 I don't know how I came to be in love with Battlefield Gothic Armada 2. Whatever life choices brought me to exploring this space-faring battleship strategy, I do not regret them in the least. Battlefield Gothic Armada 2 is that rare diamond in between the rock crystals that are most other games based on the Warhammer 40K franchise. There are so many mediocre video games based in that universe, I could make one video a month from now until eternity's end, and I still would have about half of them left to experience. But the good ones, nay, the excellent ones are rare indeed, and when I caught a parting glance at this one on the Xbox Game Pass for PC, I couldn't help myself. I had to try it out. The result is, I have come to enjoy the spectacle of humongous ships destroying each other in a two-dimensional grid. Why not a three-dimensional one, you might ask? The answer is, this game, like its predecessor, adapts to the beloved tabletop game. I wonder if, were developer Tindalos interactive to make a third one, they might challenge themselves in attempt to redefine the experience in the battleground itself. I doubt it, but it would be very interesting to see how a Warhammer 40K battleship game would play in a sphere, rather than on a two-dimensional grid. Gothic Armada 2 does not flinch when it comes to making full use of huge-scale ships, spaceman atrocities and everything else you'd expect of a franchise in which the concept of subtlety was abandoned 38 millennia ago. There's something visceral and terribly enjoyable about commanding a small fleet of ships and putting them against chaos and filthy zenos. The spectacle is, of course, thrilling to witness, but a lot of work goes into planning out vectors of attack, and even more work goes into the micro-management necessary to dismantle an enemy fleet. If you're a perfectionist enjoying the hell out of every inch of micro-management, you might end up playing each of the battles manually, for hour after hour of the finest, most well-directed action you could wish for. In addition to the visual feast that are the battles, Gothic Armada 2 also offers a strategic layer, which isn't overtly complicated, nothing at all like a grand strategy, but which offers you a fair amount of bonuses, upgrades and flavour while you wait for your ships to heal up after a disastrous battle. And boy, have I had a few of those. There are also several different star systems to explore and conquer, though I've only scratched how many systems there are in the Imperial Campaign, and I don't yet know whether all campaigns play around in the same set of systems, or if each one offers different and brand new systems to explore. The story starts off very well indeed, with good old Aberdon the Dispoiler on his 13th attempt to ruin everything via yet another Black Crusade. You'd think he'd give up after 12 failed attempts, but no, it's another invasion of the Imperium for Old Abbey, and it's off to a good start when the Imperial Bastion of Kadir is turned into, well, a bunch of dead rocks, big and tiny floating in the deptless darkness of space. Not a fine time to be taking vacation in Kadir, I don't think. This game further might be a very fine point to jump into the Warhol 40K narrative. It follows very recent in universe events, and it is told in a way that reminds me of the Golden Age of Strategy of Warcraft 3 and Starcraft. Not 3D portraits, true, but conversations between characters who have voiced and written well, jibes between foes in the midst of battle, and of course, the trademark heroism of space marines Imperial Guardsmen and many others. Sound is another strength of God and her mother too. Ship weapons have real weight, engines roar just right, and the soundtrack is what I've imagined the universe would sound like. Doyle W. Donahoe has done a splendid job capturing the mood with what is legitimately one of my favourite epic OSTs in years, as mild dramatic as Warhol 40K of course, and that is where so much of the joy of that universe comes from. Now outside of the game itself, I have heard it's tacked on anti-cheat software. Easy anti-cheat has caused no end of grief for some players, including those utterly uninterested in playing the game's multiplayer. I haven't yet come across any such problems, but you should be aware that they are present for others, and persistent. I've only just taken my first steps in Battlefleet, Gothic her mother too, and I suspect it will be a long time yet until I've had my fill. I would like to make either a review of the game as a whole, or at the very least, to examine each of the different race campaigns in the future, one way or the other. I hope to be back with more of what has been an unexpectedly enjoyable strategy whirl in the worst possible timeline. But until then, don't forget to hit the like button, share with your friends, subscribe, ring that bell button for further notifications, and you know the drill. Leave a comment down below. See you next time, bye!