Disciples 3 - Review @ Game Nexus

Describing it as "disappointing", Games Nexus has reviewed Disciples III with a rating of 'D+':

What is unwelcome, however, is the changes made to the combat system. In the past, once a squad interacted with enemy units on the map, a simple combat screen would pop up and an elegant, uncomplicated battle would ensue. Rather than maintain that unique battle style, Disciples III instead copies just about every other recent turn-based fantasy game, and moves to a 3D battlefield. To make matters worse, Disciples III does the battle system quite poorly. The 3D hex-based combat screen is sprinkled randomly with some obstacles and some special power-up hexes. While it at first seems like this tactical map would add layers of delicious complexity to the battles, what we really get is longer, more tedious fights. The enemy AI mostly just takes a "get em!" approach, and so battles soon become laughably simple. The elegant two-rank battle system from previous Disciples titles was much more enjoyable, and actually more challenging.

A large part of the lack of any challenge stems from the enemy AI's antics outside of battle. The static neutral troops can mostly be avoided until players' units are strong enough to vanquish them, and the active enemy factions consistently make the worst possible choices. In fact, "choice" is probably the wrong word. In all but a few occasions, the AI units simply saw my units and attacked. There was no gauging of strength, very little softening up with spells or attacking with waves of squads. There was just all-out aggression. At very early stages of a campaign, before there's much chance to work up a strong army, the more-powerful enemy factions can be a bit of a challenge. Before too long, however, it merely becomes something of a miserable comedy as the enemy repeatedly throws wimpy armies away, time after time. Thankfully we're given the option of a "quick battle" button for each combat, a feature I used almost exclusively for most of the game.