ETW is an excellent example of modern gaming trends that promote eye candy over gameplay. The old Commodore 64 from the 1980s hosted some really fine gaming challenges all running within 64 kilobytes. Two I remember fondly are Red Storm Rising, and the original Pirates from Sid Meir. They featured very basic graphics, but both totally immersed you in interesting play. Designers were not tempted to overdo the graphics because the capability was just not there. Instead, they worked within a very limited palette to deliver some genuinely challenging gaming. Don't get me wrong. ETW has the potential to be one of the finest RTS titles ever developed. And let's give them credit...it's a gorgeous piece of work. It just doesn't work because they chose eye candy over effective gameplay. If it didn't have potential I wouldn't have let it torture me through so many crashes over the last few months.