Welcome Minskmariner;
You'll find other less than stellar reviews at other sites.
There was a lot of disappointed people based on expectations. Given how far SH3 and SH4 had come (with mods) it was expected that SH5 would be a vastly improved version of those games. Apparently (and I freely admit I'm going on hearsay not having played the game myself) the designers went back to the drawing board with their intent of a truly first-person type of experience. Unfortunately the end product was released with many bugs/omissions and an arcade aspect etc which put a lot of people off. Add to that the DRM controversy (i.e. you can only play with a permanent online connection) and it was an explosive mix for the hardcore simmers which resulted in many acrimonious debates at this site and others. Have a look at the SH5 forum, there might still be some of the old threads showing you just how emotional this subject got, LOL.
Even though I have a permanent online connection I refuse to purchase the game at this stage based on my own principles against what I see as an over-the-top protection protocol.
The game itself however has apparently been drastically improved thanks once again to a dedicated mod community but for me I see nothing "new" on the table and I'm quite happy with SH3(+GWX) for my Atlantic fix and SH4 (with mods) for my Pacific fix.
My two cents.
