I'll admit, I liked most of what I read in the preview (although I too am a bit skeptical about the minefield comment). I especially like that Gamespy specifically discussed the AI -- they generally don't talk about AI unless it's worth mentioning. I do think it odd, however, that the second government type is a "democratic" monarchy. What was wrong with constitutional monarchy?

Still, that's more nitpicking than a serious criticism. The more I see of Empire, the more I'm starting to look forward to it.