Added BIG DOWNLOAD  

I like the opinion of RPG Watch review. The game is really something between 4X games and rpg/tbs hybrid like HoMM and Disciples and fans of these games will enjoy it more than fans of MoM or AoW. I think this game just isn't for hardcore 4X and wargame tbs gamers, they can give it as many chances as possible and still won't like it. The game still needs polish in removing bugs and more improvements in its RPG aspect.

Absolute Games: http://www.ag.ru/reviews/elemental_war_of_magic

58/100

Ending of the review (my translation from russian):

...truth be told, combat is very boring. Seems like the tactic battles that were missed by many in GalCiv 2 were added a month before release.
Because of simplistic mechanics and stuoid AI, player easily eliminates enemies' more powerful armies. It's not amazing that Stardock is not in a hurry to let players into multiplayer, because there's no trace of balance even in single mode. Knowing where to "shortcut", you'll be victorious in few dozens of turns. Alternative to it are painfully long sessions that irritate with program errors and slow work of a poorly optimized engine.
* * *

But there is also another option — to stay away from Elemental. At least until some serious updates, an add-on or release in Russia.
Wardell's credit of trust is depleted, and the thought that Master of Magic, Age of Wonders and Lords of Magic were best avoided until many patches gives little comfort.

Added Gamepro , 3.5/5  

Gameroni: B

Found this from the Three Moves Ahead podcast that Brad was on a few days ago.

I loved the opening paragraph from this review:

Elemental is at its strongest when treated with the same finicky attention to detail and sense of ownership with which people regard RPG characters. The traits and statistics that kingdoms, heroes, and units possess are not trivial window-dressing, but play a major role in shaping strategy. Elemental might offer a variety of pre-made races and units, but it's a better game if you take the time to create exactly what you want. This is a strategy-RPG, and neither element should be ignored. Especially because neither half of the game is strong enough to stand on its own.

This really hits the nail on it's head. Unfortunately, I think this is a major reason why many people are scoring this game so low.  They are coming into the game expecting solely a fantasy 4X not unlike Master of Magic.  They see the RPG aspect as merely window dressing rather than a major component.  I am really having a lot more fun when I actually role-play with my characters, rather than see them as mindless pawns expendable in battle.

If strategy is the mind of Elemental, then role-play is its heart and soul.

Hmm...  I'm pretty sure it's gamebreaking bugs, an AI that's more MIA, non-existant diplomacy, incredibly bland and underpowered magic, a badly broken combat system and a wealth of inconsistancies and errors.

I don't want to beat this poor dead horse yet again, but we really need to be honest with ourselves as Brad and staff have been.  Elemental was a horrid, botched launch.  People aren't turned off because it's avant garde or somehow breaking some sacrosanct law about genre mixing...  it's a muddled mess of half-baked ideas and broken systems.  It has great potential, but potential does NOT sell games, even indie ones.

Potential does sell games to me. I'm willing to take a risk and be part of an evolving project. I knew this was the case here, because it's a Stardock game. Sometimes you have to support a project that is not finished if you want to enable it to reach its full potential. Not everyone is willing to do that, and it's fine -- the world is full of "consumers" without vision, but with plenty of expectations.

Elemental isn't quite the alpha version that you like to describe it as. It is perfectly playable and quite fun. It did need, and does need, a few more weeks and months to fully shine. It is far form unplayable, however. I've spent a bundle of money over the years on truly unfinished games that never actually improved after release. The past few weeks have already demonstrated that Elemental doesn't belong to that category.

Absolutely. I've spent 200$ on Dwarf Fortress already [donations in the last years], because it has a huge potential...but again, not everyone "works" like me I guess..

You miss the point.  You're judging it based solely on the TBS aspect, which the reviewer states cannot stand on it's own without the RPG elements.  And, yes there are many people who buy games purely on potential.  You can count me as one of them.

This.

RPG elements in release are raw, broken and inconsistent just like TBS elements.

New Game Network

40/100

http://www.newgamenetwork.com/article/318/elemental-war-of-magic-review/

Elemental went out of alpha the moment we purchased it...  that's my point.  Numerous beta testers have complained about not seeing the whole picture and major components being missing or broken even into beta 4.  Beta is NOT when you add big parts of the game (or do major revisions on such).

It was not playable for a huge swath of the purchasing public due to game breaking bugs (on ATI systems) or huge issues with gameplay itself.

I can't remember any game in my 30+ years of PC gaming being this broken at launch...  mind you I don't buy dozens of games a year, so I'm sure I've missed some of the more craptacular releases during that time.  But in my experience, Elemental has been the worst single launch I've seen.

I love potential...  *BUT* Joe/Jane Consumer sees the gamebox with all it's glowing promises and awesome screenshots and finds little to nothing of such in the box.  Will he/she stick it out for the 6 months to a year for the game to reach it's stride?  Or just avoid Stardock titles like the plague from here on out?  This doesn't mean that this somewhat fictional entity is "without vision" but is just not interested in believing in a software company that so completely violated their trust and $50 investment.

Not in the slightest.

The RPG elements of Elemental are MUCH of what sold me on it.  And they just aren't there in any meaningful form.

Two "classes" with no special abilities outside of a very one dimensional magic system?  Incredibly unbalanced gear?  If I'd purchased Elemental primarily for the RPG I'd be sorely disappointed.