There are as many as 300 different technologies to research, depending on which nationality you are. Another area of interest is the marketplace. If you need more of a resource you can haggle for it in the marketplace. There are no trade routes or trade stoppages of other games. In Cossacks there is a free market economy where anyone can trade at any given time.
Battles are the piece de restience.
When you create a few units they are effective but they become even more effective when they are grouped together with a captain and a drummer boy. Throw in a priest, to heal units in battle, and your few units can become quite formidable. You are able to put your units into lines, column and squares but only when they have officers attached to a group. While all this might sound fine it looks spectacular when you have an army of several hundred units forming lines and squares in battle. With ranged weapons in the rear and hand to hand units in the front you are able to perform various tactical maneuvers.