Elemental: War of Magic Reviews
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Neoseeker starts us off with a 9.0/10:
Elemental: War of Magic is an essential purchase, one easy to recommend because it's relevant to so many different types of gamers: strategy fans, RPG nuts, newbies, veterans -- it doesn't matter. Pardon the pun, but it's got all the elements of the classics you know and love -- fans of Master of Magic, Ogre Battle, Heroes of Might & Magic, Shining Force, and so on should find lots to love here, and find that Elemental earns itself a top spot on their game shelf. And with Stardock's commitment to the game (they're dedicating a year exclusively to updates and new content for it), you can be assured it will become a classic of its own.
And then Out Of Eight comes up with a 5/8:
Elemental: War of Magic takes aspects of management, strategy, and role-playing games, merging them into what will be a fun overall product once all of the problems get fixed. First off, the campaign is more than a set of skirmish maps and semi-random maps are available for custom games. It's disappointing that the campaign is so linear and (true) random maps are not present, as resources are simply randomly scattered on a handful of continental layouts. The game will apparently offer sixteen-human multiplayer, but not yet (and its exclusion from the retail version is troubling). Elemental: War of Magic also doesn't have tutorials that are explicit enough, a must for a relatively complex game. The comprehensive and easy-to-use editors ensure a modders paradise. The graphics scale well, functional on the lowly netbook while showing some visual muscle on the faster desktop systems. The game currently exhibits occasional to frequent bugs, depending on your system, usually crashing to the desktop. Elemental: War of Magic competes with any good RPG in the character customization department, letting you tailor your hero as you see fit. You can even recruit neutral characters (and you own children) to fight by your side, which makes the game feel more like a living world filled with people and their own agendas. Quests are available to gain new items that give your sovereign something to do, although some of them are plain. You are given some impressive spells to research and use against your foes that can be used in both tactical battles and the strategic turn-based mode, although each spellbook fails to retain a true sense of individuality.
