Hello Everyone. Like most on this forum I was counting down the months, then the week, day, and finally hours to play. And like most when the reviews came in, and then the complaints I got this sick feeling in stomach. BUT, after playing it for about 20 hours these last two days, yes 20 hours, I have some experiences I want to share and hopefully help alleviate some of those concerns people have.

From what I read, and what I experienced, there are three major problems (I experienced very little issues with graphics as I have a pretty high end PC & not technically gifted enough to comment). Those three are the long end turn wait, campaign AI, and battlefield AI, and so this is my take on those and from my 20 hours of game play.

What I did is skip the prologue and jump right into the campaign playing as Sparta on Hard/Hard. I played this campaign for 100 turns, and I experienced all those issues. 100 turns in I had complete control over 3 provinces, about 15 trade agreements, well armed, well funded, and blowing past everyone. I couldn't find anyone that could be a threat to me. I think I lost 1 battle that whole time. Suffice to say it was a bit too easy, BAI fought divided, and the turns took long even with a high end PC with SSD. So I decided, even though I had my heart set on conquering the world with Sparta, to end it sooner rather then later and try my hand on VH/VH.

So I started my second campaign as Rome on VH/VH (I didn't really want to do Sparta over again and Rome was my second choice). Economically Rome starts off in an uglier situation. While Sparta only had 1 province it was a happy province, and only a small army to maintain. It took me a lot longer get to get my finances in control and get trade agreements. While I was able to kick out the Etruscans out of Italy very quickly even though,they continued to harass me. But as soon as I did Cartage canceled its non-aggression pact with me. I also had a negative standing with my northern Gaul neighbors that were growing in strength. I played about 20 turns ended up stopped because I kept looking over at Sparta to see what they were doing. I'm no fanboy though, for me its all visual, I love the colors and I love the starting position and starting with only 1 province. But this is what I took away from my second attempt.

While I didn't see a big difference in the BAI (even though I didn't play any real big battles), I did see a change in CAI. After 30 turns, having consolidated myself in Italia I found myself without the proper agreements and income to push forward with another vast conquest. Once more the Greeks to my east were not happy with me, as were the Gauls to the North, or the Carthaginians to my south. What ever I did I had to do carefully. Also because I hadn't explored a lot map, end turn was never an issue. But once again my mind kept on going to Sparta so I decided to stop my Roman campaign and restart Sparta on Legendary/Legendary. I figured I had all the new nuances figured out, and had played it through once already. And boys and girls, this is where the game really shines!

Firstly I just want to lay to rest the issue with long end turns waits because it seem unrealistic to me to expect anything else. Its a huge map, with many factions, and if the player wants to see every faction's moves its going to take long. I just don't understand how this would be eliminated. For the most part I think CA took this into consideration with the agent and army limitations, and the units themselves move pretty quickly. So to me the only way to make it any faster is to speed up the moves to the point where the player can't make anything out. Its not like the loading screen freezes on particular factions, it the moves. With that being said, I have somewhat of a solution.

In my first game I made a trade agreement with a barbarian tribe somewhere in Denmark, big mistake! Because what happens is all the coastal towns from Greece to Denmark that the trade route follows are revealed. So now every turn I watch them move, and its pointless. That extra money from the trade agreement is not worth it. Once more its not really historically correct for Sparta to have a trade agreement with a northern Germanic tribe. Also once the 1 settlement factions consolidate, AND THEY DO, you will see a lot less moves. Because not every 1 settlement faction will have 3 armies, 1 fleet, and 1 of each agent type. When they consolidate factions that control 3, 4, and even 5 settlements will still only have 3 armies, 1 fleet, and 1 of each agent type. So the moral of the story is, stick with immediate surrounds. I know its tempting to learn about what factions got big and how the world is looking, but if you look at it in a historical context and if you're playing for immersion, there is need for Sparta to be trading with a Germanic tribe and no real way of doing it either. In the long run you will come in contact with more of the world, but like I said, by then, they will be more consolidated.

Now, to my Legendary campaign. The first major shock for me came on the first turn. Right off the bat Epirus asks for peace, which was a smart move. Because Athens and Macedonia were going to gang up on him like they did in my other campaign. So I accept, Athens attacks either way and takes Larissa. So I decided to attack Athens because I desperately need a port city to expend. As soon as I do Macedonia and Epirus's northern neighbor declare war on me as well. Also I should note, by now that northern neighbor has already taken Epirus's last province and they are effectively gone from the game. Anyways, so I attack Athens with pretty much everything I have, about 1600 troops against a garrison of 1200 (FYI very similar numbers and situation to my Hard/Hard campaign). But this time around BAI did a great job defending. I actually lost around 800 men trying to take the capital, which is a solid figure considering I have superiority in numbers and quality.

After I took the capital and parked my large army there they started sending armies to my less well defended Spartan settlement. I was able to keep them at bay mostly thanks to my spy. When a big enough Athenian army showed up I send my troops from Sparta to Athenia, and brought in my big army. They actually attacked that army in open field. Again I out numbered with superior forces, but I was again pleasantly surprised. I lined my hoplites and put 4 units of javelins in their front. A few units of hoplites on the flanks as reserve and my general behind the front line. They advance on me with the slings and my javlines made short work of them (I was positioned on a big hill side up against the edge of the map so they were fighting uphill the whole time). When that happens they pulled back and pushed in with their hoplites. Our lines met, and battled it out, and it took a nice long while! My line held, and they tried to flank my right with more hoplites, but my reserves dealt with that. Then they moved on my left (or maybe it was the same time, can't remember), but what I do remember is one of my units routed, and it was only thanks to my javelins that the left held. Unfortunately, my middle didn't. After what seemed like a very long engagement, my mid broke, and with no other reserves I charged my general in. Eventually my flanks won and were able to collapse into the mid while my general held his ground. It was a great battle! I lost more then half of my units and it felt epic and real. Two Greeks armies clashing with hoplites until one side routed!

After that battle I had a turn or two of peace and then the Athenians made an all out assault on Athens in their attempt to retake. With my main army still in Sparta, a general with 2 units at Athens, and fleet in the port with only 4 ships, they came in with everything. 2 fleets, their whole army, all three generals for a land and sea engagement. They didn't besiege (which was again smart because in 2 turn my main army would be there), then just pushed in. This battle wasn't fun to play, but they still put up a good fight. The battlefield was all fogged up, so controlings 2 armies (my garrison and my general) and my fleet with no mini map and heavy fog was not easy.

Their main army deployed to the west and waited for reinforcement. Their fleet made land fall to the east. The units from the fleet were able to torch my eastern most gate before being slaughtered. Then the whole of their army from the west marched to the gate. The battle literally took 30 minutes. After much scrambling I was able to get the whole of my army to the gate. I put up my javelins and slingers on the wall by the gate, and put my hoplites in phalanx together with my Spartan youths at the gate. Their slingers took position and started go to work on my ranged units on the gate and their melee pushed into the breach. For 20 minutes it was a mosh pit, and I had it not been for my general with 2 units of Spartan hoplites they would have broken through. But in the end we held the breach finished off their ranged units. After 30 or so minutes we were victorious and held Athens. In the end I lost majority of my garrison, but took care not too lose any of fleet. With the bulk of their army destroyed, I marched my main army to Larissa and took it with little resistance.

So in conclusion what I want to say that while my campaign on Hard was a walk in the park, on Legendary I had to fight tooth and nail expand. Every battle I won, I won because I had superior forces, and even then I didn't win without heavy loses. CAI did a good job of keeping me on my toes. Now 20 turns in I control 3 settlements, and at war with my two northern factions (each with 2 settlements of their own). I had to buy my way into trade agreements with Egypt and Heirapytna and my situation is not stable. So if you're like me, and experienced what I first experienced, try your hand on Legendary. No mini map, only Auto_Save, and complete immersion. Can't wait till I'm back at the helm commanding Sparta to glory.

Hope this helps, because it sure did help me, changed my whole outlook! And please, if you have any question about my experience I'll be more then happy to answer, I'd love to compare my findings to others, but lets not turn this into complaint thread or a Spartan fanboy bashing thread.