Hard at first, but once you get the hang of it (after like 10 failed attempts) ... you get into it. Long play time !!
My first attempt of playing the game was soooo confussing. I played multiple Multiplayer games with a friend ... eventually are so many attempts and bouncing information off each other. We finally got some heads from tails. by this time ... it was 3am in the morning.
The games a considerable amount of time to play, and there are no short games to play.
Found that you run out of resources way to quickly ... and found that having a large army has its pros.
If you have played the Settlers games before ... you will enjoy the game play.
Gamers that enjoy Age of Empires or Empire Earth ... will not enjoy this game.
Graphics in screenshots are more impressive than whats in the game. Even with a Dual GTX280 OCX combo ... I still could not get the clarity, as you get in the screenshots. The AA in the game is average, but the bluring and camera angles are not great.
Hope this helps out ... but I will keep on trying :o)