So I'm finally giving this game a shot, and I'm absolutely loving it. I didn't love it in beta so much, but this is a much better game than that was, and I think a lot of the updates have helped. I feel like it's polished, fun, and obscenely addictive. It's got not only the addictiveness of a Civ-style empire builder, but also a little bit of the addictiveness of a character-building RPG. The RPG elements are fairly light, but there is a better sense of identity and character because of your bigger hero units, and it's cool that you can literally go to shops and buy equipment for them and have it make a major difference in battle. I also really dig the way you can build your own forces. Instead of just picking from stock guys, you get to make them yourself, right down to their equipment. But it isn't obtuse or hard to understand. You can simply outfit guys with the gear you think you can afford to give them, and if you notice that the unit is becoming far too expensive to build, dumb it down. And if you have new, better stuff and a big money/material surplus, go template yourself some bigger, badder dudes.
I wish I hadn't installed this game simply because now I'm playing it way too much.
