Don't let the negative reviews discourage you. If you got a decent pc and aren't incredibly picky about graphics and fps, you shouldn't have trouble playing this game. My pc isn't amazing ( GPU: RX 580, CPU: Ryzen 2600x) but it is good enough to play this game with decent graphics. The only big issue I've had with fps is on the campaign map where I get around 20-40fps which I thought was strange considering I get around 50-70fps in battles. But this isn't a deal breaker for me personally because i'm used to it. As for the actual game itself, if you liked any of the previous games in the trilogy, you will probably like this game as well. If you're new to the trilogy I would maybe wait a month or so for CA to release an optimisation patch (I've only heard that they planned on doing that but couldnt find an official statement from CA, and even if I did they might not follow through on it since according to others they have done that before) and a bug patch.

If your impatient don't worry, I personally have gotten very few bugs in my game so far but I probably haven't put enough time into it. It's also worth noting all my hours played so far were on a co-op campaign with a friend. The only real issue is the lack of optimisation. But if you can handle lower fps like myself then you'll be fine.

As for the game-play pretty much every aspect from the previous games has either been improved on or not gotten better but also not gotten worse. Except for the goal of the campaign, but even that I personally don't hate THAT much. This is also the first game in the trilogy where I like ALL the starting factions. Which is weird since there are more starting factions in this game than there are in either of the previous two games.

The audio and graphics themselves are amazing in my opinion. It's clear they put a lot of effort into it.

tldr if you have a decent rig and your not incredibly picky about fps and enjoy strategy games then pick this one up! If you ARE picky about fps (which is fine of course!) then I'd recommend waiting a month or so for CA to optimise and fix some bugs before buying.
Knowing how they handled the previous games in the trilogy i'm confident that CA will not only continue to support the game with dlcs (which is obvious) but also optimise the game and fix the bugs to make this game more enjoyable.
I already am having a ton of fun with this game and these updates will only make it better! Can't wait for immortal empires!

Don't let the negative reviews discourage you. If you got a decent pc and aren't incredibly picky about graphics and fps, you shouldn't have trouble playing this game. My pc isn't amazing ( GPU: RX 580, CPU: Ryzen 2600x) but it is good enough to play this game with decent graphics. The only big issue I've had with fps is on the campaign map where I get around 20-40fps which I thought was strange considering I get around 50-70fps in battles. But this isn't a deal breaker for me personally because i'm used to it. As for the actual game itself, if you liked any of the previous games in the trilogy, you will probably like this game as well. If you're new to the trilogy I would maybe wait a month or so for CA to release an optimisation patch (I've only heard that they planned on doing that but couldnt find an official statement from CA, and even if I did they might not follow through on it since according to others they have done that before) and a bug patch. If your impatient don't worry, I personally have gotten very few bugs in my game so far but I probably haven't put enough time into it. It's also worth noting all my hours played so far were on a co-op campaign with a friend. The only real issue is the lack of optimisation. But if you can handle lower fps like myself then you'll be fine. As for the game-play pretty much every aspect from the previous games has either been improved on or not gotten better but also not gotten worse. Except for the goal of the campaign, but even that I personally don't hate THAT much. This is also the first game in the trilogy where I like ALL the starting factions. Which is weird since there are more starting factions in this game than there are in either of the previous two games. The audio and graphics themselves are amazing in my opinion. It's clear they put a lot of effort into it. tldr if you have a decent rig and your not incredibly picky about fps and enjoy strategy games then pick this one up! If you ARE picky about fps (which is fine of course!) then I'd recommend waiting a month or so for CA to optimise and fix some bugs before buying. Knowing how they handled the previous games in the trilogy i'm confident that CA will not only continue to support the game with dlcs (which is obvious) but also optimise the game and fix the bugs to make this game more enjoyable. I already am having a ton of fun with this game and these updates will only make it better! Can't wait for immortal empires!