Played it through, tested multiplayer with a friend so here is my review. The game is good in all things it does. Not very good but good. The RP part has good speakers and nice texts. It tells the story in a interesting way. It is sometimes funny or exciting. But in the end the arcs are very short and the things you decide dont really have an impact so after a while you just stop being interested in most. Strategy map is quite good. It is intuitive, allows for good control. The visualization is nice. The RTS part is fun and for fast thinkers. You cant build where/what you want but use predefined sites. Micromanagement is high. Units allow for a lot of different strategies. Dragon mode is fun and important. Multiplayer is nice. You can play in teams. Just a quick skirmish or strategy maps. BUT the multiplayer lobby is steam-exclusive. Vault and GOG versions can only play via LAN or DirectIPConnect. Larian is still writing "GOG, Steam, Vault etc... No differences" on their HP so they mislead at least me quite bad. They provide NO official substitute platform for non-steam users, not even a forum. MP is non-existent outside steam and since SP is shortlifed on its own. This brings the rating down to 2. ATM not worth the money. Once its ~10 bucks its ok for the SP time. If MP would work it would be ok and maybe even a 4.
This game was a real surprise! First of all i cant say much about singleplayer, since we always play this title together. Gameplay is versatile. Sneaking around, solving puzzles, planing the next move or running away, reacting on traps and preventing alarms. Yet its no game for people that just want to rush thru every level to the end. We often compared it to playing "Commandos" about 15 years ago. There are also very hidden places to find and hard puzzles to solve at some points to get to the next stage. The overall story and the mission story is interesting and sometimes funny even though it all is very confusing at first. Graphics are optimal for the game while depending on personal taste. The "comic" style is fitting and allows for pretty funny looking characters. Same with character animation. On the technical side there is nothing i am missing. If you know your way around a pc you can host,save etc every multiplayer session without a problem at any point. Difficulty settings alter gameplay. The "AI" is not perfect but fitting. In any case, it allowed a lot of funny moments. Blocking guards with doors ftw. Overall i recommend this game very much to everyone who takes his time with a game and of course who wants to play cooperatively. Had a lot of fun moments and while it can be challenging at some points its rewarding.
