You can have an immortal duck pet and be a gnome. Instant buy.

This is a complete and fully released review, not to be confused with incomplete and early access critique. Make of that what you will.

--Comments are open, feel free to add your thoughts under the review--

Want to like this game but cannot, nor can I recommend it. Not even, or especially not to Dune fans**

It's usually fun in the beginning, the environment and territorial aspect feels solid, but it's repetitive and has too many placeholder features, including the combat which lacks any weight or control, it's just "there", and the UI/UX overall is about a 6/10 tops. There's very little in terms of replayability. The landsraad seriously feels like fluff and should be filled with intrigue but I always end up finding it and its supporting functions uninteresting and too unintuitive, always end up ignoring it completely.

They need some new eyes on this one if it's to be a solid title.

**The fact that spice is treated like some sort of vague commodity without any transcendental quality whatsoever is probably the biggest flaw of the game. What were they even thinking there? If the other aspects of the game were rock solid I probably would have given it a pass actually, but it's the nail in the coffin for me.

A sweet, albeit simplistic game, if that's your thing.

With its emphasis on realism, teamwork and coordination, this is a unique and engaging military shooter unlike anything else on the market. Nowhere near as convoluted as other milsims, and manages to capture a better sense of what war may feel and sound like. Phenomenally gripping with an absolutely terriffic soundscape.


I run this fine with 6 year old specs (GTX 660, i5 3570k) + 3 yr old SSD.

•Highly recommended if you can run it, but AMD CPUs beware!•

Too short.

TL;DR:
Something of a modern masterpiece, BF:BC 2 captures every essence of what makes a phenomenal shooter. Fast paced, gritty, loud. Beautiful. It shines in almost every imaginable and meaningful aspect. Most importantly, it outshines every Battlefield experience since.

A truly visceral and engaging experience from start to finish.


Note: Had plenty of playtime before Steam purchase.

You will not find a combat system remotely as deep, physics-driven and engaging. While not perfect, it offers a wealth of possibilities and tactics never before possible. It's a team of developers realizing a dream of physics driven combat.

And that's not even mentioning the work being done with the world and self-driven story of "Sui Generis", from which this is a precursor of.

Arena mode: A competitive tournament mode with different sorts of fights, each with an entry fee. Helps you develop an understanding of the combat mechanics and levelling scheme, as well as familiarity with the levelling system. Hire or recruit fighters that, along with your main character will earn money that can be spent on new equipment. Just don't let your main character die, you'll have to start all over! A character dies if they reach red health. Make sure you feel somewhat confident in melee before you venture on to ▼

The adventure: Where do I even begin? This is the very soul of "Exanima". You don't know where you are, only that your quest lies deep within this dark and dreary old dungeon.
You will encounter drifters seemingly without soul. Some want you dead, others do not.
One thing is for sure, it is all gonna get far worse before it gets better. And you will not be the same again.

Couldn't tell you whether to get this or any of the other from the original Cossack(tm) series. Most of them say this, and I own them all on GOG.com.

At any rate, I can't recommend this enough! If you're a history buff like me, and/or fan of strategy games then you're bound to like this. There are not many, and especially well made, pike and shot games out there. Believe me, this is one of the few fantastic ones. And for the price it's hard to beat. There are some 20 nations to choose from, each unique with advantages and disadvantages, and each offer different challenges and opportunities.

Just how a strategy game should play.
Just buy it, I doubt you'll regret it!

Do not recommend. Too buggy and glitchy in its current state. Nuff said. Backed this on Kickstarter, and some two years later it still has much work ahead.