It has been so long since we've seen a game that came anywhere near what Baldur's Gate 1 in particular established. The kind of isolinear game where early encounters were tough, especially for low level parties, and where you were provided with a slew of choice as far as party members and classes. Then came this game. Honestly I don't even know how much I've even played of it. Maybe 25 hours, maybe more. All I know is that I've played Divinity Original Sin, Dragon Age Origins, and a slew of other games that claimed to be the successor of Baldur's Gate (and other IE games). None are even close to what Pillars of Eternity offers. If this doesn't get game of the year it would be a crying shame. I have a priest of Skaen playthrough right now and its so fantastic. I get special cruelty dialogue choices because of how others perceive me through past actions. On another character (who is a goodie goodie character) I get special dialogue because of that. Its crazy how much replayability there is in this game. With the inclusion of Defiance Bay Pillars of Eternity even brings back the feel that you had when you first entered the City of Baldur's Gate in Baldur's Gate. So many quests and places to explore, a whole seedy underworld and factions to align yourself with, and the feeling that even after you've combed the entire city you've still missed plenty. The writing in the game is excellent, the voice acting is very good, its very re-playable, the music and atmosphere is fantastic, and generally I wholly recommend it. Its definitely the kind of game you only pick up if you are willing to read, but its totally worth it to do so.
At $10 Tropico 3 gold edition is not only a good game, but is a steal. Allow me to suggest why this is the case. 1) There are a number of different edicts and directions that you can take your island, be they environmental, religious, economic, etc. 2) It borrows heavily from the original Tropico, although it does update its graphics considerable. The campaigns however are different, at least from what I can recall and help to keep the game playable longer. 3) Juanito, one of two radio hosts in the game, is awesome. However, it should be noted that even the gold edition can't be spared criticism. For those that have played the original tropico, the game has most of the same edicts, character traits, and gameplay mechanics as the first one. It mostly is a graphical update. So basically, I would say if you can tolerate the reduced graphics play Tropico #1. It has more options in game, and as a result it will probably keep you interested longer.
I have not played a better space combat game since I first played this in 2002 (yes I was late to the party). I did however play its predecessor for many years prior to getting it (and still do). If you are looking for a way to spend countless hours blowing up aliens on the cheap I would highly recommend this game. That said more than ten years after its release with FSO it can be made to have graphics comparable to any 2007 era game. So even for those who feel that graphics are everything (which I've never understood) this game won't disappoint. Not surprisingly it also has an incredible diverse and motivated modding community given its age. Between all the fan work and the original two games you will get many hours out of this game. That said go buy the original as well if you can (Freespace + Expansion) to help support GOG in bringing all these awesome good games back to computers everywhere.
