So, it finally hit this morning. And to be honest, i was dissapointed a bit about some parts. Not by the mechanics, or the setting. Everything that was promised is at least somewhat visible. But it's below a thick layer of Bugs, performance-issues and some Balancing-problems. Ofc, the Game still shines, otherwise i wouldnt be here, and instead in the CA-Forums joining the growing Army of angry-Fanboys. Please keep in mind this is a first look after a day, and i will try to keep this thing on a basis that can actually be judged after a timespan like this.
Worst things first:
- Multiplayer-Campaigns are unplayable, and not just for me. Desyncs happen after a few Rounds, or even right at the start. Also, ending your turn takes around 180 Seconds, in which every faction slides painfully slow across your screen, until you can do something again. In Singeplayer it's around 20 Seconds, and even that is almost too much for me.
- Graphic and Performance-drops. Not Game breaking, but surely annoying. The Game straight out recommmended Extreme Settings for me... and the units look like bad Plastic Toys. And im STILL getting laggs and clipping. A quick Forum search showed that a lot of people have Problems. Poor optimization, it seems. As stated above, it's not horrible, but it takes me out of the Experience a lot.
- Battles are over too quickly, at least in my Opinion. More often than not Units will allready route after loosing only a minor part of their force. I've seen Veteran Units run like cowards, after loosing only 30 of their 160 Guys. Even if they arent flanked! In Shogun, even Ashigaru would put up somewhat of a fight, if the numbers where at least equal. And it took quite the effort to provoke a mass-routing. In Rome 2, it seems like even the smallest drop in morale is an instant gameover. In my opinion, if two Armys with around 15 Unit's each clash, it should take some time. Melee should hold a bit, even if it's just for being able to zoom in and enjoy the Carnage. It's especially sad since the Combat itself was upgraded quite a lot, especially charges look and sound exremely nice.
- Some Units seem... a bit underpowered. I was somewhat let down by the Chariots when playing Iceni. They can charge a Ranged-Unit here and there, throw some Javelins at the Enemy. And that's it. I keep one or two in my army to troll some Units away from the Main group for easy flanking, but i expected somewhat more, especially if you compare them to their Egyptian-counterparts. If im horribly wrong and there's a trick to it, correct me please!
The good stuff:
- I like the City Management. In Shogun 2 and below, City-Management was annoying. It was too easy to miss an Upgrade, and stuff usually cost so much that you had to painstakingly upgrade one thing after the other every turn. It was only made worse by the fact most Upgrades werent even that useful. Especially in Shogun, i rarely bothered to upgrade Dojos beyond their second rank, because one or two Experience Levels arent that much of a difference. In Rome 2 however, management is easy. I like uniting Provinces for bonuses. Also, i feel like the additions you get from buildings are actually useful, since they provide Garrison and Equipment without the need of special Ressources all the time.
- Battles, when ignoring the stuff in the first section, feel really satisfying. Soldiers clash and scream, Officers talk to their guys. Charges feel really really strong. I also like the new animations Combat has, Shogun often felt like a rewind of the same 3 moves for every Unit-Type. Also loving the Fact that you can choose your Generals Bodyguard. Who wants a Cavalry-General when playing f-ing Sparta?
- Battlemaps are also really nice. I played as Macedonians and Iceni, and the scenery changed dramatically inbetween. Rivers, Hills and the like pop up, and i feel really compelled to use the terrain as an advantage. Army stances further cement this, and make me eager to set up Ambushes and fortify my position. I Couldnt test Fortifying yet tough, since Enemies rarely attack Armies that do it, even if you're technically weaker than them.
That's all i can think of for the moment. Looking forward to reading other peoples opinions.
Worst things first:
- Multiplayer-Campaigns are unplayable, and not just for me. Desyncs happen after a few Rounds, or even right at the start. Also, ending your turn takes around 180 Seconds, in which every faction slides painfully slow across your screen, until you can do something again. In Singeplayer it's around 20 Seconds, and even that is almost too much for me.
- Graphic and Performance-drops. Not Game breaking, but surely annoying. The Game straight out recommmended Extreme Settings for me... and the units look like bad Plastic Toys. And im STILL getting laggs and clipping. A quick Forum search showed that a lot of people have Problems. Poor optimization, it seems. As stated above, it's not horrible, but it takes me out of the Experience a lot.
- Battles are over too quickly, at least in my Opinion. More often than not Units will allready route after loosing only a minor part of their force. I've seen Veteran Units run like cowards, after loosing only 30 of their 160 Guys. Even if they arent flanked! In Shogun, even Ashigaru would put up somewhat of a fight, if the numbers where at least equal. And it took quite the effort to provoke a mass-routing. In Rome 2, it seems like even the smallest drop in morale is an instant gameover. In my opinion, if two Armys with around 15 Unit's each clash, it should take some time. Melee should hold a bit, even if it's just for being able to zoom in and enjoy the Carnage. It's especially sad since the Combat itself was upgraded quite a lot, especially charges look and sound exremely nice.
- Some Units seem... a bit underpowered. I was somewhat let down by the Chariots when playing Iceni. They can charge a Ranged-Unit here and there, throw some Javelins at the Enemy. And that's it. I keep one or two in my army to troll some Units away from the Main group for easy flanking, but i expected somewhat more, especially if you compare them to their Egyptian-counterparts. If im horribly wrong and there's a trick to it, correct me please!
The good stuff:
- I like the City Management. In Shogun 2 and below, City-Management was annoying. It was too easy to miss an Upgrade, and stuff usually cost so much that you had to painstakingly upgrade one thing after the other every turn. It was only made worse by the fact most Upgrades werent even that useful. Especially in Shogun, i rarely bothered to upgrade Dojos beyond their second rank, because one or two Experience Levels arent that much of a difference. In Rome 2 however, management is easy. I like uniting Provinces for bonuses. Also, i feel like the additions you get from buildings are actually useful, since they provide Garrison and Equipment without the need of special Ressources all the time.
- Battles, when ignoring the stuff in the first section, feel really satisfying. Soldiers clash and scream, Officers talk to their guys. Charges feel really really strong. I also like the new animations Combat has, Shogun often felt like a rewind of the same 3 moves for every Unit-Type. Also loving the Fact that you can choose your Generals Bodyguard. Who wants a Cavalry-General when playing f-ing Sparta?
- Battlemaps are also really nice. I played as Macedonians and Iceni, and the scenery changed dramatically inbetween. Rivers, Hills and the like pop up, and i feel really compelled to use the terrain as an advantage. Army stances further cement this, and make me eager to set up Ambushes and fortify my position. I Couldnt test Fortifying yet tough, since Enemies rarely attack Armies that do it, even if you're technically weaker than them.
That's all i can think of for the moment. Looking forward to reading other peoples opinions.