@catsanddogs: I'll second @littlegirl's comments re: unit mods extending the usefulness of lower tier units and add that there's a soft cap on Tier 4 units since they are the only units that have a cosmite upkeep cost (cosmite is used to build mods and higher-tier units), and it's a steep one. Between that and the prevalence of action-removing "stagger" attacks, there's a lot of power of in numbers, and the economics of the game make it hard to field even Tier 3s in large numbers, so Tier 1s stay relevant. I think this is the best "combined arms" feel in the series by far; most of my armies tend to be a lot of lower level units, a few heroes, and, eventually, something heavy that will draw a lot of attention and need to be protected.
@dasakamov: I find that unless I am taking a super diplomatic approach and building accordingly, I'll end up the target of multiple wars, at which point the only strategic option is to turtle up and wait either for my Tier 4s or for a third party to provide me an opening. I find this leads to me only committing to a fight when I have overwhelming force, as it's more cost-effective to show up overprepared than it is to win a Pyrrhic victory. This in turn means I don't get as much time in tactical combat with my hand-crafted units (and yes, I concur that the mod system is fantastic), as I'm not going to micro-manage a blowout. Hopefully some of this will iron out as I play more (despite being with the AoW series since the jump, I still feel like I'm just sort of average at it), but right now I wish the strategic layer felt more interactive between players. Also I feel like city development is full of non-choices and too much delayed gratification, but I'll hold on to that for now.
@arbitrarywater: As someone who came to the original AoW as a HoMM replacement, I think you're right on here. Planetfall is a very deliberate step into proper 4X waters, but it still feels like a game stuck between the more "instant action" HoMM style and something more Civ-like. I feel like there are parts of the game that have wildly different ideas about its pacing, and even as an AoW veteran I'm still trying to dial in the game's expectations of me (fun example, I typically find that various economic and military factors lead to me completely skipping over Tier 3 units, which means I can't claim the silver or gold landmarks until I have Tier 4s and the game is wrapping up anyways).
Anywho, it's a game I'm enjoying quite a bit, and hopefully once I have more than two proper rounds under my belt (I spent way too long with the campaign, which I don't advise) the rough edges will soften up a bit.
I'm in the middle of pulling some more words together, but my quick take on Planetfall is that the tactical combat and unit modding is great, but the strategic layer rings hollow. Of the 4Xs out there, it probably lives closes to Endless Legend, which I would say has a much stronger strategic layer but totally flubs the aforementioned combat and unit management.
@spiffers: The shooting and level design of the previous Wolfenstein games leave much to be desired, but dismiss the quality writing and direction at your peril. I want a happy ending for BJ and his comrades not just because their opposition is literally the third reich, but because they feel like actual people doing their best in an impossible (and occasionally ridiculous) situation.
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