We're all used to the usual storm of criticism following each total war release. From my standpoint I haven't had too many technical issues this time around. The stops and interminable AI turn length being excepted of course.

Overall I've been enjoying the game. I've been playing on very hard as several different factions and found it to be challenging.

But there are some issues with this game I've noticed. So here we go....

1. The experience tree for generals in Shogun was very clear, elegant and fun. Rather than retain a system we now have a mess. The lack of a tree forces the player to scroll through scores of unrelated upgrades. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

2. Nobody wants to go through the tedious chore of negotiating trade agreements with numerous factions. But now we have a diplomatic system that doesn't really do anything. Being unable to broker any agreement without the instigation of the AI is clearly regression.

3. If compressing the turns into one year was meant to streamline the game than that has failed. The economics of the game mean that two stacks limit expansion to a crawl. We end up waiting through AI turns more than playing the actual game.

4. Making unit transfers impossible without the presence of two generals creates more micro management not less.

5. If we are simulating a battle at 10 to 1 odds in the humans favor than why do we still have to chase defeated AI stacks that are impotent? I've had these harmless armies suicide attack me but perhaps it would make more sense for the game to simply terminate the AI stack.

In summary I would like to play this game rather than wait for the AI's turn, chase defeated stacks, and wait several turns before any expansion is impossible.

Please let me know your thoughts. I'm sure modders are already addressing some of these issues though the upgrade system seems like a lost cause. Cheers.