Recent reviews by Itsgotime

The biggest problem with this game is there is nothing to really do. You can make cool and amazing creations and stuff after that there is nothing to do. There is no real end game or challenges that you can apply to solve problems because in all reality 80 percent of creations address problems that are not there to be begin with.

Modders and scripters hold this boat together but sadly a lot of them are retiring or leaving. The developers have done nothing to address this issue besides some obscure social media posts talking about a new engine with actual water simulated. That is cool and all it does not address any of the issues of space engineers one. Even with modern hardware the game is not made to utilize it. There are a lot of performance issues still and while it was not as bad as it was 2013 its still there. Also the bugs like driving along in your rover and you hit a small bump and it sends your rover flying into sky only to land losing a bunch of ♥♥♥♥.

After visiting this with friends this game is just a glorified tech demo still after all these years. Even with the updates sure but at the end of the day once your done with your personal goals you realize that there is nothing but a dull and empty sandbox. Keen has had all this time and barely done much with it. In a sad sense it was to be expected like they did with Medieval Engineers.

Actually given this studio history I am not surprised. They made a game that a lot of potential but they have wasted it. They let the community hold the fort and sat back making cosmetic DLC and barely fixing long standing issues that have plagued this game since its inception. To be expected since they abandon Medieval Engineers and still charge but have the community make the game instead when they released dev tools.

I would be surprised if they actually go all in for a space engineers 2 game but I high doubt given there history. Space Engineers 2 or any sequel if there is one will be one of low effort. Probably be the same dev cycle as this one. Take a every long time to fix things and add things into it. Make a lot cosmetic DLC and modders hold the fort. Still not have any challenges for you to overcome with no end game goal in mind.

This game needs a lot of work. The sense of progression in this game is just cosmetic and has no real meaning other than you earn more money. I want to start off with somehow in late game you can have modern battleships, tanks, futuristic robots, produce modern electronics as Japan, yet your people are doing everything by hand. Everything is transported by cart yet somehow you got battleships and future robots fighting on the field with some magic logistics system to supply them anywhere on the map. I do not care if this is a game this ♥♥♥♥ makes no sense and makes for a far more boring game as progression is nothing but cosmetic.

It does not make sense to produce steel and have steel factories with power plants but you do not have any tractors for framing, no truck or trains for civilian logistics. There are no dams for power gen or water systems. Oil is a worse version of coal because all it does is supply fuel for power plants only when coal literally powers everything else. Also for some reason when you get to the more modern era there no refrigerators. Also some factions are down right broken with others being garbage like the Nords. Beside late game performance issues and random map gen needing to get better this is the biggest grape I have with the game.

My suggestion to the developer to improve the game is that if you add industrialization do not barely/half add it into the game. Progression should be more than just cosmetic. With industrialization should be able to half the labor it takes to operate farms with tractors but have those machines cost oil to run. Trucks/Trains should be added for better logistics with long range. As I said watching mechs and then tanks fight on the line but you are watching your people transport your entire economy by cart or by walking makes no sense what so ever. Also factions need to be flushed out more and balanced with their own unique play styles.

As you progress through eras tech should be added that changes up the game as you progress making improvements to your civilization.

Honestly this game wants makes me want to play Anno 1800. Different game but the way you progress changes way things are played when you unlock new tiers and tech.

Act of Aggression is a solid RTS game that was miss advertised and could have used more time in the oven. The game was never going to be near of what Generals could be in a lot of departments. I get what they where trying to advertise too but it was the wrong RTS coward. Generals was a more than decade old when this game released and as of writing this review it is 2 decades old now. Back then anything goes and people where not softies and where hurt by words and jokes unlike people of today.

Generals was a political incorrect game which provided a lot of humor and now memes on the interweb but lets not fool ourselves here. Its a 2 decade year old game and as far as the test of time the only thing that keeps me playing that game is all the mods and its one of the most modded CnC games out there besides nostalgia. If it was not for those two reasons I would have not played the game for the facts of the game is 2 decades old and lacks a lot of quality of life features that a lot of modern RTS games have these days. The graphics are really dated as no ♥♥♥♥ thing here a long with the zoom is pretty bad by todays standards. I can make list of problems of just trying to play command and conquer generals these days but that is not what this review is about.

Act of Aggression campaign was pretty forgettable and painfully average. The game does not list all the hotkeys in the menu in which in itself was pretty bad. Skirmish is okay and MP from what I played was not great. Honestly is your going to be using the CnC formula for your game you have to understand that most of the audience that plays those games are in it for the singleplayer experience than MP unlike starcraft and warcraft, Even then in RTS games most of the players are singleplayer or PvE players even in 2023 a lot of studios fail to realize this. RTS games have lost to MOBAs on the PvP scene so I do not understand why many RTS games keep trying this. I am not saying this is always going to be the case but RTS games as far as PVP goes generally does not succeed compared to many other genres for a variety of reasons to be a money printer. The sooner developers start to realize this I think the better RTS is going to be in a sense.

The pacing of the game is kind of jank even in the reboot. Infantry take way too long to get somewhere forcing you to use Humvees to do anything useful in the game. Honestly they have no real use after the beginning of the game sense it becomes nothing but spamming tanks, arty, and aircraft before the superweapons come in. There is no way to my knowledge to keep certain vehicles in a formation so that your AA does not go in front of all the other units just get completely wasted. RTS games should never be a baby site simulator it should be all about strategy. This is the thing that infuriates me in CnC generals and in this game.

The real positives in this game are teh Quality of life features compared to the older games at the time like the zoom and way less of a janky building systeming unlike generals or other RTS games I have played. The graphics where good compared to other ones released then as far as base building RTS games goes. The sounds is good and the factions are fun to play.

I give this a recommend on sale but I do not recommend at full price. The game could have used an expansion rather than a reboot in my opinion. Its sucks that there is only 3 main factions and no subfactions to spice the game up. Also modding is not really active for this game which is a real shame. Modding support is not great.

Kinda of meh

Updated and edited:

They have managed to fix some of the crashing/disconnect issues but not all of them. This game has a long way to go with a whole laundry list of issues.

TDLR: A historical (video game history) game recommendation only if your interested in playing games from the past.

Monologue
Compared to today's standards in term of game play and various other areas beyond graphics its obviously outdated. I love Battlezone to death but at some point, it becomes a game to boot up for nostalgia and that is about it. Battlezone 98 and its expansions with Battlezone 2 now known as Battlezone Combat Commander is vehicular arcade FPS/RTS hybrid game and for the most part to me it does it right compared to all the other games in this really niche genre of FPS/RTS that never took off. This is really unfortunate since I could not imagine what a modern version of these games would look with today’s tech without all crappy business practices we have today, however, we will never know and that is probably for the best given how the state of gaming industry is right now. A relic from another Era in video games where expansions where considered the worst practice back then. I rather take expansions compared to what we have today. If any of the developers that started the franchise or made these games are reading this. I want to say thank you for making such amazing games I got to play as a child. Its probably for the best though that the series of Battlezone games in this form of FPS/RTS ended here and not get destroyed like a lot of other beloved franchises of the time did.
Thank you for the experience.

Review – I am keeping this very short and blunt.
If your in for a modern experience of an RTS/FPS hybrid, then this is for most part not something your looking for. Its old and there is a lot of the gameplay mechanics that are old. Fun but its old.
If you’re looking for a really active PvP scene in this space, then your out of luck. The best you can do is find dedicated groups of players.
If you’re looking for a coop/singleplayer experience your in luck because this game has it with mods that will extend a lot of your playtime as a new player. Grab a friend of find some people that are willing to play it with you. You will have a blast from the past for sure.
It’s an old game with remastered with mod support and steamworkshop. Expect old school game mechanics and sound systems.
If you need in-depth review, there is plenty of them out there.
End of Review

I still hold out hope that someday that someone can make a game in this space that will beat my expectations.

Player base is about dead for this game. 500 peak players where as hell let loose gets 5000. I hope developers can revive this game. A have hopes for PS but we will see.

Game lacks direction, unstable, MP barely works, terrible inventory system, and the list goes on.

The game went from abandon ware to now having the community make the game for keen software for free.

If you want something close to this your better of getting Medieval Dynasty or Manor Lords when that comes out. Dont spend money of this because its not worth anything.