Fun... but something just isn't right....
The first thing I really liked was the appearance of so many countries/cultures. That really allows for many options. I also liked how the appearance of each nation really was the true appearance. Many games would attempt, but once the modern eras were hit, everything became one. Here, the air force had each nation's symbol to a degree. Japan had their symbol giving you the appearance of the zero-fighters. Each unit for each nation looks different as well, including the aircraft. The fact that the carrier has its own planes that they build is also a nice thing. Other games, you would have to create a plane at an airfield and send it to a carrier.
The specialized units are a cool feature as well. Many games have them, but it's always nice to see, although i feel that there could have been more than what was seen.
That's some of the only good parts I could find. There's a bit more, but not worth putting. You really can't control that much about the game before you start. You cannot pick any other team's colors, you cannot pick placement on maps (not all games do), and what really annoyed me about controlling, you cannot make world domination your own. sure, u can have a total world domination, but you can't say who's in it or what time stretch it is or what's allowed or what rules apply. I'm one of those people that like to control the action that's about to occur.
The last little piece of criticism that I have lies with the modern eras. I really do enjoy the earlier eras. There's stuff to do, land to conquer, strategies to play.... but with the modern era, it's air defense. That's the name of the game. And you cannot shoot down the planes easily by any means, nor can you shoot down the missiles. And buildings must be repaired and they just keep attacking. When you destroy their cities, they're rebuilt in seconds. Before planes, you'd have to invade cities and take 'em that way, but it's really hard to do that once the industrial era is hit. You're being bombed and shot at in every which way and when you attack back, their cities are not destroyed, just the buildings around them so they come back in and rebuild the city.
This game is exciting and fun for the earlier ages, but that's where I would like to keep it half the time....