Crusader Kings II

[Sir William]

*sigh*

I know I had just posted how I love my console games because they don't require regular, periodic upgrades to stay in competition and this crosses my path.  Did you ever wonder what it would be like to conquer most of Europe, then take the Cross and wrest the Holy Land from the Saracens?  Ever wondered about the courtly intrigues of the day?  Look no further, pc gamers...The Strategy Game for such interests has landed.  O, to have the wherewithal to get a honkin' bad gaming rig to go with it...don't allow the comical trailer to turn you off...this game looks like it might be the real deal.

http://www.gamespot.com/crusader-kings-ii/reviews/crusader-kings-ii-review-6350562/

[Ian]

If you go to their official website it has a playable downloadable demo.  Spent a good chunk of last weekend checking it out.  It's not the most accessible game in the world, and it has a very steep learning curve.  But if you like very detailed strategy and political intrigue this game can be exactly what you're looking for.  I recommend downloading the demo and giving it a go.

http://www.crusaderkings.com/media/demos

The full game is also available on Steam if you want to download it instead of go buy a box.

[Sir William]

My hardware's not up to spec...one of the reasons I got out of pc gaming was I couldn't keep up with all of it.

[Sir Edward]

It's easier now than it used to be to keep a good gaming rig together, IMHO. It used to be that you needed to replace everything every 18 to 24 months to stay current. These days as long as the video card is within about 2 years of being current, you can upgrade the rest more infrequently and get by.

[Sir James A]

My hardware's not up to spec...one of the reasons I got out of pc gaming was I couldn't keep up with all of it.

Those specs are quite low; I bet you could get a PC that would run that for around $150 if you built it yourself. If you're upgrading an existing system, maybe half that price. I got my brother a 256mb video card, 2.something dual-core AMD processor, 1gb memory, motherboard, and power supply (500 watt?) for $75 last year. CPU components are getting cheap, and the speed increase on things is becoming far lower than it used to be between years; the biggest thing you can do is get an SSD. I've seen people post boot times of 10 seconds or less, even on PCs a couple years old.

[Sir William]

Really?  Hm.  That's an avenue I might explore, but do I really need another gaming option?  Or would I prefer complaining about my lack thereof?  LOL

My wife would say no, I do not need it.  Since she's the one who buys my gaming rigs, I tend to go along with what she thinks!  Still...for the price of a good shield, I might have a gaming pc rig.  Bears thinking about.  Thanks for the heads up, Sir James!