Over all, this game is a GREAT deal for the price (under $15 right now). You'll get plenty of bang for your buck. If you like turn based strategy games like Age of Wonders, Heroes of Might and Magic, and others like that, then you'll enjoy this one. It has a nice campaign and story with some heroes and units that level up and follow you from mission to mission. Plenty of artifacts and spells in here too! The biggest thing this game lacks is maps outside of the campaign. There is so little content outside of it that you'll be left wanting more. The new Ranger campaign adds a bit to it but is still lacking. You can't play all the races and that is a shame. No random map generator (or map creator that I could find). But for a third of the price most new games go for, this one is worth it. Pros: Price. Enjoyable campaign. Lots of gameplay for the price. Cons: Leaves you wanting more. Can't play most of the races. Few single player maps and no random map generator.

Decent TBS game. It's really fun early when you first take the dive into the game but I find the level cap and limited skills of each unit(except heroes) to be very annoying. I tend to get attached to units and like to consistently use a small number of units but that is a disadvantage in this game. Once your units hit lvl 5 cap they stop gaining experience so then you want to switch over to a brand new unit to train and keep the old one as a reserve. The campaign is pretty linear, there are times when the missions you can choose branches but it merges back on pretty soon again. It's a decent TBS game and if you're looking for one just to hold you down for a bit while you wait for something else to come out then sure go ahead but if you are looking for something very complex/deep/good story and satisfying i doubt this will be the game for you.

If you want a puzzle game that has the trappings of a combat game, this is for you. "You have 6 turns to complete or you fail the scenario" where you must move where the designers wanted you to move to complete it. If you want an open ended sandbox combat game where you just face off against opponents in tbs combat, this is not for you. It is frustrating because it could have been this too.

To be fair, I never really played a TBS before and I did not hear about this game until a demo was out. (Message to other developer, a demo give more visibility and it cost almost nothing) and it was a pleasant surprise. The mission available caught my interest so I decided to use the money that I kept for Demigod (note, a game with no demo ^^) to get this game. The graphic are superb and colorful. The animation are well done and give a feeling your hero are alive. The story is a bit hard to follow (well for me). I guess it's because I did not play fantasy wars, but in this game, story is not really important. The music is nothing special, but it's not annoying to hear. The US voice acting is also nothing special. No particular voices are memorable. The AI is the best part of the game. Alway challenging, alway ready to hit your weak spot and give you a nightmare. You will alway come back for more. The good AI is even more a precious asset of the game, since the MP is dead. So, for 30$ you got a really good game that will give you hours of pleasure, unlike the kind of rip-off we are getting for 30$ these days, like COH:tale of valor.

Elven Legecy is best thought of as a sequel to Fantasy Wars. The gameplay is almost identical - if I was releasing the game, I would have marketed it as an expansion rather then individually. Combat is hex-based and reminds me strongly of the old 'General' series from SSI. The game is harder and less forgiving of mistakes then many similar games in recent years, but the top level goals are still all obtainable by a skilled player and unlike the goals in some other games, don't involve a lot of pointless grinding - your goals are the same through, the top tier is just based on how effeciently you accomplish them. The story line isn't anything overly impressive, but was reasonably entertaining. Graphics are good enough to get the job done, but didn't 'Wow' me - on the other hand, I'll take a good game with ok graphics over a poor game with fantastic ones any day of the week. There is a good mix of units which are enjoyable to play and the level advancement perks and unit abilities are fun and often offer interesting tactical options. A good selection of artifacts also helps keep things interesting. I do wish that there were more then 5(unit)/10(hero) levels, as I found myself maxing out my units with a fair bit of game left to go. Overall, if you are looking for a tactical challange, this game is for you. If you are looking for a game you can play through quickly and easily... well, it may still be the game for you, but play on easy.

I had originally purchased Fantasy Wars and loved it. Another reviewer is correct in stating that Elven Legacy is basically the same game. But I enjoy Fantasy Wars so much that I basically think of the two as the same game with different units. The animations are fantastic and do rise above Fantasy Wars. Though there are some of the same type of units in both games I found the new units introduced into Elven Legacy to be different in strategy than in Fantasy Wars. The difference in the two games is kind of an "under the hood" sort of change from a tactician standpoint. All seems the same on the surface until you start digging deeper into more complex scenarios and enemies. Game play is basically the same for both games but as some reviewers find this a handicap, I find it earth shatteringly wonderful. I hate constantly learning new "systems". It's a constant and I'm an adult who has better things to do then continually learn new gaming interfaces. I'm getting too old for that. If you've played one of these games and pick up the other you can jump right into playing and barely miss a beat. This series is a strategy game made for huge fans of hex turn based tactical games. I used to do a lot of work for game companies such as TSR, GDW, White Wolf, Avalon Hill, etc. and was exposed to a huge amount of games. For some reason Fantasy Wars and Elven Legacy take me back to those days.

A fantastic game. A hark back to the golden age of TBS games such as Fantasy General, Panzer General et al. Can't understand the complaints that the game is too difficult. Possesses the most challenging AI I have ever played against. Some scenarios are difficult, but I can remember the complaints against other games that didnt provide a decent sort of challenge. Have been playing on Normal and most scenarios are won on Gold, but about 40% are won with silver conditions, but only because Ive tried to win w/o losing a unit. The campaign is blast. The storytelling isnt anything groundbreaking but at it serves its purpose. The breadth of units is great as are the perks that can be awarded to heroes and units. Possesses some real strategy elements, in you really must think long term about what mix of troops you intend to keep, upgrade and how they will fight - so you pick the appropriate perks. Love the range of magic spells. Graphics are excellent and musical score is very good. Am playing on Normal, and intend to play on Hard - which provides a good deal amount of replayability because of the greater challenge to your tactical nous. A great game, hope there is an expansion with more missions.

elven legacy starts out decently but halfway through ie the king victor scenario really sucks and it starts to really bog down and becomes too frustrating to play. if you dont mind having 6 save positions and maximizing each combat individually to get through a scenario then please play on. i rate a 7 until halfway then 4 after that

I purchased both Fantasy War and Elven Legacy at the same time which turned out to be a mistake. They are both good games, because it is *exactly* the same game reissued. The menus, perks, combat systems etc. are identical. Purchase one or the other, not both.