cwestbrook20 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 This is a long post... A little about me I am a 26 year old software engineer for a web based school software company. I only have time to play games about one to two nights a week. I enjoy turn based games, but usually find myself playing fantasy themed games, rather than realism based, such as Empires of Steel. I had never heard of this game until watching Band of Brothers with my wife for the first time. I started looking for World War II based games and came across this one...I was very glad that I had looking back Easy To Learn I think that foremost I would like to say that, for a turn based strategy, this has one of the smallest learning curves to get into the game and play that I have ever found. This is a truly a sign that the developers and designers pay close attention to the details of the game. An integrated tutorial, with a probably a bit more reading than should be, that walks you through the game. It's an interactive tutorial so you play and learn at the same time. This is a great method for adults and made it easy to get into the game quickly and have some fun. Integrated Updates and Maps You cannot believe how many enterprise software applications do not even have this feature. This alone made the value of the game go through roof and helped to encourage me to purchase the game. Very few games these days are static, they are updated, they have expansions, they have ways to modify, the developers of Empires of Steel saw that and created ways that make it easy to manage all of those areas, saving me time and often frustration that I have with even top tier games. Here are just a couple examples: Need to upgrade the game? Not a problem, just click a button in the game and it downloads all the files for you... No installer, no trying to log in to a website and track the latest patch. You just saved me time, which is very very important for me. Random maps are fun...but what about one that looks like Earth... not a problem, just load up the in game tool and you can download maps that others have created. Not just that, but it downloads it for you, which means no tracking down folders to load these five files into, from one of five websites. Ohh and you can vote on it so 'better' maps make it to the top. The Gameplay So far I have only talked about the systems that support the game itself. My first game I played was with the Demo of Empires of Steel which consisted of a random map with all of the features included. No pressure to buy, no real time limit, and let me experience the game. I had a blast, I love games that have research, trying to find that right balance between resource expansion and technology growth, I feel that this game has done a wonderful job with this and really sold me personally on purchasing the game. -- I was impressed with the A.I. in the game, challenging, not too predictable, and ok at offensive as well as good at defensive. -- Easy to group and move units around the map -- Micromanagement of your economy was really basic -- Great high level management tools, such as being able to view all city production queues, what units have been idle, idle +5 turns (love this one), and some helpful battle calculators when trying to weigh in on if you should engage. Game Updates As I mentioned before, I am a software engineer and know that if you don't stand behind your product, the market will not forgive you. If you take a look on the website you will find that the developers of Empires of Steel have support and improved their game over and over again. They must really have a passion for their game and its continued success because they are committed. All I can say is thank you very much for going beyond what is expected and continuing to update the game. In Summary While no game is perfect, having a solid core game engine to stand on makes any of the little things small in comparison. Knowing that the developers are focused on improving and fixing things, make me actually excited to write a review like this. I do have some enhancements that I would like discuss and possibly see worked into the future of the game, none of them distracted or took away from a very enjoyable experience I have had with Empires of Steel so far. I wish the team the best of luck and I am very excited to see what the future holds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadmeat1471 Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 'Game Updates' This is easily its greatest asset, Brit works his ass off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brit Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 This is a long post... Thanks for the write-up! I'm always glad to hear when people like my work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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