Im talking about the home city. All the reviewers talk about how the campaign is average, the combat isnt exactly what you would expect from the time period (meaning..musketeers standing in lines firing volleys).. the sounds are average.. so on and so forth.. but I dont see anyone really discussing just what home cities add to the game.
I think this stems from the fact that reviewers dont spend enough time playing the game before they have to review it, so I doubt that they had the chance to really dig into the home city and all of its features.
I havent even played the full version yet, but I can see the way that HCs are going to severely alter, and improve, the way this RTS is played.
This wont be like AOC where if two people playing the same civ fight each other, the one with the better build order, or better resource gathering, will win. A player will actually be able to custimize how their civ will play through HC shipments.
If two guys fighting each other are playing the russians, one of them may have strong strelets, and the other may have strong cavalry.. or one may have strong artillary, and the other may have a strong economy.. or one may have a strong navy and one may be booming so they can get to the 4th age and send mercenaries. Obviously there will be "uber" decks with set strategies that will spread through the community, but they wont be your only choice.. you will have the freedom to play any civ in a variety of different ways, and still be strong.
This is something that you havent really seen in other RTS'.. or at least not in a popular or well made one.
the game itself.. meaning combat, graphics, and sound.. may deserve the 8.5 rating.. but the custimization and and uniqueness you gain from the HC is going to make what may have been an average game, into a long lasting RTS classic. You can really pick YOUR civ and build it YOUR way to fit YOUR playstyle. In a couple months, people are going to be praising this game for its innovation.
And then there is the multiplayer which is supposed to be awesome, and none of the reviewers really went into.
:P.. just dont put to much emphasis on reviews. Reviews are a good way to see if a game has any glaring flaws (which AOE3 doesnt).. but its NOT a good way to tell if a game is fun or not.