Battlefleet Gothic: Armada 2

I don't play multiplayer. Which is a good thing, because "Easy" Anti Cheat does not work well on my system. I was experiencing constant lock ups and crashes of the game. Luckily there is a no-EAC executable available. Check the options on the GOG Galaxy launcher or find it in the game files. With no EAC the game runs very smooth on highest graphics on my Intel i5-3570k and Geforce 970. So far I've only played the single player campaign as the Imperium on Normal difficulty. I find it to be immersive, exciting, and challenging at times. Graphics: The graphics are pretty outstanding. You can zoom in close on ships and see minute details. The ability effects and weapons are very satisfying to watch. Ships detonate with a thunderous boom and explosion. Sound: As usual per Warhammer-based games, the sound and especially music are amazing and epic. There is little more satisfying than zooming in and ramming another ship. Interface: Once you get the hang of it, the battle UI is very usable and intuitive. Ability icons are easily distinguished. The campaign map is also fairly straightforward. Campaign: Here's where things get dicey. There are wild difficulty spikes like the Tyranid invasion, and the counter-intuitive Urgency meter. The meter would have you believe you constantly need to rush and attack. This is not true once you've secured a sector. Take your time, build up your systems, increase your income. I have seen multiple Lets Plays struggle because they rushed and completed missions too quickly. The extra invasions are not so bad; use them to level up your ships. Also, the math for some worlds’ upgrades does not add up. Avoid upgrading Agri worlds unless there’s something else valuable there. Focus on income planets, shipyards, and fleet or campaign bonuses. In all, a very satisfying entry to the 40k video game library. If you are a fan of games like Homeworld, this game will likely not disappoint. I am definitely hopeful for a BFGA III.

I want to clarify misinformation that appears here in user reviews. Game may be launched without Easy Anti Cheat by using -noEAC launch command or GOG Galaxy option. It seems many have came to conclusions without learning the game. The campaign is perfectly playable when player takes it slow and considers their every move. It is supposed to be a strategic campaign. The game contains computer controlled opponents in skirmish mode. To play versus artificial intelligence player has to enter Battle menu, click 1v1, select fleet and then start battle. It is quite entertaining game but I am taking one star away because there is no possibility to create custom colour scheme yet the game is an adaptation of a tabletop wargame. There is also unlockable metagame content which requires player to spend time to compete on the same ground in multiplayer.

The game will not run after reaching the main menu. I can, if I am quick enough, set up a game and see my ships arrayed, but I can’t hardly select a ship without crashing to the desktop. For those who might suggest the anti cheat exe, I have tried both exes and even a couple of custom exes. The game continues to crash within 3 minutes of launching.

I'm a fan of the W40K universe, and this game looked promising. I actually liked the tutorial and the beginning of the Imperial Guard campaign. But things bogged down quickly, and the game lost my interest after several hours. First, the good stuff. The game looks great and has good music, solid voice acting, and an appropriate W40K feel. The micromanagement of ships was not as bad as I thought, though the UI is not all that intuitive. Okay, that's about all of the good stuff. Now, the bad. There are a number of systems at work that just aren't explained well, such as how and when to upgrade worlds, leaders, and ships. The deal-breaker for me that made me uninstall the game was the wild difficulty spikes after I conquered the first system (Cadia) and moved to the next. Even on easy difficulty, enemies had much more ship strength in key sectors to the point that you were trapped between two opposing sides and nowhere to move. The whack-a-move strategic point race during fights also took away from the fun of gameplay. Once you get tired of the campaigns, there is no skirmish or instant-action mode that you can play against the AI, although the game has like 10 different races. It is a criminal omission by the developers, and a blunder concerning the game's long-term appeal. If you don't mind trying to figure out all of the unexplained stuff in the game and constantly reloading saves, this might be worth a try for $5-$10 tops. Otherwise, give this a hard pass. P.S. I had some difficulty at first getting the game to load, but it finally did. The Easy Anti Cheat thing may or may not have been the problem.