General Dominions 3 comparison...

[sector24]

I don't think the Dominions 3 AI is that bad. The AI in GC2 has significant weaknesses. When is the last time you captured a planet in GC2 and said, "Wow, the computer is really smart for building 7 embassies and a farm."

The difference between GC2 and Dom3 is that you can set the GC2 AI above Intelligent and it cheats by getting huge resource bonuses. But if you play GC2 with opponents set to Intelligent, (max AI routines, no economic bonus) you can win without thinking too hard.

Besides, the player strategy in GC2 is inevitably some combination of "all factory", "all lab", or "all econ". Every game pretty much plays out the same because the ideal economic strategy is pretty well defined.

There is a certain appeal in playing a game in which you have familiarity, but I feel like Dominions 3 is stronger for the fact that every situation feels unique. Even when playing the same nation twice, the strategy varies greatly depending on your nearest neighbors, random magic sites and indy mages, etc. Deeper strategy, less repetition.