Seems like this game got a lot of flak because of bugs, which seem to be fixed now. What remains is a truly great game. Some people say Mech Commander is better. That makes no sense: it's a turn-by-turn game, where MC is live. There is no comparison to make. Graphics are great, gameplay is fun, but mostly it's the best rendering of the TT game so far. There's a lot of non-canon rules, but they're good. There are flaws, but they're minor: - poor scaling for non-widescreen - load times get rather long. Stretch a bit and go get a snack. - lacks help for in-game interface - lacks customizable key bindings - sound effects aren't great; your AC/20 goes "pop" - chatter can get irritating, but you can disable it - missions can get repetitive, but much less than MW5, and it's probably because you've played too much...
Yes, it does crash (2025), about once per twenty runs. That seems very bearable to me. If you dig CW and/or cars'n'guns, this is a must-have, and it will slake your thirst very well. The gun part is solid and upgrades are varied as you progress further, though some are oddly lacking (hacking upgrade? rear flamer?). Balance is good, challenging but not frustrating, and replay value is decent. It IS repetitive, but challenging enough to make it worth it. It's not a racing game, though. You can't lose control, and there's almost no handling issues (or speed/handling mods, for that matter). That may be because of its tabletop roots. The other issue is that it's hard to adjust strategy to your enemies, and the AI sometimes becomes silly when it tries to protect armour sides. But at least it does. Also, it's funny without impacting gameplay. Yes, actually funny (though at some point you've read all messages), with some critical political wit to boot, which is seldom seen in US releases.
- Much longer than 1, with the DLC - Still very beautiful and the DLC levels are original and exciting - New abilities are cool and enjoyable - Wizard is less mandatory; but the way they do that is make it harder for the wizard to solve everything, rather than making cooperation required. They've added ways to solve situations without planks and cubes, but why would you?
Another game that you'll play because you love the original. Otherwise there are better alternative, I guess. I like the fine-grained leveling and interesting tactics in the game, as well as the transparency of die rolls and outcomes. No mystery meat there. That there is no save is nice, too. It's not a game that plays friendly - you can lose warriors, and boons and items are not epic. This is Also the graphics are faithful to the WH world and appropriately grim. It does represent the miniature game well. But... - It's SLOOOOOW because of the ugly slow animations it forces upon you - and even offscreen AI (!!!) - Interface is meant for a console and annoying - It can be crazy hard in some missions. I gave up on my cultists because of the damned II-I. - Magic (and many skills) is useless without the Paranoia patch. With the patch, mission become too difficult, though (because it's developed by hardcore players). - Don't reset your PC. You'll lose EVERYTHING - Even with the nice quests, gameplay is repetitive (because it's faithful to the original game)
I'm afraid this is a "tablet" game and the interface is annoyingly clicky. Gameplay is surprising close to the boardgame, and the changes made are actually nice and interesting (for example monsters target the last warrior to damage them, and you can move your warriors in any order, which makes for interesting tactics). However don't play hardcore: healing is even more mandatory and, yes, much harder than the original! A series of 1 with enemy spellcasters WILL kill you. Balance is a bit off as they've split XP and Gold.... but at mid levels, you never have enough Gold to level up... But it does offer the WHQ experience, except without all the random events and hazards. It's only using the boxed set ones, and then even sparingly. Also settlement are simplified; they're OK but entirely forgettable. Pretty good game, but if you aren't a GW fanboy there are likely better dungeon delvers out there.
If you got bored of dying by dissentry in Oregon Trail, try diarrhea with Neo Scavenger. So it's a true Rogue-like: die a lot until you manage to do something grand, like creating a weapon or having two identical shoes. Problem is that like most rogue-like it's pretty repetitive BUT unlike Rogue itself you're not exploring a dungeon and looting magical scrolls: you're roaming rather unexciting lands and finding rather unexciting bits of string and rags. Combat is better than Rogue but could be more detailed with aiming etc. Crafting is nice but in the end you end up repeating the same routines to try and stay warm and somewhat alive.
I'm surprised to see such comments. You can play three characters with specific powers... but only the wizard is required. You can just pile boxes and planks to solve 95% of the challenges. How many times did you HAVE to use a well-placed arrow? A deft use of the hook? Adroit rebound with the shield? Pushinig stuff with the gravity shield? Yeah. Like, twice in the whole game. If the purpose of the other chars is to battle skellies, that's lame, and I would NOT want to be stuck playing the knight in a 3 PL game. Also, the wizard can kill the skellies with cubes anyway. This is not a puzzle platformer. It's a platformer where you create platforms with your wizard to walk over challenges while the other two enjoy the promenade. It's pretty and nice. And short.
AS other reviewers point out, this is an awesome game if you want space trading, pirate fighting, or mining. The story plot, however, suffers from issues.... - it's delivered through text, which is well written but rather verbose - it mostly advances as you do, meaning the war doesn't happen if you don'T take an interest in it - I got dropped out of the plot at some point and never got back, ending in free play limbo - there's mostly a single plot, and it's always the same. I would have loved some sort of emergent plot. - also some side missions are not for my generation I guess: stories about a guy reconnecting with his father, a lost poodle... feels wrong when you're flying a fleet of heavy warships.
I never could comprehend the U6 interface with its 30-ft viewing range. I didn't complete this game so I might be missing out, but it's just boring. There aren't much fights, seemingly no random encounters, the spellcasting is very barebones and combat holds nothing to U5.
BETTER THAN UW - Large viewscreen and very decent graphics (I think UW is barely playable today because of graphics) - Most of the game is much less stressful - You aren't forced into training with swords (though you must use a sword eventually, combat skill doesn't distinguish) - NPC interaction is very simple (that may be bad) - inventory, food and light management is simpler (bad if you like that) - It's different... UW WAS BETTER - AF's dungeon doesn't feel as intricate and has less nooks and crannies - Less atmosphere and music - Inventory, light and food management was more of a challenge - Overall tougher fights. AF has some tough ones but mixed with trivial ones Overall... it's just a nice, well done game. I couldn't find significant issues. The one issue, difficult puzzles or quests, is easily remedied today with walkthrough when you feel you need them.
