First of all, I'm biased to the setting, as at the age of 10-13, I was enthralled by the Greek mythology.
On the other hand, in this case, I would demand more from the setting converted to TW franchise, right? ;) Anyway, when I first launched the game, I got a feeling that the Bulgarian CA team had the same attitude to the Greek mythology.
So, contrary to what you may have watched/read before about TWS: TROY, at the release, the developers [b]perfectly[/b] captured the spirit and the style of Iliad, Odyssey, etc.
Cuckold Odyssey who can pierce 20 cuckers with one arrow, invincible Achilles easily soloing stacks of Troyans, warrior [b]woman[/b] Penthesilea with her Amazons, fast centaurs pictured as horseriders, medusa Gorgon turns people into "stone-dead" by poisoning a water source in a settlement… So many explanations of and allusions to myths, but not to the extent of 'historical' vibe.
And I mean before the main CA office forced to add fantasy crap via the Mythic DLCs later.
What actually killed the TWS:TROY franchise were the fiasco with the free release on Epic Games and then a year of unavailability on Steam. Oh, well, Chinese Communist money never give good in the long run. :(
Even the problems with the battle mechanics (killer-chariots--we had them in TW multiple times), or general warfare gameplay (neverending settlement defence--introduced by TW:WH), or diplomacy (trade system exploits--don't even remind me of TW:ME2 2-turn win), or overpromised correction of key problems (missile units stronk--as usually in TW) ----- all these could be mitigated with proper support of already existing TW fanbase on Steam. And eventually, the major flaws were corrected to some extent, but the TW fans remembered the gaslighting from CA, and turned their hate to Troy for this reason at the first place.
So, to the point, [u][b]why the game is bad:[/b][/u]
1. Very little replayability. Enemies are preset to the greater extent: you pick either the West coast or the East coast. You can, of course, go against the tide and betray your supposed partners, but it won't make your preset enemies love you.
2. Unlike in TW:WH1-2-3, the unit models have generally little distinction at the bird view. BUT this is literally the same for most historical TW.
3. Settlement battles. Constant. Neverending. The AI overestimates itself predicting a win in autoresolve, but loosing if you fight an easy battle manually. I think I've never ever played that many settlement defence battles in any other TW franchise.
4. Sieges. Generally OK (except for butt-ladders and siege attackers). Are filled with chokepoints but the controls are awful, especially if playing with unit size of large+. You just can't place your stack of harpies in the desired position.
5. Capturing settlements with the crap TW:WH mechanics, when you capture a settlement, it drops -1 level. Combined with constant settlement battles, it's just tiresome.
6. Mythology mode. Changed the vibe from the epic mythology to a Warhammer poor clone. The good thing that you are allowed NOT to play in this mode.
7. At higher difficulties, the AI is not smarter, but receives gazilions of bonuses. It's applicable to most TW franchises, but on the other hand, the bonuses can be easily exploited with barter mechanics.
8. Only Troyan hordes.
[u][b]Why the game is good:[/b][/u]
-1. The whole idea that the mythic creatures and epic heroes are not just another fantasy crap, but actually people who pretend to be such creatures, and everyone surrounding believe in it -- is just wow!
0. OPTIMISATION!!!!!1111oneoneone The game runs perfectly even on old machines, provided that these machines had challenges with both, TW:WH1-2 and TW:3K at the time.
1. Each faction has its unique mechanics. You can, of course, play without them (except for the Hordes), but those differences [i]somewhat[/i] allow replayability.
2. Another addition to replayability is that each faction has its own roster, with advantages and disadvantages, ranging from minor to gamebreaking.
3. Historical mode for old-school TW fans, where gods are almost non-existent and your hero is just a regular TW general with a squad of bodyguards.
4. [b]You can break your opponents[/b], by flanking or attacking in the rear, unlike in TW WH1-2-3.
5. Choke points do matter, especially if you line up enough unit models to close the gap.
6. Barter system with food, wood, bronze, stone and coins -- FINALLY, something else than blatant TW gold mana.
7. Decent visuals and aesthetics, although some are anachronistic (Helen's makeup). Pleasant music, although with only a little of the Greek vibes, if any at all.
8. THIS IS SPARTA!!! (although, without any Persians).
