It doesn't really excuse the fact that you can't buy properties, I liked that in VC, it gave you a sense of power (even though the empire building system is similar, its a poor substitute). I'm kind of bored with it, now. I own all the empire sites and no-one attacks them, I popped about 39 balloons and got bored (but I'll go back to it maybe later), and I hate the side-missions like taxi, ambulance etc. All exceot the enforcer missions, which I prefer to use the hunter or tank to complete.