A boring grind.
At best, the game mechanic was unoriginal, buggy, and static. The game was just rehash of the previous epic war games, and this sequel failed to address the major problems of its predecessors. I found the battles tediously boring and easy. Waiting for a bunch of troops to line up is not the best way to spend an evening. The graphics were bland and reused, and the animations were without effort. The plot was bland, unmotivating, and nearly nonexistent; aside from the advocacy of war. I didn't understand the necessity to have both a 'retreat' and 'fall back' button, or the 'march' and 'assault' commands. To me, I could not detect any major differences. I also noticed that the commands would often fail to respond.
The most off-putting detail of this game was the blatant glorification of war and militarism. While I do not mind a game with violence, the political messages were disturbing and unwarranted. As far as I could tell, the object of the game was to go smash an "oppressive" force that had the ability to put an end to the rabid militarism of the land, and the player's character is too committed to bloodshed because "War is life."
I would like to have seen a major effort in improvements to the gameplay. Make it more streamlined, less grind-y, and utilize strategy. Add another gameplay dynamic besides "make guys and send guys forward." Fix the command buttons. And most of all, remove the political overtones.
Much appreciated.