In a nutshell: an overly complex spreadsheet interface that must be brilliant at crunching numbers, but wholly ineffective at conveying the relevant information to you. You never have a sense of control over the destiny of your empire. Too many tasks are automated and too many parameters exist but which carry values that never lead to clear consequences, unlike the first 2 games of the series. I bought this on its original release date back in 2003, with my brother (because we were huge fans of the series) and it was priced something like 70-80$ in CAD. This was the most bitter gaming mistake I've ever done in my life.
