Recent reviews by MetroTrekker

I need to be objective here and say that the assets really are beautiful. They are very realistic and far better than anything similar in vanilla in CS1 and truly allow you to build a Mediterranean coastal area, but only when it comes to residential buildings. While some of the medium density buildings could fit with a Mediterranean theme, most are quite Scandinavian/Germanic/Northern European and don't fit in well in a warm-climate-style map. The number of palm trees is very limited and none of them are actually native to the Mediterranean. They should have also included Washingtonia.

One of the biggest complaints is that there isn't much of a 'beach' to go with the 'beach properties', and I agree, though you can get around this to some degree using DevUI (but you shouldn't have to). Ideally this pack should have come with commercial units, new parks and a rework as to how to easily get sandy beachy areas without having to use dev tools or 'trick' the land using terraforming. There should also be a way to integrate the palm trees into the tree-lined roads upgrade.

The demo map posted to showcase the new pack is impressive but also a little embarrassing for CO as it functionally has a lot wrong with it and they've tried to do things that you can't do without mods (place plants in a line, end paths at car parks). Even one of the thumbnail screenshots shows a swimming pool full of grass.

Anyway, this review is about the DLC. Overall, I'm personally quite happy with this pack in terms of the quality of the assets presented, but the pack as a whole is incomplete and probably bad timing considering people are still seething about the state of the game.

Cornish Venice Simulator 2020

When I was at school I used to doodle towns and cities and make them flow organically, without really knowing what building would come next or how it would interact with the previous ones I had just drawn. It was so fun and my only limitation was being bothered to draw more with a pencil. I remember wishing for a PC game like it that would allow me to create more.

My wishes, after many years, have come true with this game. It's extremely simple in concept, and there really isn't much more here than clicking. But, do you know what? It doesn't need it. The detail in the buildings and decorations is impressive and no matter how complicated you make things, it always turns out looking smooth. The pastel colour shades are beautiful and you can zoom out after half an hour or letting your creativity wander and be truly surprised at what you've created.

Above all, this game is incredibly relaxing. Like I say, it's a computerised version of city-building doodling I used to do when younger (and still do).

Maybe they'll add more features, it would be interesting to perhaps see people and different categories of structures, but to be honest, the whole needs system you get in advanced city building games generates a level of stress that is pleasantly lacking here. This game is highly recommended.

I want to love this game but it needs some serious reworking. To put it bluntly: this game should not have been released in its current condition and I feel like I'm testing a set of mechanics rather than playing an actual game.

I was really looking forward to this and very much enjoy most of the games in the rest of the franchise. I do actually enjoy this game too but it feels like I paid a lot of money for a game that was sold as completed but is actually in alpha. It feels empty and incomplete, if not rushed. There are even typos everywhere and unfinished tooltip descriptions, and the content and commentary in artbook that came with the deluxe edition also contains typos and feels as if it's copied and pasted from Wikipedia, and recycles many of the concept art pictures that are already widespread.

The game's foundations are great but it feels like they mashed together two prototypes, one of a Roman era EU4 (for which there is a mod that arguably matches this) and another of an ancient history simulator, in which the lack of storyline and historical flavor is very noticeable. As far as I can tell there's no sort of story tree that you would expect that would show the rise and fall of families and their stories, their struggles, scandals etc. There are no more than about four or five decisions you can make and most are about government type. Sure there are random events along these lines (re scandals, corruption, families etc.) but nothing that really penetrates and shapes your experience of the game and makes it unique each time. They're just events that add or takeaway from the main 'MANA' points system (which is a whole other issue). You could play 10 games starting as Rome and each one would literally just be a simulation of 'how far can I expand this time and in which direction'. There is literally very little more than that. Apparently the deluxe edition includes a storyline about Alexander the Great's body which sounds fascinating and I admit I haven't played as a nation that's eligible for this yet. However, it's clear that there's much to improve upon.

Don't even get me started on aggressive expansion, unrest and the MANA system. The first two are needed, but my god they cripple you in the most unfair situations that mean you can barely get close to what the Romans actually conquered and maintained. The MANA system (military power, civic power, religious power etc.), however, just strangles your progress and makes little sense in terms of realism.

One thing that really stands out is the feeling that this game doesn't really know what its supposed to be and so has no definite flavor and special feel like EU4 and HOI4 do, with their Easter eggs and their storylines. Imperator has none of this that I can see so far. I feel like those who are complaining, myself included, just watch to see the game fixed, updated and expanded upon so it meets the expectations that we were hoping for and Paradox's track record of (in my opinion) good quality games. I'm sure there will be DLCs that make the experience infinitely better, that we're all certain of, but to be honest, we don't want to pay for them, not because that's the typical attitude towards DLCs, but because the release edition of this game really should have included a lot more in the first place.

I'm going to carry on playing for a bit, because like I say, I do enjoy it, but I'm getting increasingly frustrated with it and I don't feel like I'm playing the game that so much hype was created for, and to be honest, it really doesn't feel like we would expect from Paradox. I really want to recommend it, but I just can't in its current state and for the price.