I prefer this to AoW4 because I don't like zones. Game play is smooth and straightforward. I do wish there was an auto explore, but that is no huge deal.
I think Gladius had a few nice features, but as someone who has played a lot of 4X and turn based strategy I found myself constantly wondering why I felt so cramped and hobbled during play. The very limited sight and movement range of units coupled with the small map sizes (even the large maps felt tiny) just didn't give me that epic feel I got from games like Alpha Centauri, Dominions 5, or even Dawn of War (I know, that's an RTS). Buy it on sale if you're a big 40K fan, but otherwise I feel this game doesn't bring much to the table.
This is an arcade game. If you're not good at arcade games (like me) you may find this game very frustrating. I would have given them three stars but for their claim that this game is rogue-like. Game play based on reflexes and timing are the very opposite of what a rogue-like game is.
