@Black_Hand_313: might even be better if they release it early next year. I don't mind waiting, esp. since I enjoyed the first game (was my personal 'GotY' for that year)

@DemonsBlade238: yeah, I was hoping the protagonist would be a Federal agent and that it'd be more complex: moral ambiguity, the 'bad guys not being all that bad', depiction of gov't. overreach/overreaction, maybe tie that in to politically motivated actions/reactions...plus consequences, esp. unintended/unexpected ones: after Waco, wasn't the Oklahoma bombing a sort of retaliatory attack? Something like all that.

Also, if you're just a deputy, faced w/ an extremist group, it'd make sense to call for help (i.e., the Federal gov't.), unless that's a plot point in the game (e.g., comm jamming of some sort to prevent calling for aid from what seems to be a relatively remote location...lol, maybe that'll be the equivalent of this game's 'tower climbing' :P ).

But, it's still early, maybe the game will actually make sense, despite what the trailer/s depicted.

@michael-ibbett: You can keep doing the side quests even after beating the main quest. Both DLC expansions were Great, esp. Blood & Wine, which is almost like a full game in itself (esp. since I put down the game for a while after finishing the main quest, and a fair number of improvements were implemented by the time the last DLC came out).
I actually agree w/ those who gave Blood & Wine their 'Game of the Year' award.

I gotta second orbit991's suggestion: do Blood & Wine last.

@beantownsean: have you played the previous game? If not, I'd recommend a couple of things:
- first, if you can, try to get started on the books, chronologically (i.e., start w/ the book 'The Last Wish'. IMHO, it's an easy read, partly because it's an anthology). It'll help w/ appreciating the game/setting more, esp. if you get past the first book (as the games do reference a number of book events, more so in Witcher 3).
Some of the major characters in the Witcher 3 are barely mentioned, if at all, in the previous games, but are prominent in the books.
- second, well, play the 2nd game. :D
I think consensus is that playing the first game isn't necessary, although I did like it, overall. The combat wasn't great, and some things don't age well, but I thought it was a 'good' game. It does set the tone/atmosphere for the setting, but in terms of the overall story for the series, I don't recall it adding much.

It may seem like a bit much to do, esp. if one has a gaming (or other) backlog, but, IMHO, reading the books and getting through at least the 2nd game greatly enhances the experience of playing the last game.

Attack dogs? Meh. I want Attack BEARS! :D

@stylux24: the UI does use a lot of symbols, to avoid clutter I guess and make things look prettier, but if you know what they mean then it's fine. I do wish that all instances of where symbols appear allow for a hover over tooltip, but, after a while, it's fine. Then again, I've played all the other previous Endless games.

How accessible is it? As far as 4X games go, I think it's fairly easy to get into. When in doubt, just drop the difficulty for your first playthrough. I can't really say if the tutorial's good or not, as I don't remember (or if I even did it).

Skimmed through this guide: http://guides.gamepressure.com/endless_space_2/

Seems good for reference (haven't seen the game's actual manual, yet, tho')

Edit: I'd probably wait a bit before getting it, tho', maybe after a few patches. There are some noticeable performance issues and some stuff that need a bit of polish here and there. Check the Steam discussion forums for examples.

@che5ter666: yeah, ME3 was pretty solid, 'til like the last hour or so. People tend to focus on the Earth/'Space Child' bit, but, IMHO, it started falling apart with how they portrayed Cerberus in ME3: it lacked the nuance/character it had in ME2...they kinda became like a Saturday morning cartoon villain organization.

I loved ME2, which also had great DLC, but it always bugged me how limited some of the major options were (e.g., what to do w/ the Collector base being a binary choice).

@scottcunni: the 'baggage' of expectations from those who enjoyed the previous games. There were a lot of expectations for ME Andromeda, esp., I imagine, for those who bought MEA to give the series 'another chance' after the ending of ME3 (which was lackluster, to put it lightly).

It's not a bad game, and, for all its shortcomings, I was enjoying most of it. BUT it was clearly rushed out, and the patches seemed to have been rushed out, too. It doesn't help when other things (e.g., Windows update, AV updates, drivers, etc.) conflict/introduce issues, too, and EA support is slow to point out things (e.g., it was a user who suggested a fix that solved an issue that I had: turning off Win10's and Avast's 'game modes').
I was binge-playing it (or whatever), 'til Patch 1.05 hit and made the game worse (and I had over 100 hours at that point), and it's only recently that I started playing it again. Hopefully this Hotfix doesn't break anything so I can finally finish my first playthrough...

So, all these issues, plus expectations not being met, as well as some people jumping on the 'hate bandwagon', would be where the 'hate' is coming from.
It's not a bad game, I'd even say that it's quite good (not great, tho'), but in its current state, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I'd say, 'give it a few more months, at least'.
Also, if there's anything that 'needs' an 'Enhanced Edition', it'd be a game like this (same could be said for ME3, DA2, DAI...never felt compelled to get the DLC for those).

@merwanor: Yeah. I didn't like what I've read/heard about the SP campaign being alternating PoVs (each mission?).
I kinda wish they'd followed DoW1 Dark Crusade's (or Soulstorm's) format: strategic map, multiple factions, fighting for dominance, but still have a story for each faction.
Was never fond of DoW2, tho': felt too...'restrictive'? Particularly in the ways that maps felt too small or constrained you to 'lanes'. That and I preferred DoW1's scale.

As for esports: I dunno if the pace for this one will make it good for watching. From what little I've seen, it seems a bit too slow, esp. when compared to either Starcraft: Brood War or Starcraft 2. That said, I don't mind devs trying to make it so that their game CAN become an esport, as long as a.) the single-player aspect is solid/great, b.) they don't try to 'force' the esport aspect (i.e., better if a 'scene' grows 'organically': e.g., SC or Hearthstone vs. Heroes of the Storm).

I hope it's more Stand Alone Complex. If memory serves, SAC Solid State Society allowed for more stuff after it.
I liked SAC over the two films (the original anime and Innocence), as I thought SAC was closer to the manga than the films were (particularly in terms of tone and how it wasn't always 'super serious').
Didn't watch ARISE, tho', and I have no intention of watching the live-action (maybe when it's on HBO or something).