Apples and oranges. They were describing how whole process of "simulation" behind tank combat and armor damage was in previous games. In MOW2 its literal hitpoints.
No, it's legitimately the exact same as old MoW. The "tank healthbar" is simply an "overall average battle readiness" of the tank. There are still modules with health and penetration. Same as Gates of Hell, same as Assault Squad. Try again. I have played MoW 2. There are modules, trust me.
Just play RobZ Realism mod for MOWAS2 Its laggy AF, but super enjoyable in MP.
On the contrary, I've played Assault Squad 2 and I despise the multiplayer experience. There are some gems, but the gameplay is otherwise constant low drone of frustration at units doing what they want, not doing what you tell them to do, and, to be frank, a very clearly dated UI and overall visual presentation.
Gates of Hell fixes the last issue, but falls short of everything before it. Men of War 2
does improve the PvP experience. And that's why I'm excited about it.
But on a serious note, MoWa always had relatively small community. Its not a big title, and fans of older games arent really happy with what MOW2 is doing right now.
Irrelevant. Fans of older MoW games are playing Gates of Hell. There's no reason to try to poach players from it, as it's already a masterpiece of a love letter to old MoW. MoW 2 is closer in gameplay to CoH than AS2. That's why older fans dislike it. My friends who play CoH and were disappointed in 3 enjoyed Men of War 2. That's all I can tell you.
Devs already fucked up previous F2P game, by their idiotic design, people didn't like it and project died. Now they are remaking it into a proper game, but gameplay is the same pretty much, so if F2P game was a failer, why this one wont fail?
You know, I can't really tell you. Honestly, I didn't play Arena, but from my experiences playing Men of War 2, it was a much more cohesive game (compared to the videos I watched of Arena). The audio design was better, the UI was better, and there were new elements to gameplay that Arena apparently did not have.
If I had to put Gates of Hell and MoW 2 on a scale for quality, then Gates of Hell outweighs Men of War 2 by a moderate margin, but MoW 2 is more fun, and the gripes I have with it the devs have actually said they're working on. I say this over and over and over again: After being spoiled on the polished and arcade nature of CoH battles, the janky-ness of MoW's engine ruins PvP for me. I always say: Go to CoH for the PvP, and Men of War for the PvE.
This is the first MoW entry where I feel that that is no longer the case. That counts for a lot to me, because I like to play multiplayer against people, and I don't like to play Conquest all the time.
Also, Men of War 2 is going to have a campaign, so take that for what it's worth. I don't play campaigns in RTS games so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯