Let me start off by saying this.. Most of the people that give it good reviews are either hackers, and/or Asian hackers from Asia, and kids using their parents money or people making it apart of their budget. I tried this and GoW for a little over a week. I tried doing as much as I can with spending only a conservative amount of money, but it’s impossible. You need an alliance.. that helps. Between most people investing most of their paycheck into the game and little kids stealing their parents credit cards to build a POWERFUL city, and hackers scamming for free, there is no competition! It really, really isn't fair. You got people playing for the real-time strategy working hard and other people (and kids) using NO STRATEGY and just keep spending thousands of dollars. Those people that spend the money will eventually get to you, conquer you, kill your troops and take your Hero and resources. And all that time is WASTED building up an army and city. This game will become part of your budget sooner or later. If you're the type of person who can't resist spending the money, DONT PLAY!
You're welcome.
P.S. The sales are only one time deals. After you buy the cheapest, the price keeps going up.