Eador: Masters of the Broken World Released, Reviews
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When you do fight, your hero and army are dropped onto a hex-based tactical map based on the strategic map--wooded strategic areas seemed to have more woods on the tactical map, swampy areas had more swamps, etc. This part of the game is pretty standard TBS tactical combat. Each of your units has attack and defense ratings, some have ranged attacks, there are spells to cast, healing to be done, and lots of other special effects that can affect combat. Your hero is part of the general melee, so having a Warrior that can wade in and deal some damage can really pull your bacon out of the fire.
Combat is not limited to taking over neutral (or enemy) areas, however. Every time you conquer an area it is marked as being only partially explored. It may start at, say, 15 percent explored. Your hero can then take an action to do further exploration on a turn. When this happens, the (explored percentage) of the area goes up, which is nice as the more an area is explored, the more resources it might provide. The other thing that happens is that your hero can find sites to have an adventure in (say, an abandoned temple or a strange-looking cave). The hero and his army can fight the inhabitants of this site to get stuff (magic swords, money) and experience points.
Yes, experience points. Both your hero and his units can get experience points and level up, getting appropriate benefits (increased damage, more hit points, etc). This adds the usual conundrums about quality/quantity, troop rotations, and the like.
And a full review over at Greenlit Gaming:
While the learning curve is definitely steep, the game's tutorial system and campaign does do a great job easing you in. I don't believe Eador was ever meant to be '˜simple', and that's okay. Its greatest virtues are found in its depth and complexity. At the macro level, the game is an armchair-ruler's dream come true as you have to skillfully manage more than just armies. Populations, Provinces, shards, and eventually multiple shards all have to be effectively managed for you to be successful. The storyline will keep you busy for 30 to 120 hours, with branching story arcs and a total of 8 unique endings. Eador brings great empire-management similar to Total War or Civilization, and delivers on the promise of a unique turn-based fantasy experience. It's easy to forget that this game was made by an indie team.
Ultimately, Eador: Masters of the Broken World is a game that is bursting with ambition and higher-order strategy. You won't find a new release out there that can keep you busy for upwards of 100 hours for the modest asking price of $20. You can't even go to a movie and buy a bag of popcorn for that anymore. So I say dive into the world of Eador and unite the cosmos! Just make sure you bring a comfy chair because you'll be in it for a while.
