If you haven't played the board game, forget it. If you have, maybe.
Don't even think about playing this if you haven't played the board game. If you have, and really really like EIA you will like the game.
A massive disappointment, but I keep going back to try it. The GOOD news is that they seem to be patching a lot, which is the incentive for me. I am hoping that a UI overhaul is in the works to make it playable - right now the series of steps to accomplish any task is opaque and is a test of your guesswork and luck. 4 of my friends and I bought this game because we enjoyed playing EIA in person and via cyberboard, and so far have not been able to get a multiplayer game going.
The game does have an export for resolving battles via minatures games - huzzah!
We'll try the game again this week after the patch and I'll update the review then if anything has changed.