If like me, you are new to the series or have been away from strategy games for some time, then expect a world of frustration. The tutorial is a worse than useless, From dialogue screens hiding buttons, non-existent combat units that will support your attack (not), to the constant spamming of attrition reports. (Do I really need to know that a single horse has died.) The game conspires against you as you attempt to learn its basics. At one point your asked to add production capacity by clicking on an icon to the side of the province box. In reality the icon is located under the box and clicking on it will produce... nothing! You have to left click on the province to bring up a further menu from which you can then add extra capacity. The final straw came when I was asked to send a destroyer flotilla to sweep an area clear of submarines in preparation for an amphibious assault, only to see it annihilated by an American carrier fleet. It's a tutorial for goodness sake, all I'm doing is following the AI instructions. I certainly don't have the resources to sweep the seas clean of all and sundry. This is not an historical sim and some of its gaming decisions appear a touch arbitrary. If you expect to start the 1914 campaign with the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) ready and waiting, then you are going to be disappointed, yet the production queue is fully populated with historically correct navel vessels. Starting the 1914 campaign at the end of June gives you very little opportunity to put into place any grand strategy, conscription is a must and any hope of fortifying your colonies is scuppered by units being unable to move before certain trigger events. The manual is 150 pages long, after I have read it and tried to apply my new found knowledge to the game I will edit my rating accordingly, however after such a pitiful attempt at a tutorial I am not holding out much hope for the game.
