Sure gameplay is important, but don't forget graphics. Oldschool gameplay like warcraft, warcraft2, dune2, C&C are all fine, but do you really want to play them now? With their graphics. Maybe for a trip down memory lane, but really.
And why does giving more information make the game cheap or easy? The ability to zoom adds strategy and tactics. You have more info, but your opponent too. The ability to deal with and come up with new ways to get around more info is the work of a dev. Not just dump it down and say, this is what you get because we don't know how to make the game more fun if you can see more.
There are plenty of tricks that are known and unknown to them to make the game more interesting with showing more.
The graphics aren't too great and it really hurts. But don't worry, the computers China is throwing away can play them. And the person who asked for a benchmark, it runs perfect on any system bought after 2005.