All I can say is, "Wow"! What a great game! This is a must-have if you like these types of games. Heroes of Steel puts the Tactical in tactical turn-based RPGs. With constant developer support and responsiveness, bugs are non-existent and the gameplay experience keeps getting better and better with more content and constant user-suggested improvements. Refreshing to say the least.

As for the gameplay....outstanding. I love these types of old school games. Graphics and soundwise, that's what this feels like. Almost nostalgic. However, don't let that fool you, this game is very current and plenty sophisticated in its combat-oriented content. You truly are the difference in winning and losing battles. Your positioning, movement, order of attack, buffs, de-buffs, spells, etc...make all the difference in almost every battle. If you get careless, you get hurt. If you pay attention, you can still get hurt but you should be able to implement a strategy to win and advance and it's very satisfying.

Speaking of advancing, this is one of those games where you just can't wait to level up and get the next Talent/Skill/Attribute point(s). The building of your characters is probably the coolest and most important part of the game. Four unique and distinct characters need to be built as a cohesive and synergistic team in order to survive and excel. Each character has many different ways it can advance and they each can perform multiple functions, BUT (and it's a big but), they need to all work together. Each has talents that can help the overall team in different ways and each has individual talents to help themselves. How you choose to use each character is completely up to you but, again, they need to all work together. Combat is challenging at best and extremely difficult at times so working as a unit is pretty much imperative to long term success.

To that effect, a great feature is the re-spec button. Each character gets one chance during the game for you to reset his/her entire build to fit what you're trying to do. This is fantastic since with all of the options you have, you can play through pretty much the entire first episode and learn the game, then figure out what works, what doesn't, what you're missing, what you need, what you didn't use, etc...and fix it without having to start over from the beginning. Huge plus in my book because Ep 1 can take anywhere from 30-60 hrs by itself.

Which leads to content.....lots and lots of content. It's mostly fighting with just enough story to make it immersive. The real rewards are the feelings you get for taking down a nasty boss, levelling your characters and getting new talents with which to play, and finding a new piece of gear or a shiny new weapon with all those enhancements....yes! :-) 4 Episodes with lots of levelling. Characters can achieve a max of level 65 I believe (I haven't got that far yet so don't quote me but I think I read that in the forums somewhere). Or you can just spend hours building and re-building new groups and playing through Episode 1, testing and trying out all of the different talents and strategies available to you. Both are fun.

In conclusion, I've played a lot of RPG's in my day and this is one of the best I've ever played. It seems I'm almost always looking for that game that can keep me up until four in the morning for "one more turn". This is it. Worth every penny of full price and literally a complete no-brainer if its on sale. Buy it. You won't regret it.

Update: They added crafting!! Like I said, the developers continually update and tweak the game to make it better. This has added another element of fun to the overall experience. Now you are able to create your own weapons and armor that really enhance your survivability at certain points in the game. It really is extremely satisfying to upgrade your Spears, Throwing Knives, Bows, etc....and start pounding away on some of those enemies that used to give you lots of trouble. These crafts are by no means overpowered. But, again, it's just another element of the game that gives the player a LOT of satisfaction when they're able to get something they want (and then make it even better!) Seriously, if you like challenging, thought-provoking, strategic combat, this game is for you. I'm back to playing after a year away and it's every bit as fun this time through as the first....probably more.

And, it's now complete. After 4 or 5 years of working on it, the content is finished. That said, the devs are adding a new character to play, probably in the next year. This game is addicting and just keeps getting better. Buy it!