Field of Glory: Empires

This game is really a breath of fresh air for the grand strategy genre with multiple innovative design decisions that add a great deal of dynamism to your campaigns. What I'm seeing on my first two playthroughs is that the ebb and flow of empires is on full display as AI empires make decisive rises and falls all around me. Though the gameplay is simple on the surface, there's solid depth underneath in optimizing your empire in an efficient manner and I'm still having a lot of "oh, so that's how it works" moments even after 50 or so hours. While not a tremendously atmospheric game given the more modest production values, AGEOD has managed to instill distinct cultural identities and capabilities to the nations, especially based on their building trees. The output and characteristics of each region or province varies wildly based on the buildings they have and the trade goods they have access to. Long established Hellenic coastal cities are real dynamos of culture and commerce compared to the landlocked tribes. The nations themselves also have subtle but decisive special rules that frame their playstyles (I especially like the Diadochi mechanics). The combat system is also quite nice as well. There can be a LOT of battles, so exporting them all to FOG 2 is not realistic if you want to actually play FOGE. Instead, we have fully automated battles here, but with a sound mechanical structure behind it that takes into account a lot of nuance. The wrong troops deployed in mountains with a narrow frontage against a solid general can easily be defeated regardless of their numbers. Overall, the FOG 2 integration is really more of a cherry on top, despite being a great tactical game in it's own right. There's lots more to say, but I've hit my character limit for GOG reviews. Suffice to say I'm offering a ringing endorsement for those who like to ponder maps, optimize economies and stick the pointy end into those foolish enough to stand in the way of destiny.

Slitherine slipped around the back of paradox's increasingly stale releases and delivered a title that is fresh, bursting with ideas and further potential. Play as any society in 500 turns until early A.D. but can play after this limit with no score kept. Try to think of a society that existed in this timeframe... Sparta (Lakadaimon) --- yes Ilyria ... yes Ptolemies ... yes Makedon ... yes Belgae ... yes Byzantion ... by Artemis, yes. Antigonids ... yes Pontos ... yes Britons ... yes. And on and on. There are 70 societies so anything that grabs your attention as a point of historical interest is likely to exist at the start of the game. But its a constant juggling act to keep your decadence and glory equalled -some other society can usurp your own and become successors, such as the Sassanids etc in late game. I think that religion, so important to classic era, is skimped over a bit, but such a minor complaint, really. Recommended.

This game introduces a new concept to 4X games. Of course, every game adds innovation. Civ III added culture, Civ VI added buildings on the map, etc. But no game ever managed to incmude an interesting mechanism that would prevent snowballing. This game requires you to plan, to take your time to build your empire before you expand, otherwise your empire is going to collapse to strife and civil wars. The new concept of culture/decadence is so innovative that any grand strategy or 4X player should try this game, unlearn bad habits from previous games, and enjoy this jewel. Some elements are gamey, but the end result looks more realistic/historical than most other games that try to be more simulations. For instance, having randomness in the choice of buildings you can order is artificial, but it avoids repetitive optimised queues that never change and it makes for a new experience. I would certainly not recommend exporting battles into FOG:2. That may work, but would slow down your campaign so much that it doesn't look worth doing. So do not think you need FOG:2 to enjoy FOG:E thoroughly. The game stands very well by itself.

After the disappointment with Imperator, I don't know what made me pick up this game full price, instead of waiting a few months for a sale - I have a few other AGEOD games, but none of them is a favorite. But I am glad I did. It took a bit of time to get into it - I almost abandoned it because I did not understand the decadence stuff. After reading a bit, I picked it up again and I cannot get away from it. Plenty of reviews out there that discuss features and so on, just wanted to say that if you are on the fence, jump. The only other games that captured me so much in the last couple of years are Stellaris and Rimworld.