izigame.me

This game is the sad culmination of the current gaming industry.
Note that I don't mean game design as this game is a gem, ruined by shoddy business practices.
(I know Invictus exists, but I am reviewing the base game. Not the mod)
My observations are as follow:
- Great, amazing and barely explored setting. Too bad it released as an empty husk, with almost no non-generated content.
The game was released as a DLC-Carrier and everyone knew it.
- One of the most solid trade systems of all paradox titles (in my opinion, as I like to micro it). Too bad it seems to beg for an upgrade, or expansion in content as well. You can guess in what form Paradox would try to deliver it.
-The tech-system is actually quite decent. I like its integration in 2.0.
-The military system is solid, although the game treats a roman legionnaire the same like a Makedonian pike man. And other stuff like this. Again, a solid foundation which was intended to be expanded via DLC.
-The economy is fine. Not really historical, as it is almost entirely slave based, but functional.
-The AI of the well known Paradox variety. That means astoundingly bad or downright bat shit insane/annoying. Add Anti-player focus. Every war winds down to whack-a-mole hunting of little stacks of AI armies, which you can't ignore as the AI gets cheats on sieges.
The AI will gladly abandon their homeland and economic centers to other invading countries and ruin itself just to inconvenience you.
Too bad that this is not one of the things Paradox was going to fix, as demonstrated by their other titles. (Except HOI 4 as that game seems to run entirely on scripted AI)

-Naval Combat is fine and actually quite complex for a Paradox game, the problem is ... there is almost no point in maintaining a navy. You cant really deal with the pirates (whose role is only to steal pops) as an organized effort (happens trough random events) .
Trade is not really affected by them or hostile blockades either. If you ever find yourself in need of a fleet, you can always build one relatively quickly as ships are dirt cheap in general.
The world is fine. If you play in the central or eastern med. Beyond that it is empty. Not like un-colonized, but filled with placeholder countries with no real content.
Aside from the location and different religions there are not really any differences between Bon tribes in the Himalayas and Matrist peoples in the eastern Baltic.
Also there is India. It serves to slow down your game. And sometimes you see the Mauyra(?) empire in the great power rankings. That is all to say about it
There must have been a road-map. Filled with bulletpoints, describing the different DLCs which were to expand and flavor the world. I'd like to see that document, one day. And I am sure as hell, that this document was already written and signed off before pre-production of Imperator Rome even has begun.
This brings me back to my main problem about the game. CK II and EU IV may have been successful in wringing out the money from customers by DLC. But those games were clever with that. They delivered a complete experience on launch. Something which I:R failed to do.
The critique on I:R was never about mechanics. It was never about stupid mana points. It was about that this game is two steps short to be called a scam.
Every single element in game screams at you: "Insert future DLC for 20 Euro ".
It is a good game mechanically. The atmosphere is great and the basic game loop as well.
Also the music is the best Paradox has ever put on a game.
But the most tragic and cynic thing is, that once Paradox realized, that the players won't support an another "60 Euro base game + 650 Euro DLC's to be enjoiable" product, they abandoned it.
Don't buy it. It is not a finished game and it probably never will be.
Such a shame, really.