This is very much a "one step forwards, two steps back" kinda game. The addition of grenadiers and polish to a lot of mechanics make some aspects better than the first game, but far too many missteps occur to say it's better as a whole.
For one, I didn't mention it in my VC1 review since the story was so good, but the way cutscenes are presented in this series is less than desirable. Instead of just letting you watch the cutscenes, you exit to book mode in-between each one to individually select and confirm each cutscene. This was less of a problem in VC1 since the story was good and well-paced. But VC4 is like double the length with half the substance, so it becomes more of an issue.
And speaking of length, the long animations have not been resolved. In fact, due to the addition of ship commands, there are even MORE. The final boss has a move where EVERY, SINGLE, TURN, it will move across the map. This animation is 2 minutes long. I need not say much else.
Also the maps in this game suck compared to the first. Not only in design but in enemy placement. Take a drink every time you complete a level objective only for the game to tell you "SURPRISE, ENEMY REINFORCEMENTS :))))))".
I wanted to love VC4, and the post-game content looks pretty good. But I can't be bothered to think about it past the ending.