A site called The Koalition has an Under the Radar series that has now covered Elven Legacy in what is essentially a review:

The AI in this game is absolutely brutal! It seems that no matter how much you think you’re in control of a battle, the AI seems to have a few tricks up its sleeve. You may have wiped out a number of enemy units with your men, next thing you know a larger wave of enemies comes out from nowhere and cripples your units! Even if you outnumber them, the level of your units and the perks attained determine the outcome of a clash between units. In addition, the odds are drastically in favour of the AI, where more enemy units are hidden in the fog of war, outnumbering your army 2:1. You will need some quick, strategic thinking in order to measure up to these odds.

Resolution Magazine's reviewer for Elven Legacy: Magic sounds tired before he even begins.  The score is 5/10 and here's the opening:

I prophesied that Elven Legacy: Magic would reduce grown men to tears if it continued to up the ante as far as difficulty was concerned. I was right. Somebody somewhere also said familiarity breeds contempt, and it certainly rings true when it comes to this game.

Yet again, Elven Legacy: Magic is a very similar game to the previous two expansion packs. Yet again, the only real difference is that it feels even harder than ever. So these words are all a bit pointless. Ultimately, it comes down this: did you enjoy Elven Legacy, and are you desperate for more hardcore battle? If the answer is yes, then you know what to do: go and download Magic.

Hooked Gamers offers a review of Elven Legacy: Siege, with a score of 7.1/10:

Then again, I wasn't expecting the storyline progression to change compared to Elven Legacy (or Fantasy Wars before that -Ed). What I was hoping for, however, were subtle changes that would improve the Turn-Based gameplay of the original. Unfortunately, there are none. Pretty much everything from the original game has been recycled. The units, maps, towns and objects have all been copy pasted over from the original and so has the sound. And it doesn't stop at the cosmetics. The actual gameplay is completely the same as well.

Exactly the same? Well, almost. Where the original game could be incredibly challenging at times, Siege's missions border on the impossible when played on normal level. Completionists will likely feel undone even at the "easy" setting as even then you are hard pressed to take over every town and explore every ruin on the map. This may sound like a complaint, but it actually adds to the sense of urgency that your troops experience as they pursue Sagittel's flight across the country. I found I enjoyed the game a whole lot more once I got into the 'speed is of the essence' theme of the game. Suddenly, the need for exploration dropped off my 'to do' list, letting me go straight towards my goal.

Gamepex has reviewed the third and last Elven Legacy expansion, Magic.  The score is 68% and here's a late quote:

If you are reading this review as an experienced Elven Legacy warrior in order to deduce whether it is worth $9.99 of your hard earned cash, you have most likely already made your decision. I cannot imagine any fan of the series not investing in this game. Those that have shown the resolve necessary to complete the prerequisite campaigns should partake in this edition for the sheer sense of accomplishment inherent in the epic’s conclusion. For those new to the series, I would recommend this expansion pack only if they enjoyed the first game for its game-play elements and care little about the Elven Legacy plotline.

Our own Mike Anderson has penned reviews of all three Elven Legacy expansions for VGBlogger.  The pros and cons are broadly similar for each and the result across all three is "buy it" recommendation.  Links and a sample from the first...

• Ranger review
• Siege Review
• Magic Review

Many folks I spoke to had issues with the overall difficulty of the original (as well as disliking the time limits), and they should be happy that Ranger makes things a bit more approachable. You will still often require more than one attempt to complete a mission, but things have definitely been dialed back. Well … except for the beginning, since as I mentioned you start the game alone and can easily get killed if take the wrong approach. You really need to stop and think before making choices - get the lay of the land, then start your turns.

Elven Legacy: Ranger does what it is supposed to do: smooths out the wrinkles of the original game somewhat, adds on new content and characters, and provides a good sized campaign at a decent price. As an added bonus, all of the little decisions you get to make can result in significantly different repeated playthroughs. So if you enjoyed the original game by all means grab this now! You won’t regret it!

Gamepex writes in about their review of Elven Legacy, which sports a score of 70% (and, oddly, a screen "borrowed" from IGN).  They criticse the dull tutorial levels and settle for the "you'll like it if you like this sort of thing" summary:

That is not to say the game is disappointing. Fans of the fantasy war game subgenre should be pleased with the overall quality and depth of strategy inherent to Elven Legacy. For those who appreciate more realistic war games, as I do, Elven Legacy is a great distraction while your latest copy of Empire Total War streams at snail’s pace off of Steam’s servers. The game also lacks a definitive multi-player feature. Sure, the option is on the title screen, but there is no one on the Elven Legacy server looking for action. Those searching for a completely immersive Fantasy RPG war game may want to look somewhere else. Getting past the game’s opening bugs is a difficult undertaking. However, if you are a more casual gamer who can appreciate a game for what it is, rather than what it’s not, Elven Legacy can be the perfect escape from your work, your nagging parents, your dog that craps everywhere, or those younger versions of you that live in your house and keep referring to you as “Daddy I’m hungry.”

Armchair General posts a review of Siege, the second in the trilogy of expansions released for Paradox Entertainment's and 1C's Fantasy Wars sequel,  Elven Legacy, giving a detailed look at the game and a score of 89%:

The evil AI is very clever, using numerous trash units to kill off weakened enemies. Strong units are held back near objectives to stall a drive. The AI can make life miserable by using villages as strongpoints that cover each other. In Siege, an apparently unseen wizard creates spells and new troops out of thin air. No mission is easy. Hot seat, LAN and Internet play are also available.

Siege’s campaign is the usual step-by-step progress, picking up clues and talking to people before destroying the baddy. Surviving members of armies are carried over after missions. Players can choose where to start the next mission. Such considerations seem secondary to the tactical considerations. Positioning troops and moving units to and from reserves are the heart of this game, one that should thrill all gamers.

A review of the Elven Legacy expansion, Siege, can be found at Resolution Magazine.  The score is a low 5/10, because of the punishing difficulty:

For the Elven Legacy fan, there is a lot to enjoy here. Much like Ranger, this expansion pack is modestly priced while still offering plenty of content in the form of 19 new campaign missions and three new heroes to control at various points. The storyline is the typical sort of tale that has been told a thousand times before, full of warring elves and irritated humans. The graphical style is still uniquely old school, yet charming and intricately detailed.

But ultimately, it’s only fans of the previous titles that will love Siege. It doesn’t change the formula at all; it simply provides more challenging missions than ever for those masochistic types who’ve come to adore the series so much. Edging towards frustrating for everyone else, just don’t contemplate going near it if you like your strategy games to be of the tamer sort. You’ll only have nightmares.

The third and final installment in the trilogy of expansions for Paradox Interactive's fantasy turn based strategy sequel to Fantasy Wars, Elven Legacy has been released for digital download. This one's entitled Magic, and follows Ranger and Seige in the series of themed campaigns, offering 15 new missions and a new spellcasting main character.

You can read the full press release here at the game's homepage as well as over at the non-Flash Paradox Interactive site.

So far the expansions are available for download only and you must have the original game in order to play. There's also a demo available here for Elven Legacy for those interested.

The second of three mini expansions for Elven Legacy has been released.  Here is the PR for Siege, which is available from GamersGate:

The War Continues with Elven Legacy: Siege

NEW YORK - November 17, 2009
The epic saga continues! Prepare for battle as Paradox Interactive gets set to brandish the second explosive expansion pack in the Elven Legacy Trilogy, Elven Legacy: Siege, releasing today.

Several months have passed since the events of Elven Legacy: Ranger. Outcast elves, living under the leadership of the elven Lord Saggitel, have once more acted provocatively and dared to cross into the realm of man. Yet, the human armies await. Inciting the wrath of the fearsome knight of the Holy Inquisition, along with the agent of New Tixus, the ranger Cornelius, Saggitel is now the target of retribution. How far can Saggitel run before he is caught up to?

Stand in battle with a fierce army behind you and withstand mighty sieges in your quest for survival and victory. The ancient impregnable fortresses of the dwarves, the enchanted cities of the elves, and the historic capital cities of Eolia, all set the stage for historic battles that will forever be remembered.

Key Features:

• 19 new campaign missions
• The outcome of mission quests will directly impact subsequent missions
• Two different armies and three new heroes
• Bonus mission (becomes available after Gold ranked victories)

Watch the release trailer here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K8vqOsnak4

Elven Legacy: Siege requires the original game, Elven Legacy, and is exclusively available for digital download at all major digital download portals for a suggested retail price of $9.99 and €9.99.

For current Elven Legacy promotions, go to
http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-ELVEN/elven-legacy

Gamers Nexus weren't impressed with Elven Legacy: Ranger, saying the expansion has potential but lacks the design required to bring it out.  The score is a harsh 58% and here's an excerpt:

The Good: Graphics are fun and somewhat cartoony, making it hard not to laugh while your units get skewered on pikes. Music and sound effects are above average, but nothing spectacular. Strategy is intense and immersive, making for a solid game if you have someone to play it with.

The Bad: Doesn't deliver at the level that other games of this genre have in the past. Graphics, writing, and audio are nothing special. No chance of multiplayer matches unless you have friends you can invite to play with you. AI is initially challenging, but becomes easier and easier to trick as you get better, meaning the game will not have a very long lifespan without strong online competition.

I suspecty this might be a little controversial.  Paradox has announced a trilogy of expansions for Elven Legacy, with Ranger, Siege and Magic all due to be released a month apart starting late October:

Gaming's epic fantasy trilogy is upon us!

NEW YORK – September 29th 2009 – Great fictional moments come in threes. Now gaming has its own in the form of the Elven Legacy Trilogy, three epic expansion packs for the Fantasy Strategy title Elven Legacy from Paradox Interactive, releasing in October, November and December 2009.

Continuing the intense tale of a world that pits elf against human, the first of the trilogy, Ranger, is set to release on October 20th and will feature 16 new campaign missions, two new main heroes, along with new artifacts and spells.

Fans will then only have a month to wait for the middle chapter, Siege, which will follow on November 17th and will contain 19 new campaign missions (as well as additional unlockable bonus missions), two different armies and three new heroes.

The concluding chapter in this epic saga, Magic, will then be available on December 1st and will comprise of 15 new mission campaigns (along with a bonus mission), a new hero and the return of some older heroes, additional tactical possibilities, and new spells and magical artifacts.

Ranger, Siege and Magic will be exclusively available for digital download at all major digital download portals for a suggested retail price of €9.99 and $9.99. For current Elven Legacy promotions, go to http://www.direct2drive.com/7857/product/Buy-Elven-Legacy-Download.

Our own Mike Anderson pops up at VGBlogger for a review of Fantasy Wars: Elven Legacy.  The rating is "Try it" and here's a bit on needing to be efficient:

That is correct - it is possible to eventually control the entire world but fail to capture the mage and therefore fail at your task. This ties into the overall sense of success and failure throughout the game. At the end of each stage you get a rating - this is fairly typical in a strategy-RPG game, but in Elven Legacy it has broader implications than in most other games. I have read rants by folks about this, but really, it is so thoroughly integrated into the game I cannot see the point of the complaints. The bottom line is this - you need to complete your missions quickly and efficiently. If you do so you are rewarded with bonus missions, if not you are penalized by not only missing out on added content but also suffering potential loss of the main game. Unlike Fantasy Wars which had four shorter campaigns, Elven Legacy has a three longer ones, making your choices even more important.

PR straight from Paradox Interactive:

E3 2009: Elven Legacy: Ranger Expansion Announced!

E3 2009 LOS ANGELES – June 5th 2009 – During E3 Paradox Interactive announced an expansion pack for Elven Legacy, the Fantasy Strategy Wargame for the PC developed by Russian studio 1C: Ino-CO. With the announcement, Paradox also revealed new facts, features, and screenshots.

Expanded Storyline
The Order of Marcus, long dormant in its isolation, is expanding. The renowned ranger Cornelius, armed with his spear and trained in the arts of subterfuge, has been tasked with preparing the world of Illis for the coming of the order.

New Features
Ranger Cornelius possesses a holy spear that can apply special powers to his attacks. In Elven Legacy, each unit's operation could only be performed once per turn - one move and one attack. Ranger Cornelius can now use special attributes of his sacred spear without losing his turn. For example, he can activate a paralysing stroke and then throw the spear at the enemy. The enemy unit will not only suffer damage from the attack, but they will also be unable to move during the enemy’s turn.

The order of completing the missions will now affect future events in the game. There will be only one final ending, but there are several ways to reach the finale.

Additional new features in Elven Legacy: Ranger:
• 16 new missions
• 3 new heroes
• 5 unique artifacts
• 12 new spells

Elven Legacy: Ranger is an expansion for the war game Elven Legacy. Elven Legacy: Ranger is scheduled for release in Q3 2009 through all major digital download outlets for a suggested retail price of $9.99 / €9.99.

ComputerGames.ro has reviewed Elven Legacy, with unit variety and AI praised while uneven difficulty and factions are criticised.  The score is 76% and here's a snip:

In order to show explain to our enemies the error of their ways, we have a vast number of units at our disposal, this being one of the game’s strong points. We have archers, infantry, cavalry, mages, rogues and, of course, wizards and heroes. The gold needed to recruit these units can be obtained by accomplishing main and secondary objectives, as well as sometimes defeating one big, ugly enemy.

Each unit has its own values for attack strength, defense, movement points as well as special abilities. Furthermore, each one can advance in level if they performed well in combat, thus gaining access to further enhancements. Each level-up offers you a choice from three abilities, which vary from a range upgrade for archers to a powerful charge for cavalry. However, you can only raise a normal unit to level five, as only heroes can level up to ten, which makes them more powerful and flexible.

2404.org has a review of Fantasy Wars: Elven Legacy; here's the intro, which outlines their view:

The first and last thing you can say about this game is that it’s got itself figured out.  There aren't any weird gameplay experiments, cryptic bugs, inexplicable features, or absurd plot twists.  It's a hex-based fantasy-themed turn-based strategy (TBS) game, and it's perfectly fine with that.  That might sound too typical or even boring, but to be honest it's rare to find a game as sure of itself as this one.  Most games don't quite know where they are or what their ultimate purpose is supposed to be, but Elven Legacy suffers from no such problems.  It's been developed to give you a solid fantasy TBS experience, and that's exactly what it does. 

The beta patch for Elven Legacy we reported a while back appears to be official now.  You can get it from the official site, or they have a list of mirrors.

Casual gaming site Gamersinfo.net posts a scoreless but generally favorable review of Paradox Interactive's and 1C-InoCo's Fantasy Wars sequel, Elven Legacy.

Here's their take on the combat:

Combat is simple yet complex. You move your melee units next to the adversary you want to attack; your pointer then turns to an attack symbol as you move it over the enemy; then you click to begin the fight. Ranged fighters can shoot over melee units, and depending on the perk chosen will fire at longer ranges. Airships need to fly to their objective and will drop bombs initially. As you achieve perks you can give the airships ranged attacks as well. The complexity of the combat is in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each. As you have a limited number of units on the landscape it is important to apply measures that ensure they will carry over to the next act of the campaign.

News from the Paradox forums of a beta Elven Legacy patch, although apparently it isn't compatible with the Impulse version (a developer makes some interesting comments about the Impulse installation, though).  Here's the short patch notes, courtesy of a poster on the forum:

• Russian voice in tutorials was changed to English
• The amount of Video Memory is now detected correctly on Windows Vista 32 bit and 64 bit
• The Advanced Tutorial mission doesn’t crash the game when played
• Final movie sequence is now correct
• Fixed image quality issues when FSAA (full-screen anti-aliasing) is on in Windows video driver options
• Opening Mission map (“M” keyboard shortcut) doesn’t lead to crash

Shack has taken a look at the Elven Legacy demo in one of those articles where the author starts off by saying they don't really play that genre.  The score appears to be 50% and here's the conclusion:

As bad as I am at strategy games, this one still seemed especially hard, and especially for a demo level. There were simply an enormous number of enemy units, most of them hidden from sight until I was right on top of them. I did really like that specialized units could be made even more specialized by earning skills and abilities, but otherwise this seems to be a fairly standard strategy title, set in a fairly standard fantasy world, which I failed at in a fairly standard manner.

InoCo has released a demo for Fantasy Wars: Elven Legacy, containing the tutorial and one mission.  Head over to this page on the official site for a list of mirrors (700Mb).

Thanks, screeg!

It's nice to see a positive review from a major site, with GameSpot awarding Elven Legacy 7.5/10:

While the awful tutorial feels like a bad dream, the gameplay is engaging and satisfying, with an appropriately challenging difficulty curve as you progress through the single-player campaign. Elven Legacy is a wargame, but like with Panzer General, you can jump in and enjoy it even if you've never seen a hex grid before. Your army consists of melee units, archers, cavalry, siege weapons, and more-fantastic troops like mages and dragons. Each unit gets one action (attacking, casting a spell, or using an item) plus one movement per turn, and this simple formula adds up to lots of different tactics to consider. For instance, will you move your archers into an exposed position so that they can attack an injured foe, or will you use them to attack a closer enemy so that they'll be able to retreat afterwards?

Fantasy Wars: Elven Legacy has been reviewed at GameShark, who awarded a score of "B", saying "generic" turn-based gaming is better than none at all.  On difficulty and AI:

Those battles are monstrously rough, however. The AI is fairly good at exploiting weak spots and attacking weakened units which are on the verge of death but the design itself assumes you are the Elven Legacy version of Patton because it throws wave after wave of bad guys at you. I’ve been playing these types of games for well over a decade and I had to resort to playing on the Easy level, which seemed about right from a challenge perspective. It’s a brutally tough game.

The AI is tough and makes for a seriously challenging game but it would be nice if more info was presented to you while a battle is raging. There's no visual identifier as to how many points of strength a unit takes after a scrum or even if a unit dies -- you need to keep track of this yourself. Even as spells start flying around the field it's tough to figure out who is doing what and the camera tends to zip around making it even more confusing. When a high rank unit dies I’d like to know aside from realizing, "Hey where'd my archers go?"

GameOver gives Fantasy Wars a score of 71%, citing a "tedious" campaign and difficulty:

The campaign that comes with Elven Legacy consists of 10 missions. You control the elves in all of these missions, and your army gains power and is carried along with you as you progress. In a couple of places, the campaign branches, giving you options for how you want to proceed, and if you play some of missions well enough, then you unlock bonus missions that can give your army special artifacts to use (heroes can carry three artifacts, while regular stacks can only carry one). The elves fight all of the other races during the campaign, including the elves, and so the campaign sort of acts like a tour of what the game has available.

Unfortunately, I found the campaign to be a little tedious. All of the missions are timed, you’re always wildly outnumbered, and because your army is saved with you, you have to be very careful during the battles to make sure that none of your stacks gets eliminated (because you probably won’t be able to afford to replace them, or you won’t have time to build a new stack up). That means you have to do a lot of saving and loading during each mission, which isn’t a lot of fun. I also thought it was a little boring that there isn’t anything to manage other than your army, and that the mission maps aren’t very large. The missions are mostly just fixed skirmishes rather than having any range or scope.

GameSNAFU dropped us a line to point out their review of Elven Legacy, which sports the score of 4/5:

Beyond the campaign there is the standard multiplayer head to head play and a few standalone missions for some additional encounters. We didn't notice any major technical problems or crashes though on occasion when starting a new level the frame rate would be very low temporarily. Tabbing out of the game and back in would also result in a gray progress bar that would take longer to finish loading than the actual installation of the product so alt tabbers beware. Overall Elven Legacy plays very similarly to Fantasy Wars and to past classic games such as Panzer General albeit with a fantasy setting. It isn't as hard as those two games but its difficulty on even normal settings along with turn limitations serve as a hindrance that will hopefully be addressed. That said fans of turn based strategy games will adore this game as its significant variety of units, well designed maps, tactical choices such as terrain placement and unit advancement all combine into a very enjoyable product.

Another mediocre score for Fantasy Wars: Elven Legacy with AceGamez awarding 6/10 in their review.  Points were deducted for being too similar to the original game, which isn't a drawback for those of us who waited for this version:

Due to its familiarity and the fact that there are not a vast number of additions to Elven Legacy over the original Fantasy Wars - the only really new things are the Elves and mission choices - I cannot really recommend Elven Legacy to players of Fantasy Wars. However, as a game in its own right, the rich graphics, the suitably easy to pick up gameplay and the well conceived story do combine to result in a decent game. However, problems such as the poor audio, the underachieving multiplayer and the fairly short campaign length, as well as the 'leftovers' from Fantasy Wars, do drag down what is otherwise an enjoyable experience, meaning that Elven Legacy does not reach the dizzying heights of must play status, but is still worth a try and provides a strong foundation to build upon - I just hope that next time around, the structure uses a modified schematic rather than just sporting a fresh coat of paint.

Paradox sends over this PR with official dates for Elven Legacy:

Paradox Announces Release Date for Elven Legacy

NEW YORK – April 2nd 2009 - Paradox Interactive today announced the release date for their highly anticipated turn based Fantasy Wargame for the PC, Elven Legacy will be April 7th in the US and April 9th in Europe.

Elven Legacy sends players on an epic quest aimed to restore the former glory of the Elven race. With a thrilling non-linear storyline and tools that allow players to create their own missions and share them in multiplayer mode, Elven Legacy will provide hours of exciting game play for strategy fans.

Elven Legacy will be published worldwide by Paradox Interactive and will also be available on all leading digital download portals for a suggested retail price of $29.99 / €29.99.

For more information, go to http://www.elven-legacy.com

Courtesy of GameBanshee comes notice of the first two Fantasy Wars: Elven Legacy Reviews.  First up, Boomtown is critical of the lack of innovation, although there's no real criticism of the actual turn-based combat gameplay.  The score is 6/10 and here's an early snip:

No new ground has been forged in terms of story here, with the same tired old fantasy clichés intact. The campaign story focuses on a company of elven warriors lead by Lord Saggitel as they cross a continent in pursuit of a mage possessing powerful forbidden magic. The plot seems entirely superfluous to the gameplay and isn't helped by poor writing and voice acting. In addition, each mission seemed to consist of “kill this commander, capture this town” objectives that deviate little as you advance in chapters. Progress through the game's story offers you some flexibility via a branching mission tree which permanently locks out missions that you avoid, but this has little effect on your long term goal.

On the other hand, Hooked Gamers liked the story, praises the UI and awards 8/10:

All in all, my honest impression is that Elven Legacy is little more than a re-wrapped Fantasy Wars with new units, new storyline and improved graphics. There is nothing wrong with that, however, as the game offers solid, good fun for any fan of strategy in a fantasy setting. Still, it might have been interesting to see some more ambition from the developers: bigger maps, larger armies, supply routes etc. that would take the game more towards being a real strategy game. The main story is there merely to bind the individual battle maps together and offers little in the way of true penmanship. Above all, I would have liked to see more choices left to the player. Being able to just choose blindly between two optional routes on the main map from one encounter to the next is not really giving the player any choice.

Paradox sent out the following PR, announcing a new gameplay trailer for the now-Gold Elven Legacy.  The clip is hosted on Youtube and the link is at the bottom of this spiel:

War is Upon us! Elven Legacy heralds a call-to-arms

Elven Legacy in game trailer and presentation released today

GDC San Francisco March 25th 2009 - To mark the prelude to war, Paradox Interactive is honored to release it's latest trailer showcasing a selection of battle ready units, from the forthcoming fantasy, turn-based strategy title – Elven Legacy.

Calling all you heroes of fantasy. The time has come once more! Unsheathe your swords. Ready your shields. Unsling your bows. For across the once peaceful lands of Eiola, the storm clouds of war have begun to stir. Whether it be deep beneath the Northlands of the reclusive Dwarves. Across the evergreen forests canopies of the mysterious Elves, or throughout the bustling towns of the Human Empire.

Swordsman, axeman, archer, spearman or knight, warriors one and all, rally in response to the sound of drum and horn. Even within the inhospitable wastelands of the Orc tribes, they to gather in readiness and what's more, what manner of creature lies hidden in the countless dark caves that populate the dangerous wildlands.

Maybe these savage beasts be recruited to fight for the cause!?

Time is ticking, as the sands of peace run down. So make haste and unfurl the blood-splattered regimental banners from long ago and make ready.... For war is upon us!

Click on the following link, to view the trailer :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDxYCHMVSts

To watch a game presentation from earlier this year, please click here;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-7Ea3iCvOM

Read more at: http://www.elven-legacy.com

GameDaily's Big Download is reporting Fantasy Wars: Elven Legacy has gone Gold:

Paradox Interactive is staying busy this week with news announcements. Today it revealed that one of its games, Elven Legacy, has gone gold and will be made available both via download and in retail stores in April.

Looking at Paradox's GamersGate service, they have the date listed as April 7th.

InoCo has their seventh dev diary for Eleven Legacy, discussing interface improvements:

One of the main goals we set when developing Elven Legacy was to bring wargames closer to players, to make the genre popular not only among hardcore fans but also casual gamers who are not aware of such a wonderful genre as hex-based wargames.

This would have been impossible without a simple and intuitive interface. We already made a rather convenient interface while working on the Fantasy Wars series, but some aspects seemed to be less than ideal. During the development of Elven Legacy’s interface, we turned our attention to those details. After receiving feedback from players, we understood what we needed to take into consideration.

Paradox sent over this PR, announcing a proper website for Elven Legacy:

Paradox Interactive Debuts Elven Legacy Website

New Site Features Detailed Information on the Storyline and Characters for the Upcoming PC Strategy Title

NEW YORK - March 6, 2009

Paradox Interactive today debuted the official website for Elven Legacy, the upcoming fantasy strategy game developed by 1C:Ino-Co.

The site features in-depth profiles on the heroes of Elven Legacy, including Lord Sagittel and Gylven, and descriptions of the wide variety of battle units available to players. The online galleries include new concept art, screenshots, videos, in-game clips and wallpaper. The site also features the Elven Legacy developer diaries written by lead game designer Max Bodrikov of Ino-Co.

Fans can also keep informed on the latest updates about Elven Legacy by visiting the news section and subscribing to the RSS feed.

To experience the Elven Legacy website, please visit:
http://www.elven-legacy.com

For those who enjoyed the turn-based fantasy/strategy title Fantasy Wars, Strategy Informer posts a preview of the stand alone sequel from Russian developer 1c-Ino-Co and  Paradox Interactive, Elven Legacy, which includes some new screenshots and a brief developer Q & A:

Originally inspired by Fantasy General, Elven Legacy is a direct sequel to Fantasy Wars and as such continues within the fantasy world of Illis, utilising the same sort of aesthetic and HUD. While the two games look superficially almost identical, there are a number of new features and subtle refinements beneath the surface. The AI has been vastly improved for starters putting a far greater emphasis on tactics and winning battles through your own careful strategic planning rather than sheer strength in numbers..

...Each unit and hero character possesses their very own special abilities too, which can be developed through gaining experience points in true RPG style.

Elven Legacy also includes a map editor and an expanded multi-player campaign, and is on track for a March release in Europe. Worthplaying quotes an April release, presumably for NA.

Worthplaying catches us up on the development of 1C-Ino-co's standalone sequel to their fantasy TB strategy title, Fantasy Wars, entitled Elven Legacy, with two developer diaries from designer Max Bodrikov. The third in the series is on the level up system and hero perks:

Although Elven Legacy is a turn-based war game, it has many features of an RPG. One of the most visible of these features is the ability to level up. Each unit, even the shabbiest, gains experience and will eventually level up. With each level, the military characteristics of the unit grow. And what’s most important is that you can choose one of three new perks for each unit. Perks give units special abilities, allowing you to adjust your men for a specific combat task.

and the fourth is on the mission and campaign editor.

Hooked Gamers takes a look at a preview build of 1C-Ino-co's stand alone sequel to their turn-based fantasy strategy game Fantasy Wars, Eleven Legacy, and posts some positive comments:

Combat is simple, but hardly straightforward. The maps are richly detailed and contain hills, plains, forests, swamps, rivers, settlements and fortifications. Each of these terrain types has an effect on both the attack and defensive capabilities of units. So far, it still sounds straightforward, but the skills and perks that you award to your units add a bit of variety to the mix. One perk could add a +2 defensive bonus on hilly terrain while another gives you a defensive bonus within urban areas...

Occasionally the game takes a sidestep from playing as the elves, allowing you to play with a different race. During these missions, you see the storyline from a different perspective, giving you a broader view that would not be possible without it. While Elven Legacy is a tough game to begin with playing as the elves, these sidestep missions are perhaps the toughest of all due to unfamiliarity with the skills and characteristics of the units. They do offer a welcome change of scenery however.

Conclusion:

I have had tremendous fun playing Elven Legacy and that was even despite the fact that all the voice work was still in Russian in the preview build. The story twists and turns numerous times and sometimes has you wonder if you are playing the good guys, or the bad guys. An oft-heard complaint about Fantasy Wars was that it was too old-school but to me that is one of its strengths. Elven Legacy continues in the same vein and I for one am delighted that it is.

GamersHell adds nine screens to their gallery for IC-Ino-co's standalone sequel to Fantasy Wars, Elven Legacy. You can view them here.

For those who played Fantasy Wars, there's a developer diary up at Strategy Informer on 1C-Ino-Co's sequel, Elven Legacy. You can check it out here.

GamersHell has posted an annoucement that Paradox Interactive has signed Elven Legacy, a stand-alone add-on for 1C:Ino-Co's fantasy turn-based strategy title with rpg elements, Fantasy Wars. Here's a snip from the press release:

New York, USA (August 13, 2008) – Leading PC strategy publisher Paradox Interactive today announced a new release for late summer. The Fantasy Strategy game Elven Legacy isdeveloped by experienced studio 1C:Ino-Co, and is scheduled for a late summer release.

Elven Legacy delivers a world filled with magic, and a thrilling nonlinear storyline, gauged to provide many hours of gameplay for strategy enthusiasts. Through an epic quest to restore the former glory of the Elven race, this fantasy strategy game offers both depth and scope, all in colorful and inspirational settings.

Play as an elf or a human, in the two primary campaigns – or why not the Orcs, in a wide variety of bonus missions? With the accompanying tools, players may also create their own missions and campaigns, and share them through multiplayer.

"This is one of the best-looking TBS games I've seen in a long time, and it follows in the same spirit of games like Heroes of Might and Magic, Master of Magic, and Warlords Battlecry", said Paradox Interactive Executive Vice President Fredrik Wester.