AoW3 is for me the best fantasy 4x experience you can get to this point and in the near future. i loved age of wonders - shadow magic (AoW 2.5) and had clocked many hours into the game. this new entry is loaded with depth, known from older titles with all its beloved core features. it also adds some nice new mechanics like classes, some improvements to tactical combat (flanking, opportunity attacks, etc.) and wonderful 3D visuals! the AI right now is very good, which for me is one big factor if a strategy, more importantly a 4x game is worth the buy. lets be honest, multiplayer is nice but most 4x lovers play singleplayer because they like epic campaigns and that is exactly what you get here. the random map generator gives out maps which just look awesome and could very well be made by hand which shows the degree of effort they put into these feature to present organic and believable playgrounds. the customization in this game is wonderful, starting with the many options of customization for the maps to advanced gameplay rules and not even ending at the superb character designer where you can create your leader after your liking.
