Recent reviews by [SRS]Joyless

its ok
dont piss off a certain server clique or you wont ever be able to play Rising Storm without buying it again on a new account.
8/10, minus 2 for being banned from RS1 and Heroes of the West for years.

Watched it on a stream tonight. A dev came in and talked about the game with everyone and it seemed interesting. 10/10 game, 11/10 with rice

This patch is best summed up as "how to start a world war five hundred years in advance".

Or it could be summed up as "Tech made easy for people that didn't bother to look up the pros and cons to different tech groups"

Either one hits the nail on the head on what this expansion is about. buy it if you support Paradox and skip over it if you don't

Good designs

Some of them are for ballsy survivors that are seeking some more juking action, like Claudette's white jacket.
I love Jake's clothes, and of course adore that Dwight has an all red outfit.

For the price I'd recommend it.

This is one of the few games I have ever pre-ordered. I enjoyed HoI and EU4 immensely and couldn't wait for their sci-fi game.

However:

There isn't much Sci-Fi. Sure, its set in space, and there's lasers and aliens, but there really isn't a lot of substance. There isn't a lot with what you can do with your planets. It reminds me a bit of FO 4's settlements. Sure, you can put them up, and you get people/pops over time generating more..but thats about it. You don't get a raider variety, you don't get some spiritual fanatic outpost popping up. Nothing, and I found that a little boring in Stellaris.

There's nothing really to do, sure, there's the projects but those don't really force you to differ from your playstyle at all in order to get them. They're there enough to make me feel like something more was planned, maybe to cover the gap of play in mid-game, but maybe it was cut due to time restraints or something.

The AI

Oh goodness, the AI. There's no point engaging with the ai. The current warscore system will probably get you ♥♥♥♥♥♥ if you have an AI ally, and with that system in mind, you will be setting there for decades even though you're fully occupied with no military power left...just waiting for the ai to peace out. Even on Fastest that'll be quite a wait. The options are a bit boring, unless the Swarm pops up, depending on your ethos your reaction to the Crisis Events can be amusing, but a few reactions to a frustrating game of tug and war is..eh..I'd rather just cleanse the galaxy at that point.

The Crisis events are wonderful. I love something that can break apart empires...empires and alliances that have been the dominant power for hundreds of years, just because someone got a little screwy with their technological advances or just because 'f*ck you in general. Currently you can only have one crisis per game...thankfully there are mods that address that.

I love that you can set the game for ten factions, but more will pop up over time because primitive factions finally got their acts together (or were helped along). I love the idea of just studying primitives or taking over their planets. I'm glad they brought that in, as well as Fallen Empires. Having a stagnant empire just chill (or not depending on their ethos) as the rest of the galaxy gradually surpasses this empire's once great might..is cool.

Anyway, some pros and some cons. I really like the game, so I'll give it a thumbs up.

A simplified Hearts of Iron, with sole focus (as the title tells you) on the Eastern front.

Simple game, but complex enough to keep you engaged. I found myself staring at the map for half an hour before committing troops, something that I haven't done in grand strategy titles.

I attempted to solve the German error of logistics and had superb trucks and railways. Unfortunately, the campaign was fought to a standstill on the East Front on the Volga. No end in sight, and the Finnish were routed and occupied.

I could not liberate them, and was heartbroken that my Finnish allies were destroyed, so I opted for a restart.

I also enjoyed the option to have diary attachments. It made me a bit sad to see ol' Hugo killed, as well as the entries of real life officers.

I believe this will replace my obession with Europa Univeralis four, I can't wait to conquer those filthy bolsheviks.

SUPERHOT IS THE MOST INNOVATIVE SHOOTER I'VE PLAYED IN YEARS!

"funny comment about the game that doesn't help any prospective buyer"

10/10

Edit:

aw it wiped away the couple hundred that found it funny. I miss the irony

I dislike hybrid factions. There, I said it. You can already bastardize your armies with merc units, and they aren't even that expensive in upkeep if you have a few provinces under control.To me, hybrid rosters that combine one culture to another diminshes those culture's value in the game. Why should I play as the Suebi in their tough location when the gallic confed happy Nervii get Beserkers?


I only really bought this DLC for two reasons. 1) I wanted to see if these factions wouldn't require you to conquer Italia as part of the military conditions. I know the game is called Rome Two, but does it really have to be part of the easiest victory condition for literally every damn factions? and 2) the starting positions. I have played too many times as the Suebi, so I've gotten bored with the Euro Theater. This allows me to play as mutant Greeks that more easily allow an expansion into the radical Middle-East and far East portions of the map.

I despise this for what it is, a money grab. There are still rosters that need serious work (looking at you balkans) , and those were also a dlc faction pack.

-1 for the clear money grab, +1 for the starting position, and +1 for not requiring me to conquer Italia.

I specifically bought a new computer so I could play this game. Before, all I needed my computer to run was AoE 2 HD. Now, all I need in my life is The Forest.

Even in Alpha, great game, good future.

Edit:

The developers continue to update the game on a consistent basis.