun out of what could have been an enjoyable experience.”
“I spent hours grinding for resources, only to realize that the rewards are not worth the time invested.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game revolves around the player's ability to engage in various activities such as sending merchants and missionaries, establishing trading posts, and building infrastructure, all contributing to the development of a thriving colony.
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent freezes upon launch, leading to a frustrating experience despite their affection for the developer.
“It freezes up every time I try to open it... I love Paradox, but this is a total bust!”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I can't progress because of constant stability issues; it's incredibly frustrating.”