Let me preface this by saying yes, this is a demo but a demo is supposed to be representative of the actual game so this is all I have to judge it by so far.
TLDR; I am underwhelmed by the game.
I applaud the devs for making the game less graphically demanding because the requirements for Forged Alliance are crazy and that more than anything kept the game from taking off. In that respect I feel hope that the game will be more popular and I can actually find a multiplayer game for once.
The research system disappoints me. Research systems, especially ones separate from the buildings, are in vogue since the success of Company of Heroes. CoH managed to combine their point based research system with an in-building research system which gave the game a decent feeling of balance. SC2 makes you get everything from the research menu including ACU upgrades which is just annoying. Now a player has to choose whether or not they want a strong air, land or sea force and there is no going back once you make those first steps. I don't like my gameplay being narrowed so early in a game I liked building up to a tier and then being able to build whatever you wanted from that tier.
The resource system is fine, just boring. It's essentially the same as the other games, however, you can't queue up dozens of units at once you can only build what you have the resources for. Managing resources and working through bottlenecks was the challenge of SC/FA and it was a challenge especially building early momentum. Well, now it's not a challenge it's fairly idiot proof.
The building upgrades are a nice touch, now your base isn't quite so fragile but I always felt like having an expendable base was part of the feel of the game. You're supposed to mass produce buildings, expand wildly, build new production centers as your army advances and allow your production buildings to get blow up as you retreat because they don't represent a huge portion of your expenditures. Now you'll have a main base which is strongly defended and once you lose it the game is over.
Finally, the character graphics/acting/and the little bit of the story that we get so far is incredibly cheesy, poorly voice acted, riddled with cliches and lacking anything to really redeem itself. The progression through a level is the same, accomplishing goals to expand the combat area but base building has been so watered down that it doesn't really feel like you are doing much to advance. I barely had to build much of a base past what you start with to win both levels since the whole game is entirely dependent on the research system. Experimentals aren't overwhelmingly powerful but that diminishes the feeling of accomplishment when you finally get them. You can quick-tech/research to early experimental units very quickly but they just don't feel like the big boys on the block, just slightly better versions of what you already have.
Ultimately I'll probably buy it if for no other reason than I'll be able to do skirmishes with my brother but I seriously doubt if I will put quite the time into the game that I put into FA.
TLDR; I am underwhelmed by the game.
I applaud the devs for making the game less graphically demanding because the requirements for Forged Alliance are crazy and that more than anything kept the game from taking off. In that respect I feel hope that the game will be more popular and I can actually find a multiplayer game for once.
The research system disappoints me. Research systems, especially ones separate from the buildings, are in vogue since the success of Company of Heroes. CoH managed to combine their point based research system with an in-building research system which gave the game a decent feeling of balance. SC2 makes you get everything from the research menu including ACU upgrades which is just annoying. Now a player has to choose whether or not they want a strong air, land or sea force and there is no going back once you make those first steps. I don't like my gameplay being narrowed so early in a game I liked building up to a tier and then being able to build whatever you wanted from that tier.
The resource system is fine, just boring. It's essentially the same as the other games, however, you can't queue up dozens of units at once you can only build what you have the resources for. Managing resources and working through bottlenecks was the challenge of SC/FA and it was a challenge especially building early momentum. Well, now it's not a challenge it's fairly idiot proof.
The building upgrades are a nice touch, now your base isn't quite so fragile but I always felt like having an expendable base was part of the feel of the game. You're supposed to mass produce buildings, expand wildly, build new production centers as your army advances and allow your production buildings to get blow up as you retreat because they don't represent a huge portion of your expenditures. Now you'll have a main base which is strongly defended and once you lose it the game is over.
Finally, the character graphics/acting/and the little bit of the story that we get so far is incredibly cheesy, poorly voice acted, riddled with cliches and lacking anything to really redeem itself. The progression through a level is the same, accomplishing goals to expand the combat area but base building has been so watered down that it doesn't really feel like you are doing much to advance. I barely had to build much of a base past what you start with to win both levels since the whole game is entirely dependent on the research system. Experimentals aren't overwhelmingly powerful but that diminishes the feeling of accomplishment when you finally get them. You can quick-tech/research to early experimental units very quickly but they just don't feel like the big boys on the block, just slightly better versions of what you already have.
Ultimately I'll probably buy it if for no other reason than I'll be able to do skirmishes with my brother but I seriously doubt if I will put quite the time into the game that I put into FA.
