So Civ V is out and omigosh the world leaders now speak in their native languages.

(Insert girlish squeal here.)

That was all sarcasm ( I point it out because in print you can almost never tell).  I mean what a dumb selling point, yet it is one that the games makers and other reviewers have touted repeatedly.  Now when you play Civ V you won't be able to understand nine tenths of all foreign interactions.  Sure there are subtitles, but I don't want to read.  Print is dead.... er, I mean... print in games is dead.  Yeah.  Print is still totally applicable in other formats.  Like blogs.

The aforementioned makers of the game said that this feature would make the game much more immersive.  I disagree.  If anything it kicks me out of the game.  When I attack Rome the last thing I want to hear is Caesar jibbering at me in Latin.  When Bismark is negotiating a trade with me I don't want him to sound like he's farting out his mouth.  Give me dialogue I can understand.  Give them accents if you want.  Don't give me subtitles.

 "Pardon his french-"

"No.  I will NOT pardon his french!"

But above all, if you insist on giving me language I can't understand don't make it sound like it's such a cool neat thing.  It's a backdrop, it's atmosphere.  If you highlight it you ruin it.

There are plenty of worthwhile things to emphasize in this game other than language.  The switch from squares to hexagons.  The improved tactics regarding geography.  The elimination of troop stacking.

And to be fair all those were spotlighted, and they do sound like interesting features.  But the fact that Montezuma has finally found his original voice is not one of them.