I'm really loving this game. It's instantly familiar to anyone who's played Heroes of Might & Magic or King's Bounty, but it adds in more personality, more quests, and some randomized events along the way.
One of the big difference is how your party is handled. Each member is a unique character with their own personality and backstory, rather than just faceless soldiers that you replace whenever they get killed. Each member of your army can be upgraded through the use of pooled experience points or new equipment purchased in town.
Towns and villages scattered throughout the world offer you quests, with rewards coming in the form of money generally [which you need to by daily rations for your troops and other things]. It gives you a reason to explore the hidden corners of the world.
There's a lot of dialogue in this game both from people you meet along the way and with your own party. It's not a huge thing, but it definitely adds to the overall experience.
Everything's a bit gray here, story-wise. The people you're working for aren't always altruists and the people you're coming up against aren't always blood-thirsty villains. Part of that is the historical context, with you playing a Spanish conquistador and often having to work with a loathsome local governor. But it all comes down to how you want to handle each situation, the game doesn't seem to push any one play style over another.
The combat is a little too standard, unfortunately. King's Bounty was great in this regard, giving you all kinds of crazy units and letting the main character directly affect the battle through the use of magic spells. Not the case, here, unfortunately. You get melee fighters, archers/riflemen, and healers. And you're fighting pretty much the same kinds of units. Some of that's just the nature of the setting, though, crazy fantasy world versus early 16th century Hispaniola.
My only other complaint so far is that you can't pull back the camera very far in the main field, sometimes making it difficult to see what all is nearby.
But again, I'm really enjoying this game. It's well worth $15 [or $20].
