I think that it has to be stated that Battle Isle IV, unlike its predecessors, isn't a light strategy game. Instead it's intended for a more hardcore strategy game players and as such is a big turn off for many who are fans of the serie. I bought this game when it came out on a CD and I still think that the developers did a great job on this one. But they should have play tested this game better and get the issues with its design fixed. Luckily there are only few serious programming faults (most were AI related but developers patched them away) and most of the time game works like intended. True problems exist in the way game has been designed to run. Resource management is entirely real-time. Combat is turn-based. Sounds weird? Well, I assure you that it works better than one might think. Serious problems arise when you have to start arranging maintenance lines for your troops. Tutorials are very short and players have to learn lots about building troops, arranging troop transports, preparing for the weather, managing very limited resources, recycling, and research to mention few thing. Missions in this game can take several hours or even days if you're not executing correct strategy. It's almost impossible for first time players and probably in a time of 30 minutes to 1 hour you know if you have the wits to learn this game or not. If you choose to like it then it rewards you in many ways. I had once a multiplayer game which lasted for three days and I had lots of fun playing that game. We had four players doing all sorts of attacks and tactics. It's also possible for front lines to form up and hold up in larger matches. Which reminds me again about the power lines... I could write especially lot about how stupid idea the power lines are in this game. The point they drive which is to prevent players executing blitzkrieg tactics on a battlefield. Battle Isle: The Andosia War (both single and multiplayer wise) would be a really short game if players where allowed to build huge amount of fast attack forces. Unit balance changes in this game depending on amount of research done and favors greatly players with higher research priorities on one particular unit types. For example Air planes are more or less too powerful by default but have all kinds of limitations, with correct research path and ignoring development of ground forces on purpose players can end multiplayer matches in less than 30 minutes even on larger maps using only air planes. Of course fighting against the will of the developers and the design of the game is usually a bad idea and such instant attacks are costly for players executing such tactics. Unlike in games like Starcraft 2 where unit research has only a little to nothing importance on overall result of the battle, research is huge part of the Battle Isle 4. Visually Battle Isle 4 is still quite pretty game. Movies are quite artistic too. Voice acting is great and plot is interesting continuation of previous story lines. Music on soundtrack is awesome and it was such a pleasant thing to hear the main Battle Isle theme remastered and mixed in this game. I'd say that this game is worth your money. Its not a bad game itself but requires players to have whole another kind of attitude and genuine interest in this game. Battle Isle IV: The Andosia War tried to innovate but didn't quite succeed. And finally let me make a note that this game is not as hardcore as Gary Grigsby's games, not even close. Compared to "War in the Pacific", "Battle Isle 4" is as lightweight as "Command and Conquer". And highly enjoyable experience. Especially multiplayer wise. Thank you for reading all this.
