Stardock clearly knows how to make a strategy game, as anyone that played Galactic Civilizations can attest. For the studio's upcoming game, you'll select and customize a magic user and set down on sprawling world maps, conquering territory and growing your army. As special gear and spells and new lands come into your position, will you be able to maintain control of your border, or will threats from abroad cripple your empire of magic?

Elemental appeals to a lot of the things I like in games -- role-playing, baby-making, strategy -- but what strikes me is the realization that there are no more big-budget PC games out there anymore; at least none that offer a robust singleplayer experience. If nothing else, that has me interested in Elemental and the part where it looks pretty good is even better.

In case you haven't been following along with coverage on this title, Elemental: War of Magic fuses turn-based strategy gameplay with role-playing elements in a high fantasy world. Once a game begins it's up to you to scour the terrain, acquire resources, build towns and try to secure a victory, which Stardock says will be possible in a number of different ways.

Elemental: War of Magic is the next strategy game in development at Stardock, the studio responsible for the sci-fi Galactic Civilizations series, and it will attempt to be the spiritual successor to the cult classic Master of Magic. The game is currently in an ongoing beta state with a small but devoted community of Stardock fans who are hammering away at the beta while the studio continues to add new features and content

So much was revealed during our short time with Elemental: War of Magic, that we feel we'd hardly scratched the surface of what's possible. All too briefly mentioned was the multiplayer mode that will offer Myth-like combat. There's even a novel on its way, to be released on the same date as the game, written by Brad Wardell and edited by some of the same people who had worked on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Stardock is ahead of its own game with Elemental, and we can't wait to get our hands on it when it arrives in August.