Gameplay wise this is a very solid expansion, with many additional features, which add a lot of variations. Unfortunately it didn't address, nor other DLCs, the main issue I have with the base game. That is too many unescapable anims anbd slow downs.
The strategic and tactical layers are good, and you might want to replay the game to try differenty approaches. - Unfortunately the gaming experience is mared by unescapable cut scenes and slow anims. It hurts as it would be easy to have a simple option to reduce this for power players. For a 40h campaign you might loose 10h watching the same anims over and over. - Moreover the UI requires tons of clicks for every actions, and has not improved since the previous game. - They are dozens of options to customize the look of your soldiers, but they all have the same stats. So it is purely cosmetic. This highlight the game focus on style. This is a shame as in the previous version there was an option to have characters with more diverse stats. - Mods may or MAY NOT works on GoG version
Overall I find this is the best strategic level WW2 game. It combines playability, challenge and historical flavour better than the other games on the market. The whole campaign is quite large, and long, but the game is approachable even for newcommers. One unit per hex. The focus is clearly on maneuvering units on the map, however there are also technology development and diplomacy. This one cover only War in Europe, and North Africa, it also includes USA east coast. In contrast the "World at War" version cover the whole globe. And though I haven't played the larger version, I think this one is better and more focused, the WaW being much longer to play and it is easier to fool the AI on the complete world map. Compared to Heart of iron 3, You are not lost into micromanagement. And the historical accuracy is way better, the AI is also much better
Pros: - Very good playability, easily approchable for beginner - Net and slick 2D visual - Straightforward UI and controls Cons: - Average historicity - Weak AI, the tactical AI is ok but there is no strategic level AI, only fixed and predictable scripts - No scoring system, i.e. poor evaluation of your mission performance. - No supply system - MP works fine, but it feels like a cheap RTS rather than a proper WW2 wargame, that is you have to abuse the weakness of the game system to be efficent in MP. - The base game was a decent package but the DLCs scenarios are not so good. Get it and download some of the great mods available, in particular Battlefield Europe (currently v1.9) is just awesome, and better than any official campaigns. I have played all the DLCs, I only recommand the grand Campaign, it is not vey balanced, but is quite epic. Overall a solid straightforward WW2 game, I just regret they didn't make a few improvement to the core mechanisms over the year to correct the minor irritating flaws, they have a 5 stars in hand but never care to make the extra effort . So I rate it 4 stars.
For an indie effort the game is pretty good technically. The basic concept are good and solid. It is easy to get into it if. But after several games, I found that the game lacked depth and variety compared to other Civ like games. It doesn't feel like a living world and the world lack character. If you are new to the genre it is a decent introduction. But then I rather play something meatier
From playing with GamersGate version. There is a lot to like in Elven Legacy yet it often gather average critics. It seems that reviewer find it too hard. It is certainly hard to get a gold medal on the higher difficulty settings, as the time limit is tight. However there are three difficulty level and this should be enough for most gamers with an interest in wargames. It is certainly not a casual wargame, but it is not hardcore either. Recommended + It has sound wargame mechanisms, like you could expect from a serious historical medieval miniatures wargame. ZoC, FoW, Moral, Support fire from ranged and aerial units, progressive units reduction (and possible healing), units have bonus and malus vs different type of units. Not complex rules wise, but deep gameplay asking the player to efficiently combine the specificity of each unit type and perks. + It has its own mature fantasy feeling, and doesn't feel like the usual caricature (GW?). It successfully mix powerful and colorful heroes with troops of various quality ranging from peasants levy to elite knights or wardancers plus a varied casts of fantasy creatures from undeads to dragons or air balloons. + Your units gather experiences and every level you can choose a new perks to suit your play style. You also find items and artifacts to boost your units. + The engine is a bit old, yet the 3D Gfx are above average for a serious strategy title. Not AAA Gfx but they feels quite good even in 2014, units are finely drawn and there are nice spells and particles effects. The camera and zoom are good. Finally the voice acting are decent.
+ Gfx are very nice. Characters, plot and overall atmosphere are engaging. However I was rather disappointed by many aspects of the gameplay. - Combat is inferior to many combat games, attack, roll, attack, roll... rinse and repeat. Moreover they are poorly balanced. - Adventure is inferior to point and click adventure games. Lots of back and forth roaming for quest items. - Dialogues are very limited. - Character development is limited and inferior to many RPGs, only 1 skill point per level. - Inventory management is a bit boring, especially managing ingredients for potions and alchemy detract with the action side of the game. - Minigames are a bit dull, especially poker dice, is too slow for the little decision making involved. Still the sum is better than the addition of the separate parts. In the end I picked up a walkthrough to finish the story.
The game use the 4X approach for WW2. That is there are various screens for technology, production, diplomacy, politics, plus the main map where the main actions take place. HoI 2 was already a complex, but HoI 3 increase in granularity. Each subsystem is more detailed and more complex. Unfortunately this doesn' t lead to a better simulation and the AI as trouble handling all this complexity. Although full of details and WW2 chrome, in action ,the game quickly dive in fantasy land. The game is so poor at recreating the historical course of event, it doesn"t make alternate paths believable at all. Un-modded the game is disappointing historically, mods improve a lot here, unfortunately I had many crashes with mods, and had to reverted to official expansions. As a result the increase in details and complexity feel completely gratuitous. I had the feeling that the devs took each subsystem separately and tried to increase the level of details without thinking at the whole game experience. For example, tanks techs are now broken down into armor, gun, engine, and reliability, but you have to research this four techs, for each type of tanks, light, medium or heavy. This make no sense to have to research armor separately for each type of tanks. Combat is very off-hand, and make large scale military operation a boring exercise in micromanagement. For example playing Germany, the invasion of Poland is ok, invasion of France is plodding, and invading the USSR is a real pain. The game use a detailed chain of command with HQs of various levels, rebinding your complete chains of command for a major operation can take 1-2 hours. The game is playable if you choose a remote country, but playing a major nation is a real pain. Which is a terrible. The UI is not good. You have the option to automate a number of subsystem. But the AI does a poor job, moreover it follows its own "ideas". Overall it was a very disappointing experience, I rather play HoI 2, despite its older UI
I purchased this game on Steam last year. Recommended as the game do what it pretend to, and rather well. However due to the time pressure it feels more of a platformer than a stealth infiltration game. So this might not be to anyone taste. This is a mix of platform/puzzle/stealth games. With simple but serviceable gfx. The first time you play a level it is more like a steatlth and puzzle, as you try to figure how you can reach the exit avoiding all security systems and opening doors. Your receive a letter grade (A-D) for your performance which takes into account time/death/# times spotted. This part of the game is thoroughly enjoyable. Taking your time to explore the level and solve the puzzles is atmospheric and challenging. Then the PROBLEM is that in order to achieve the best grade S (for stealth) you should complete the puzzle in a very short time without being spotted at all. And now the game turn into a very tight timed platformer, where you must be very precise in your moves and jump. Hopefully the controls are quite good and the character is very agile and capable of changing direction in mid air. Yet getting a S grade on some level can be very hard and you may have to repeat the level many times to get a perfect result. BE WARNED that this part can be really nerves wrecking, and you'll realize why there is the B.....D word in the game title. Note that each stage is mad of 8 levels and getting a S grade on the 8 level is not necessary to move to the next stage, it merely unlock a bonus 9th level on each stage. The game has a decent amount of content.
The first thing I'd like to say, is that I found the final game much better than the free browser demo. This is a classic and basic tower defense, nothing really special, however it is quite well done and has enough personality to keep you entertained for a couple of weeks. Well worth the low price on sale. With only 4 tower types ans only a dozen possible locations to build on each map (no mazing), this may appear as a rather limited game. - Each tower has two main upgrade paths, which are really different, plus various perks on the last level. - You can select one from a dozen of heroes, each with its own values and specials. - There are 60+ different enemies and bosses - The cartoon style gfx, though not stunning, are quite well done, and add to the atmosphere. - 26 levels, with 3 play modes each offering different enemy waves patterns, 78 different levels.
