*Spoiler Free* Despite already owning the gold edition, I decided to buy this for the promise of bug fixes, given how much of a buggy mess the steam version of Faith in Destiny is. First thing, Not all of the bugs are fixed. In fact I have yet to see anything changed from Gold. Some camera issues are still there, and there are still a few typos (eg, the Pact Tower description still says "Tower of the Realm"). Therefore, I have decided to judge this as nothing more than an engine update. It looks shiny. Not 2017 graphical standard, but slightly better than the gold edition. I still love the design of some of the units, particularly the Pact. Gameplay wise, it is a Hybrid RTS/RPG, but I always play in the RTS camera angle. You can equip items and choose abilities to be a warrior, mage, tank, necromancer or a jack of all trades. Its fun. Though the main bulk of your strength is your army itself, the Avatar and the heroes are essential for victory, and good resource/base management is something that needs to be learnt, although not to the extent of Starcraft. This is a lot more casual. The campaign is still fun. The voice acting can be a bit poor at times for minor characters (just listen to Sentry Rottgar in Norimar), however the major characters are fairly decent. The Major characters are fairly interesting, and the story is relatively ok. You will recognize some things from Spellforce 1. Free game is definitely my favorite thing in these games. I don't like how the Dragon storm version starts you at level 15, as I prefer to start from the beginning and work my way up. The Free game isn't exactly balanced for it, as the first few missions can be completed with literally just your Avatar and a few heroes. Meanwhile the normal version, where you start at level 1, doesn't allow you to play the Shaikan. Why could they have just not merged the two? Would I recommend it. Yes. Yes I would. As long as you like the previous spellforce games. Or RPGs AND RTS games.
