First of all, I'd like to thank you for opening this forum. It's good to know that the people waiting for the English release of this game are looked after.
I've been playing computer games for more than 15 years now, and I've also had the pleasure to get my hands on a few published by 1C (games made by different developers - e.g. the game Perimeter is still one of my favorites). Although PC is a high-end configuration which is awaiting to fulfill its purpose with games like Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3, I also keep an eye out for less hyped games that are fun and deserve to be played with.
That's how I stumbled upon Fantasy Wars. I've picked up the demo from FilePlanet one day as I was bored after work, and it blowed me away. The game is innovative, provides a lot of fun and the atmosphere is great.
Similar games, like the Heroes of Might and Magic series, King's Bounty (which will have a sequel in a couple of months) or Age of Wonders as in turn-based strategies are all familiar to me and they are one my favorites. It just takes a lot of time to play with them, and I don't have 4-6 hours each day anymore.
The idea is really great to separate the combat (tactic) from the rest (strategy), and because it's turn-based, it still retains it's own deep level of strategy. Okay, we've seen war-games before (Close Combat series for example) but none of them where this fun and easy to play, complex in the background with a fantasy theme for years and years now.
Seems like you are blending every good aspect of turn-based strategy games. Units can gain levels, there are towns and cities to be taken, groups have skills and perks, the number of units can be really seen, there are small quests to complete with various bonuses, hero units, spells and the list could go on and on. All this and now we are finally allowed to only focus on the combat and on the battlefield itself.
Let's start with the graphics. It's not next-gen that requires a Duo Core and a GeForce 8 series but there is no need for that in these kind of games. The scenery is absolutely gorgeous, the colors are vibrant and alive, everything is there to make the player relax and enjoy it. The units are nice to watch as well, so far they all look fine, and most importantly, kind of 'realistic' in what people would expect from fictious monsters would look like. The battle between two parties are detailed well. To say the least, I'd say the graphics are what I would expect from such a game.
The sounds are okay but they need more kick to it. The music is very nice, but the units' noises and responses - well there aren't any. Only while there is a cut-scene. Groups fighting with each other have some grounting noises but they that's almost impossible to hear. The battles should be more convincing in this aspect, make the fighting and the units' attack and taunts noisy, as you would expect from two parties clashing and killing the enemies in a fierce battle. The sounds need a but of adjusting and tweaking in my opinion, just to have the combat (which is one of the most important aspects of this game) more feeling to it.
Gameplay is the hardest to rate, I wrote a couple of positive things about it in the beginning of my post. To be honest, I wouldn't change anything at all. I like everything I've seen and experienced so far and I don't know how I could change it to make it better (if you can make it better, that is) without losing anything or messing with the balance. The 3 factions should suffice as well, hopefully there are a lot of maps to play in multiplayer. The map editor is a nice feature and gesture. There are multiplayer modes like internet play, LAN and hot-seat and that should suffice.
In the end, I like to thank you for reading this looong story-like review through, and I am especially grateful that you made sure that the game supports Windows Vista and has widescreen resolutions that don't distort or stretch the screen in any way. Everything works brilliant.
Fantasy Wars really warms my heart, we rarely see games that are fun and entertaining but won't get frustrating at the same time. I have no idea about the release date of the English version (heard rumors about November, well I hope that's true) but I'm sure to buy one as soon as it hits the shelves.
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