Utopia and Heroes of Gaia: An Experiential Comparison
Both games are browser-based, so they're easily discoverable and accessible.
I came to both games alone, since they were on a site that also hosted another game I was already playing.
I later discovered that a close friend played both games.
Both games have strong facilities (Utopia more than HoG) for group play; joining up with said friend meant that I got access to an orthogonal set of gameplay. Incidentally, it's also the type of gameplay I always forget about: social metaplay.
Both offer value for intelligence gathering in addition to normal warmongering.
And I've ended up favoring the intel side of things more than the warlord side of things. Again.
My favorite playstyle in Utopia was to run a fairy rogue. Fairies were naturally elite spellcasters, and their elite units were the best defense in the game, so the general strategy was to build up a defensive force and then use your army minimally for easy land raids. Then, you had fairly free reign to focus on spellcasting and thief activities, both of which mandated intel gathering and saboteur-style attacks. So my job ended up being a huge datafeed of "here's the disposition of all the guys we're at war with; here's how I've wreaked havoc; go kill."
HoG is looked suspiciously similar, in terms of how my role is shaping up. Granted, there's a very distinct lack of depth in terms of playstyle, when you actually make that comparison, but... eh.
I came to both games alone, since they were on a site that also hosted another game I was already playing.
I later discovered that a close friend played both games.
Both games have strong facilities (Utopia more than HoG) for group play; joining up with said friend meant that I got access to an orthogonal set of gameplay. Incidentally, it's also the type of gameplay I always forget about: social metaplay.
Both offer value for intelligence gathering in addition to normal warmongering.
And I've ended up favoring the intel side of things more than the warlord side of things. Again.
My favorite playstyle in Utopia was to run a fairy rogue. Fairies were naturally elite spellcasters, and their elite units were the best defense in the game, so the general strategy was to build up a defensive force and then use your army minimally for easy land raids. Then, you had fairly free reign to focus on spellcasting and thief activities, both of which mandated intel gathering and saboteur-style attacks. So my job ended up being a huge datafeed of "here's the disposition of all the guys we're at war with; here's how I've wreaked havoc; go kill."
HoG is looked suspiciously similar, in terms of how my role is shaping up. Granted, there's a very distinct lack of depth in terms of playstyle, when you actually make that comparison, but... eh.