I am planning on buying this game if someone on here can just answer one simple question.

definitely not streamlined so if you liked the original you're going to LOVE this

It's more complex and at the same time easier to play. The design is worlds above WoM. 

it's easier to get into and different in many ways, but not dumbed down... check out the manual and you can see how many layers the game has

If anything, it's more complex because there is simply more stuff in the game.  A couple of things have been taken out, like boats and dynasties, but a ton more have been put in.  Definitely not dumbed down.  Smarted up.  Wait, what is the opposite of dumbed down?  Anyway, the AI is much smarter, the game better balanced, and the factions more diverse.  If you loved WoM, then you will want to marry and lay pipe to FE.

I don't think you will be disappointed. I have been very impressed with the evolution of the game, and like it far better than War of Magic.

Thank you for the responses guys. I just bought it.

I was a little hesitant at first, because after four great civilization games, I remember buying the fifth one on faith, and I simply hated it. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think people enjoy 4x games because we like to see little people moving around on a map. I think we enjoy it because of the feeling of empowerment. At least, I've always enjoyed the aspect of sitting behind my computer with my hands folded, plotting the destruction of my (soon to be) enemies while cackling like a super villain.

Yet when I fired up Civ V, I was bored with the game in just a few hours. I didn't like the hand-holding aspect of the game, nor did I like the removal of that feeling.

Same thing with Mount & Blade: FIre and Sword. I loved the original and Warband, too, but I felt that, much like Civ V, it seemed that they wanted to streamline the experience for dumber players. But what companies don't seem to realize is that you're never going to migrate the HALO crowd into the 4X market. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there aren't people who enjoy both. But it seems like, to me, at least, that the majority of people who enjoy 4X games and the majority of people who enjoy HALO are not the type to be mixed together.

Command and Conquer 4 is another great example. Just who are those games marketed to?

Thank you so much for all the responses!

I'll throw this out there again since Civ V seems to be the current whipping boy of strategy fans:

Civilization V: Gods & Kings is one of the finest 4x strategy games ever created.

That said, Fallen Enchantress is certainly not "dumbed down", and especially not compared to War of Magic.

I don't agree with you often Mtn_Man but I do agree that G&K + mods changed Civ 5 to be a good game.

As for the OP - I *DETEST* dumbed sown games and I love FE.

I truly don't understand why G&K is being praised and the vanilla version ignored -- if the vanilla version still falls short of what was promised or expected, and G&K fixes it, that essentially makes G&K a premium patch of vanilla, doesn't it?  Vanilla seems to have been abandoned. :/  Mods made it a bit more playable, but even with them, it still had problems the last time I played it.  I do not get the mentality of so gamers that the solution to a broken game is to give the publisher more money in a fix.  If you bought a car or a digital camera that failed to live up to its specifcations in advertising, it would be the onus of the manufacturers to fix it and make it right at their own expense.  Customers should not have to pay more for the manufacturer -- or publisher -- to fix their defective products.

I haven't played the expansion pack, so I'm basing this off the vanilla game, which I couldn't stand.

I have over 609 hours clocked with civ 5 according to steam and most of that was post G&K expansion, I got my moneys worth.

Seriously?  I hardly ever post here.

Considering that I got Civ V + Gods & Kings during the Steam summer sale for less than the price of the expansion, my perspective might be slightly different.

It's complex and it's actually really fun. I'm shocked and happy.

Well I mean "complex" as in civ complex not Hearts of Iron 3/Paradox games complex

It's so complex that I don't have any idea what the hell I'm doing, and I keep getting my backside handed to me by the all damn monsters all over the place.  That one review was right when it said that the world itself was more dangerous than the AI players you'd face.

On that note, is there any way to remove the injuries from champions who fall in battle, or are those permanent debuffs?

Yeah, I think there are a few ways...

As of the last beta, and I believe the 1.00 version, the only way to heal injuries is to find a special potion through a quest.

There are people who are talking about mods that could include new buildings that could heal injuries, though.

Just wanted to thank all you guys for the responses. You were right. EDIT: (fixed comma splice here) The game has not been dumbed down in any way, shape, or form.

I ended up spending the extra $10 so I could get it on Steam. It's a small price to pay for having steam's accessibility.

Agree 100% on CiV:G&K.  I have played it about four times more than any other game I've ever played.  (And I've been gaming since the original X-Com).   

And after the next patch will probably start playing it again. 

I pre-ordered Civ V with no discount.  G&K would be basically doubling how much I paid for Civ V.  I shouldn't have to pay money for a patch.

I have found that potion for sale at a neutral city in the campaign.  I've heard you can research something to buy it readily in the regular/sandbox game, but I have yet to find the tech to let you do so.  Out of many hundreds of hours in the beta, I only got the injury-heal potion once. :/

Would you nerds please get off Civ 5's wang? Oh my god all you people can talk about is how much you hate Civ 5 jesus christ its like a giant chip on your shoulder. 

Talk about what makes Elemental FE good, not what makes Civ 5 "bad". Get the monkey off your shoulder. No reason to feel intimidated anymore. The vast majority believes G&K made Civ 5 a classic. Hooray for them. You can like more than one strategy game.

I think the main problem Civ 5 has is that it proceeded Civ 4, which by the end was...I don't know how to describe it, amazing. It's like Gal Civ 3, why would you make it? You certainly don't need to Gal Civ 2 has everything you'd ever want in that kind of game. You can't beat a 100/100.

Was Civ 5 a bad game? No, I think it was probably a good game, but when I still have 4 installed, well, why would I play a good game when I have an amazing game to play instead.

Maybe that's the problem Diablo 3 has.

Anyway, I really liked the original version of War of Magic, but it kind of got nerfed for me lol. I would cut off one arm of a continent and keep it dark and throw troops in there to train them up.

FE is just a really good game.

I started a new game this evening and have had much better success.  Apparently I just got an unlucky starting position in my earlier game because I was surrounded by lots of high level monsters which made it very difficult to explore and level up.  This time around, the surrounding enemies are a more reasonable level, so my champions aren't getting one-hit killed every time they enter battle.  The AI is still far outpacing me if the "Faction Power" score is any indication, so I still have a ways to go before I'm over the learning curve.  But at least I'm having fun.