Final Verdict

With current gaming engines and even laptops now capable of producing strategic affairs like Rome: Total War and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of Chaos, with hundreds of individually rendered units on screen, Shattered Union might feel like a step backward to many gamers. And in many ways it is a disappointment, especially when measured against its own potential. However, if gamers will take the time to move beyond the initial frustrations (and politics) as well as any conditioning suffered from years of frenetic shooters, they will find a game that is both challenging and refreshing.