Greg Costikyan looks at 3-D in gaming and concludes that it’s not always a good idea in gaming. I have to agree, and I’ll add a caveat that he didn’t: If the 3-D affects game play, then it’s a good idea. If it’s just there to look pretty or because it’s a way to update a game without actually improving it, then it’s a bad idea. And that’s the trouble for both the games he cites — Heroes of Might and Magic V and Civilization IV — it’s just there to look pretty without affecting gameplay. It’s not like the games are 3-D, they just look 3-D. And that leads into another pet peeve — I’ll play an ugly but fun game, but I won’t play a gorgeous but dull game. And it seems like far more time and money is spent on looks and not on gameplay. Kind of like the Spy Kids movies.