Ambitious non finished game, but ambition and amazing nonetheless. Please read.
+ Provinces system is amazing, it was about time they thought of this configuration, working pretty well and is very realistic
+ ... Also, THe map is just HUUUUGE :D
+ Factions are now differentiated by their proper culture
+ Factions available are varied and unique
+ Lots of cool new features like the fact that now you raise an army (with a general or statesman) instead of 'creating' units ... awsome
+ New political system is simply awsome, gives a depth to internal struggles (way better than the realm divide crap -_- )
+ Great soundtrack
+ AI is decent and challenging (not tried the last two difficulty levels though)
+ The Creative Assembly is reacting quickly, It feels reeeaally good to know that instant issues will certainly be adressed in the near future (waiting for Graphic cards manufacturers to wake up ...)
+ Really, theres a lot to tell, you have to try it, too much to tell
- Not optimized, performance issues (Radeon HD 7950 cant run this in ultra at at least ~45 solid fps ? come ooon)
- I wanted to see blood, guess I'll have to wait for a dlc ..
- Family tree disapeared ... seriously ? can't even look at the political interface ... That added to the fact that the tree was part of the very identity of the Total War brand
Ok, now listen carefully. I'm not a CA fan, I mean I like their work but my interest is more focused on the content than the brand.
Back in 2004 I just loved Rome, I literally spent about 150+ hours playin the first month and like everybody who loved it i kept playin it until Medieval 2 came out.
So I was really looking forward to this release. Expecting much of it too.
And fact is ... I'm not disappointed at all !
Now I know many players have had some serious gameplay/performance issues (somewhere between the major UI changes that can be pretty disorienting to the graphical gliches and other major fps issues)
I personnally only had to deal with performance issues (even with the build i have) and quite honestly it didn't prevent me from enjoying the game. And I remember how i felt at first about Shogun 2, wasn't perfect too at release, now after they patched it up i can enjoy shogun 2 with 60+ fps with everything maxed out.
As someone said before me in his review, patience is the word here.