as a big GC2 fan i had immense expectations for this one and it more or less delivered after many teething issues its a solid game not saying its perfect but its damn close and great fun and helps kill a few hours with its "just one more turn" style of gameplay not a great deal of micromanagement imo and i cannot comment on the CRUSADE expansion since i at this time 05/05/17 do NOT own it yet...however i ahve been watching the twitch stream and it looks like its a massive shot in the arm for the game,franchise and perhaps even 4X games in total will probably ammend this after i own CRUSADE and have played a few games

currantly i would say get this game it will not dissapoint fans of 4x or anyone looking for something different!

CRUSADE UPDATE(30 MAY 2017):
For me CRUSADE actually makes the game worth playing and my reasoning is:
Faster Turn Times
No constuctor spam
Ability to create a TALL empire and be competative( only need 1 planet)
More to do each turn
More stratagies are available to the player
BIGGER maps
more inteligent AI(do not be an ass to the AI(in my instance it was tthe drengin)as soon as you meet them they do not forget)

No Easy Starts(aka you only get a survey ship the rest you build) if you pick a stock race!
to those wondering if CRUSADE is worth it i say YES!!! for the reasons above and many more i have probably missed!

as a big GC2 fan i had immense expectations for this one and it more or less delivered after many teething issues its a solid game not saying its perfect but its damn close and great fun and helps kill a few hours with its "just one more turn" style of gameplay not a great deal of micromanagement imo and i cannot comment on the CRUSADE expansion since i at this time 05/05/17 do NOT own it yet...however i ahve been watching the twitch stream and it looks like its a massive shot in the arm for the game,franchise and perhaps even 4X games in total will probably ammend this after i own CRUSADE and have played a few games currantly i would say get this game it will not dissapoint fans of 4x or anyone looking for something different! CRUSADE UPDATE(30 MAY 2017): For me CRUSADE actually makes the game worth playing and my reasoning is: Faster Turn Times No constuctor spam Ability to create a TALL empire and be competative( only need 1 planet) More to do each turn More stratagies are available to the player BIGGER maps more inteligent AI(do not be an ass to the AI(in my instance it was tthe drengin)as soon as you meet them they do not forget) No Easy Starts(aka you only get a survey ship the rest you build) if you pick a stock race! to those wondering if CRUSADE is worth it i say YES!!! for the reasons above and many more i have probably missed!