I have a few thoughts on the upcoming PC game.
First, even Starcraft 2 did not seem to offer much as a RTS other than improved graphics. RTS's have evolved into economic clickfests. If you know the right build order on the right map, then you win. Mayhaps AGOT Genesis will offer something new. Mayhaps AGOT Genesis will have some good AI games. But I'm pessimistic towards multiplayer these days.
For RTS multiplayer, the gold standard is still Kohan: Ahriman's Gift (with the Ahriman's Betrayal mod) from 2001. Thinking, planning, communication, cooperation, and morale will determine the winners... not knowledge of premade maps, build orders, and intricate tech trees.
On the plus side, it does appear that Cyanide has incoporated many units not usually associated with RTS's. There are some sort of espionage aspects, including assassination and intelligence gathering. It also seems that time might pass more quickly that in other RTS's. Most RTS's seem to take place in days or months (even the Empire series by Microsoft felt fast, though the timeline said ages were passing), but AGOT Genesis will feel like it's taking years due to the births of heirs and deaths of leaders.
Second, I started playing Blood Bowl on XBox three weeks ago. Blood Bowl is made by Cyanide Studios, the developer of AGOT Genesis. It is a faithful port of the board game, but it is severely lacking two key aspects of the game. First, there is no ability for multiplayer leagues. Online multiplayer leagues should have been the main component and selling point for the game. This makes the second point seem insignificant... which is the fact that the game only holds two colors for teams. The home team is always blue and the visitors are always red. Always. This poor excuse of a game left me in serious doubts of Cyanide's abilities.
Last week I started playing Cyanide's PC only version of Blood Bowl Legendary Edition. They fixed all the issues with the first XBox version. It's a very solid game. Fun and frustrating! It features online multiplayer and an entire palette of colors. Compared to the XBox version, it's like night and day. But... you knew it was coming... the AI scripting leaves something to be desired.
[Wait! Boaz, I thought your beef was the lack of multiplayer? Now you're complaining about the AI in PvE? You're an idiot!]
Yes, I know. First, the AI runs only one playstyle. It runs it for the dwarves (slow and tough), the elves (passing), the orcs (tough running), the rats (agile running game), Chaos, etc. Second, the odds on the dice seem to begin 80-20 in favor of the AI... but by the end of the game, they're 60-40 in my favor. Third, the game will cheat if you get ahead by too much, i.e. it will just kill your best player.
I'm not a sofware engineer. But I know the difference in a fluid and logical game and an awkward and stilted AI. Even after all that, Blood Bowl Legendary Edition is fun and somewhat addictive... except when the AI auto kills my best players.
Now don't get me wrong, some of the AI scripting in Kohan drives me crazy, but the pluses are so much greater than the minuses that I quickly forgive the game.
The third comment is more of a taste preference... or mayhaps an aftertaste... a bad aftertaste... that concerns European video games. After The Settlers, Knights and Merchants, Europa Universalis, and Stronghold, I've learned that any PC strategy game labeled "Game of the Year" in Europe will be a huge disappointment... except for the ultra-mega-huge exception of the Total War series by The Creative Assembly. Now, I've proved through many posts that I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I've also proved (I hope) that I'm not easily swayed by explosions, blood, and violence... I prefer logical character development and intricate plots (okay, so I also like illogical conspiracy theories).
In my brief look at AGOT Genesis' website, it looks like the game will be big in scope, epic even. But will that be too much to click through in a RTS? That's why Civ and Total War are turn based... turns allow for an overall strategy to be formulated, implemented and executed... while I must say that real time can easily become more of a frantic clickfest to put out the fires.
I'd like to be thrilled with AGOT Genesis, but I'm not holding my breath.
