Describing a game as a mash-up of two other well-known titles is lazy, but you know what? It's fun and sometimes useful, as in the case of SpellForce. 'Baldur's Gate meets Age of Mythology' is the sell, and third time out for this particular series I'm committed to updating the labels of the imaginary Venn diagram for the benefit of those unfamiliar with the game's role-playing strategy formula. And while it's tempting to stick with Baldur's Gate and Age of Mythology, especially as they remain in loyal service thanks to their respective enhanced/extended editions, after a number of unremarkable expandalones and dutiful anthologies, SpellForce 3 feels like the first in the series eager to break free of binary influences.

There are obvious aesthetic overtones from Divinity: Original Sin, narrative nods towards the racial and class animosities that bridge The Witcher series, and map-wide elements of strategy that can be traced back to Dawn of War and Company of Heroes - all of which suggest that while the team at Grimlore Games might not have a huge body of work to its own, they've certainly been getting their influences in order.

There's been some debate among SpellForcerers, new and old, as to where exactly SpellForce 3 exists on the ol' RPG-RTS teeterboard, for while the original had a well defined 50/50 split, developer Grimlore has reportedly been keen to shift the balance more towards story and hero advancement, while many newcomers have been attracted by favourable comparisons with WarCraft 3 (which itself was derivative of the original SpellForce).

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