I find this one easier than the other installments of the franchise but it is still fun to play.
Great balance between deep strategy and unexpected challenges from the randomness. Also uterly frustrating and difficult. Overall: Awesome!
The game has very good art and sounds which create an immersive atmosphere. The game mechanics are very solid, although a bit repetitive. The concept is hybrid between RTS and Tower Defense with concepts from both: there is no enemy base to attack, kills earn money, enemies come from fixed directions but follow straight paths, there is research tree and reinforcements that must be constantly kepts going. The micromanagement is much less than RTS and much higher than Tower Defense. The only really weak point is the story, there is a nice buildup of mistery and then it all falls flat leaving some significant gaps. Some people find the game challenging and I don't think it is easy, but the tutorial skips very important fundamentals, so here are some tips: - you can dynamically adjust the game speed, from the controls, I set the slow-motion and regular speed to the space-bar and then I can play with pause option similar to FTL or Dragon Age - keep asking for reinforcements, that's the only way to keep all towers manned, moving crew around and leaving inactive towers is sometimes necessary, but it can and should be avoided with enough reinforcements - in RTS games it is good to spread out your base and grab as much territory and vision as possible, but here you have full vision at all times and keeping the defenses close to the lander allows for cross fire where towers from multiple energy pads guard each approach
