I jumped into a game and after leveling up got a skill that gave me +3 move and +3 attack on my first turn only. I think it was called charge. How cool is that, my hero became a berserk-er of sorts which was good and bad at the same time because he was also my primary magic users so I was torn on whether I should cast a spell my first turn or run in head first to get my bonus damage. I then got a awesome cloak of spider silk that gave me a unique spell (blindness) and this made it so I could start to take on more difficult enemies because they would miss more frequently. I then got a battle axe that had a special ability called back swing so if I missed I would be able to immediately attack again. This lead to some fun combat choices as well.

Anyway, after only playing for about 40 minutes I had a hero I was in love with, and that I would use differently from battle to battle.

If I was in battle with one giant unit I would run up and get my extra damage, then I would cast blindness and whittle away at his defenses while occasionally casting heal.

If it was a mob I would cast group buff spells and then blindness on the leader, then focus on killing the small minions first because of the weakened state of the leader.

If It was an evenly matched battle I would do more buff spells and then retreat to the edge of the map until my units were more powerful then the enemy and then I would attack at the right moment.

Thanks to skills, magic, and equipment battles were meaningful, fun, and strategic. But something more impressive is how polished the battles seem to flow. I have yet to be steamrolled by the opposition and I can't just steamroll myself across the map. I have to strategically retreat, regroup, rethink, and re-attack. The AI has been great for the little testing I have done so far and the difficulty level seems perfect (Props to you Frogboy).

It is late but I am half tempted to play one more game before bed... but I better not.

To all involved in the design and implementation of this game, big win on your part. It is telling when someone is willing to spend 15 minutes to write about how much they enjoyed the game so far. Please pat yourselves on the back because I would have gladly bought this game all over again. 

...maybe I will set my alarm a little early so I can get in a game before work.