Eador: Genesis

The one star rating does not reflect the actual gameplay, which might be pretty good, as people keep saying here. There are severe technical issues with the game though, if you are unwilling to spend a lot of time browsing forums and adjusting settings, you may end up with an unplayable game. Do not expect to have this one working with no fuss compared to other GOG titles. Be warned.

I've just bought, downloaded and installed the game. Unfortunately it's unplayable on my pc (win 7 64bit, i5 2550k, 8 GB RAM). When I start the game it feels and sounds as I'd play a game which is run by an emulator like DosBox, except that the cpu cycle settings are _way_ to low. You can actually see how the game skips from on frame to the next, the music sounds like the ring tone of an 80's mobile and the cursor lags in its movement with like 1 second delay. I've tried to get info about this issue in two forums, but to no avail. One forum is in russian (with an rather empty english section, but the register link seems to be in russian again), and the other was in english, but with even less content. You can give it a try if you feel lucky, but for me this game just means 5 wasted bucks.

No, seriously, I did. I've dumped hundreds of hours into Eador since I bought it and I am completely addicted. I've restarted the game about a dozen times (the learning curve, especially mid-game, is very steep) and this game is all I do. This is the best turn based strategy game I've ever played (besides maybe Divinity: Original Sin) and it puts more expensive games like the new X-Com to shame. I can best describe it as Heroes of Might and Magic mixed with Civilization - and it was developed by one guy. Amazing. I haven't played the newer ones, but I don't think I'll need to - I'll be playing this game for a few more weeks until I beat it. It's gloriously deep, with hundreds of rare items to discover, diverse enemies and encounters, and no level is ever the same. I'm playing on the third difficulty level - competent - and it is very, very hard. This game alternates between frustrating the daylights out of me and incredible satisfaction (once I crush the previously uncrushable enemies). Again, it takes a while to find good strategies, so this isn't for the easily frustrated. It took me a good two weeks to figure out the optimal starting strategy (I haven't looked online for hints 'cause I don't want to spoil anything). For a translated game (from Russian) the script is surprisingly good. The dialogue is often hilarious - your gremlin henchman provides excellent comic relief - and the story is interesting. Like the rest of the game, the story takes a while to get moving, but it's worth the wait. In conclusion, if you like turn-based strategy and are willing to sink a lot of time into a highly addictive game, you can do no better than Eador: Genesis.

I had fun playing Eador. For a few maps. Soon enough it became apparent as I played through the campaign that it would take me months of my life to complete it all and that each and every map I was just doing the exact same things. As far as I have gotten it has been super easy to just steamroll over the enemy after getting established. As soon as the balance of power tips in your favor the rest of the map is just plain boring as you then have to mop up in order to move on. It all just got so boring and tedious so quickly and I don't think I will ever go back to it. This is not to say that the game is bad. I did like it in general. It just does not even come close to being fun enough or contain enough variety to justify the length of the campaign. The music is good and the battles are fun (until you realize that auto-combat takes way more losses than you do and that you will have to manually handle all of the hundreds of combats throughout each map). In case it helps anyone make a decision, I love Age of Wonders series (1, 2, and SM). I have tried HoMM IV and Disciples II and they were only average to me. I also love Civ II and got bored quickly with Civ IV.

I've got the game as a free copy and at the time just quickly overlooked it. Didn't even install it - but considered it a trash. What a dumb bum I was. Thanks to whoever gifted me the game. It's a true masterpiece combining the best assets of RPG strategies with great writing and a charm. The story seems a bit weird but from the beginning there is the questionmark which drives you to continue. This alongside the great and fun gameplay (again a combination: turn based combat, managment on multiple levels, RPG elements, leveling and so much on) creates an amazing experience. Best game I've got on this platform.