Tried to Really Like this game...
Graphics are colorful and basically very well done, maybe a bit "cartoonish", but whaddya want?, it's a fairytale fantasy game.
Different realms/lands are well laid out and detailed with a nice amount of variety.
Many varying units, each with their own capabilities, specialities and susceptibilties, making for some variety in strategy.
Varying game difficulties attempting to make for a real challenge, depending on your style of play.
The "wife and kids" thing is somewhat innovative. So is the "Chest of Rage" addition to battles.
With all of the RTS type of games out there, it's nice to have a turn-based one now and then still being produced.
For those of you who want to use it, the "Cheat" system is pretty handy.
Now the Not So Good:
Main Story line may be good, but gets lost in the sometimes silly writing style. I guess that's maybe because the programmers' first language is not English.
Some side quests involve just running back and forth doing the "Errand Boy" routine.
The various realms, while geographically laid out OK, often limit where the player's Hero can be allowed to go, so it's pretty much stick-to-the-path traveling, and not very wide open for exploring.
Camera view controls get a little weird at times.
Leveling up provides too few choices for character improvement.
But probably the worst thing for me (and agreeing with some other reviewers' comments), is that the combat does after a while get to be just plain very repetitive and verging on tedium. Some of many magic spells are basically worthless in combat, and I find myself using just a select few. Although the game tries to vary the battlefield graphics and make-up of the hex square barriers/layouts, it tends to be pretty much the same precitable thing after about the 50th-60th battle.
So that's my take. Don't get me wrong, to me it's not a "Bad Game", it works well and is completely bug-free with the latest patches. But is it a game that I will want to play night after night, when I have free time? Nope, I tried to do that and it it started to wear on me, lost its "pleasure factor". I need to mix in some other games for my pleasure. I'm sure I'll come back to it on ocassion, mixed in with some other games, but no way can I take a steady diet of it, and too me, that makes it surely not a "Great Game".