I'm loving playing it and have been recommending it to others.

Multiplayer will be coming in a week or so I think.

Yes. It is fun. I find that I time-travel while playing it. Meaning when I start an hour of playing feels like about 10 minutes have past. A good sign.

Well, it all depends on who you ask. Some people are still experiencing some bugs and crashes (though I think some has been blown out of proportion). I am not having any problems with it right now. I think it's a game well worth purchasing (obviously because I have it) seeing as I pre-ordered, and have played the beta. Yes, it's true there are things that can be tweaked, but in my mind, for being just released, the game is great. I mean, they put out the pre 0 day build on sunday (well, really monday morning to be accurate), then had the gold++ patch, then day 0, then another hotfix. That was all by Tuesday night. So, I would say yes, becuase even if you DO have some crashes/bugs, you know they will be fixed shortly, and won't need to wait 6 months for it to get resolved.

I say YES! Get it now!
Its a fantastic game!
Sure there are some problems but what game doesnt have issues?

The game wont be for everyone, but for those who love a Deep and strategic game, this is a must buy imo.

I was on the fence about this game yesterday but after buyign it and playing, man am I glad i got it!

I have not had any crashes in 6+ hours of playing the game.

Multiplayer will be up next week.

The patch yesterday fixed a lot of the crash problems. Some ATI hardware on Windows 7 64 bit still might be having some issues, but there's a lot fewer problems today then yesterday.

I'd say that if you're concerned about the hardware issue, wait for a demo. If you want a perfect game right now, I'd say wait a couple months. If you're willing to deal with some spots being rough around the edges, the general consensus among people is that it's pretty fun.

If you are a strategy nut and play more then 1 strategy game at  time (not just civ4 or galciv2).  Then I would suggest you get this now, it's pretty fun and any problems will be fixed in the future.  THis is if you are an addict and tend to play multiple sessions in a row (nonstop) or if you are in a big Fantasy turnbased phase and can't get enough of MOM, AOW:SM, and HOMM3/5. 

If you are more casual, then I would suggest wait it out.  Especially if you're the type of player that only plays maybe 1 full sandbox session a month and take a break.  Since odds are you want to play 1 good session and take a lot of time doing it, the experience will be more rewarding once the game has been tweaked.

Another way of explaining it is if you are looking to only play 1 fantasy turnbased strategy game and don't have time for others.  Then you are looking for the end all be all fantasy strat game which this game is 2 expansions from being so I would say wait.   If you hop around from varios strategy games like galciv2, MOO, Civ4, ect... then this is another game to add to that list cause it's a pretty solid 4x game.

The 2 major problems as I see it with Elemental is stabilty (CTDs) and passive AI.  Personally I have only gotten a handful of CTDs on my windows7 64 bit machine with a Radeon HD5700 and 4 gigs of ram but none of those crashes were repeatable (use autosave after every turn).  The AI is as solid as MOM or AOW but not up to stardock standards but I'm sure it will be improved on as time goes by.

What I can say about Elemental is that it's different enough from other 4x games that it can stand on it's own even with comparisons to Master of Magic.

tough call, its playable but not everything seems to be working as intended and there is zero documenttion, but its fun.

There are people with issues and people without them. I have barely issues and I'm enjoying it. It can be improved gameplay-wise but being a Stardock game, improvement is a staple. Multiplyaer, as already mentioned, was delayed (we hope it works? ).

As there is going to be a demo of the game, the best thing is to wait for it. Plus keeping an eye on this forum.

I was on the fence also.  Judging from what I've seen and read, I would say no.  The problems I see are:

* AI is very weak

* game mechanics aren't implemented enough (ex: high level Magic spells don't scale, no meaningful documentation, bad interface, odd content, etc.)

* Multi-player isn't activated.  The cynical side of me thinks that that is code for "it hasn't been finished yet."  Given the complaints about incomplete game mechanics, MP might be incomplete, not fully tested, not balanced, etc..

* numerous complaints about crashes, so it may be pretty hit or miss as to whether you can play the game

* there are a lot of "give it time" or come back in six months type comments.

* non-trivial amount of "no game is ever finished" and "no game is bug free" comments

* non-trivial amount of well reasoned/rational/polite posts about game problems and negative user reviews

I would wait and check back later.  Or wait for a big price drop.

New to SD but was aware of them from GC2 praise (MOO fan).

Not surprised by fan base that feel compelled to refute all criticism (valid or otherwise), but has any other SD release met this much day 1 issues? I don't know the answer to that as I have not made a habit of checking the pulse of SD on release day, but given the common denominator sentiment of fans/people who want to be fans saying "it will get better" .. I would wait for that day. This game will not always command $50 AAA-like entry fee, and when it comes down, it will probably be an amazing value (if indeed it does get better).

I think it speaks volumes that Brad so quickly and demonstratively lashed out against the PC Gamer UK article, almost as if he was poised on the defensive (i.e. given enough serum, even Brad would admit this game was rushed).

It doesn't seem that way to me. And if a lot of people are complaining about the same things there is probably some truth there worth looking at.

I've been playing without issue for the past two days.  I'd recommend it and, as others have said, it will only get better with the patches and new features that come out later.

Sure, where's the demo? Or should I pirate the game for review purposes? 

And what's wrong with doing a little research before plonking down money for a product?  Is everyone else's opinion invalid and untrustworthy?