Normally, with a preview I do not mention bugs or glitches--one shouldn't expect a preview build should to be polished or complete. But with Ubisoft waiting until the eleventh-hour to send out preview copies, it's hard to ignore the current state of the game. How much can the dev team improve the game in a month or so? Based on the condition of the preview build, I don't think it's a stretch to expect a Day 1 patch. There are some questions that cannot be fully answered until the game is released: What state is the game in? How immersive will the crew interactions be? How will the campaign play out? How much will the DRM affect players?  The really Big Questions are: will the game sell better to the casual gamer than SH3/SH4? Will long-time Subsim players buy another unfinished game? And, most importantly, will Ubisoft support the game in the months ahead with patches that refine the game and complete the gaps that should have been in place to start with? I say it will take all three to save this franchise.

Neal Stevens - www.subsim.com