Kosta Andreadis
It conjures up a genuine need for this style of RPG -- isometric, hand-drawn, party-driven, stat-heavy, and a whole lot of fun.
Cities: Skylines comes highly recommended.
The time-period, focused campaign, new migration aspects, fleshed out political intrigue, and consistently grand battles make this feel like a Total War game aimed squarely at fans of the series. And being a fan, Total War: Attila comes highly recommended.
And with this new structure Ardennes Assault represents the best single-player experience seen in a Company of Heroes title to date.
[L]ike with many simulation games there are AI issues, especially with the automated combat that sees single squads of your troops run off to fight multiple squads on their own and in turn, lose. This can be a problem in multiplayer games, alongside no ability to save, meaning that it's a nice 'for the fans' feature that still needs some work to become an actual selling point. But like with any modern game a lot of these minor issues can be fixed in patches, and with any city builder, the game works best when played alone. Just like ruling a tropical island paradise.
In terms of narrative it's as dizzying, exhilarating, and divisive as the series has always been, arguably providing some of its most memorable sequences yet, and for fans it's something that not only has to be experienced, but savoured.
The best way to sum up Reaper of Souls is to unfortunately badmouth the original release, as this is the definitive version of Diablo III, which makes the version we all played two years ago seem like a work-in-progress. Everything has been changed for the better, and when you factor in all the new content and the fantastic new Crusader class, you have what is arguably the best entry in the series. Or at the very least a worthy sequel to Diablo II, which after all, is what a lot fans wanted the first time around.
If Hearthstone looks too static and boring or even too simplified and limited, you'll be hard pressed after playing the game to not want to spend more time in this wonderful off-shoot of the Warcraft universe.
If it were titled The Banner Saga: Chapter 1, then there'd be no argument worth mentioning in relation to its length or aspirational goals, and at this stage I can only assume that there is a new Banner Saga game, or Chapter 2, in the works. If there isn't then the choice of buying and playing this great game would become as futile as the ones made within the game itself -- namely, a lot of people will get hurt.