Superb RTS with a ton of strategy and tactics, and a few bugs.
Multiplayer is outstanding. In terms of gameplay, every civ has several viable strategies, and the metagame is still constantly evolving. So whatever the mood I'm in, either for a quick kill or a long epic game, there's some strategy to make me happy.
Traditional in-depth Age economies are still here. Pretty much every action you take in the first five minutes affects your economic build for the rest of the game, which offers a lot of flexbility and latitude. Trading posts, upgrades, villager counts, treasures, docks, shipments and herding pens provide many options.
Home City is great and innovative, but not going to become a standard RTS feature like formations or control-grouping. It's definitely addictive to get new cards and send shipments, but it doesn't revolutionize gameplay.
ESO2 is huge step forward from the original ESO and the Zone. Quick Matches are painless, Custom Games are pretty well-organized and busy, plus ladders and clan support finally add some community feel to the system.
Graphics are superb, if you have a superb computer. Otherwise, they're pretty typical. Music and sound are great, and there's a nice effect where cannon shots can be heard no matter where you are.
There's more focus on combat than in previous Age games - the best economy does not win (sadly for me). But it's definietly not as micro- and tactics-intense as Warcraft 3, which didn't appeal to me as much.