The Old God has left the world and the pretenders are awakening and coming out from hiding. You start the game by designing one of the pretender gods that will compete for true ascension to godhood. The type of god can range from a magically powerful arch mage to an ancient kraken or a mystic monolith that people pray to. Your pretender controls one of over sixty different nations and with the help of that nation he will spread his word and battle the other pretenders. Dominions 3 is a turn based strategy game. You can play single- or multiplayer (1 - 23 players) with simultaneous turns. There are more than 1500 different units, 600 spells and 300 magic items in the game. The game also features a medieval musical score by Erik Ask Uppmark and Anna Rynefors, both awarded the title of Musicians of the Realm by the Swedish Zornmärkeskommiten. Dominions 3 is a highly detailed game and a 300 page pdf manual is included in the download.
This review is written by someone who just discovered and played the game this year (2013)
How shall I explain it? Dominions 3 is like Total War with different mythical creatures (like the giants of jotun, necromancers,centaurs, and much much more) minus the building aspect/tech research/ability to give your troops command in the battlefield. In Dominions 3 you play as one of the deities who strive to be the "one true god" above all the others. You get to choose from the numerous factions through out the ages and each faction really plays differently. You could customize your deity as a Super Combatant deity (mighty mythical creatures like the scorpion king or a Dragon) or a magic reliant/support deity like the enchantress or the celestial general (has the ability to get troops per turn). The game also gives you the option to research different spells from conjuring a fire drake to burning your enemies with fireballs. Each commander/hero/deity has the ability to craft magical items that they could equip in order to aid them in battle or improve their skills.
The game is divided into the strategic map (map of the whole world) and the battlefield map where you could see the battle between you and your enemies. You could not command your troops in the battlefield but you could arrange their formation and give them specific orders before battle like telling your commander to stay behind the troops or your mages to bombard your enemies with fireballs.
The game is a really great and complex game and I am at a loss trying to explain everything because there are a lot of things that are great in this game. Please try the demo and don't be scared of the price because it is really worth it!! Take it from someone who is spoiled by graphics and modern conveniences, I love this game despite it not being eye candy. It is the best fantasy strategy I ever played since Heroes of MIght and Magic 2