<s>
Elemental	B-Application
:	I-Application
War	I-Application
of	I-Application
Magic	I-Application
is	O
a	O
fantasy	B-Application
4X	B-Application
turn-based	O
strategy	O
game	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Stardock	O
,	O
released	O
in	O
August	O
24	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stardock	O
has	O
released	O
two	O
further	O
turn-based	O
strategy	O
games	O
set	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
of	O
Elemental	O
:	O
Elemental	B-Application
:	I-Application
Fallen	I-Application
Enchantress	I-Application
,	O
in	O
October	O
2012	O
,	O
and	O
Fallen	B-Application
Enchantress	I-Application
:	O
Legendary	O
Heroes	O
,	O
in	O
May	O
2013	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Fallen	B-Application
Enchantress	I-Application
,	O
Stardock	O
discontinued	O
Elemental	B-Application
:	I-Application
War	I-Application
of	I-Application
Magic	I-Application
and	O
no	O
longer	O
sells	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Players	O
control	O
a	O
pre-built	O
or	O
custom	O
sovereign	B-Protocol
and	O
belong	O
to	O
a	O
faction	O
;	O
each	O
has	O
characteristics	O
affecting	O
gameplay	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Both	O
may	O
be	O
fought	O
for	O
experience	O
and	O
treasure	O
,	O
although	O
attacking	O
civilians	O
decreases	O
the	O
sovereign	B-Protocol
's	O
reputation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Executive	O
producer	O
Scott	O
Tykoski	O
compared	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
Viva	B-Application
Piñata	I-Application
,	O
but	O
substituting	O
"	O
shovels	O
and	O
creatures	O
filled	O
with	O
candy	O
for	O
swords	O
and	O
creatures	O
filled	O
with	O
dark	O
magic	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sovereigns	B-Protocol
start	O
with	O
a	O
certain	O
amount	O
of	O
magical	O
essence	O
,	O
determining	O
how	O
much	O
mana	O
they	O
have	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
how	O
many	O
spells	O
they	O
may	O
cast	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Essence	O
may	O
also	O
be	O
expended	O
by	O
sovereigns	B-Protocol
to	O
escape	O
death	O
and	O
return	O
to	O
a	O
nearby	O
settlement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
artificial	I-Application
intelligence	I-Application
has	O
two	O
modes	O
of	O
operation	O
:	O
basic	O
and	O
advanced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
low	O
difficulty	O
levels	O
prohibit	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
from	O
using	O
combat	O
magic	O
,	O
and	O
penalize	O
their	O
economy	O
,	O
hit	O
points	O
and/or	O
starting	O
funds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
higher	O
levels	O
,	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
acquires	O
bonuses	O
;	O
the	O
highest	O
permits	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
to	O
see	O
through	O
the	O
fog	O
of	O
war	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stardock	O
originally	O
intended	O
to	O
purchase	O
the	O
rights	O
to	O
Master	B-Application
of	I-Application
Magic	I-Application
from	O
Atari	O
,	O
but	O
decided	O
to	O
create	O
their	O
own	O
universe	O
,	O
due	O
in	O
part	O
to	O
issues	O
of	O
compliance	O
and	O
code	O
ownership	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Elemental	O
's	O
art	O
style	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
work	O
of	O
Alphonse	O
Mucha	O
–	O
in	O
particular	O
,	O
his	O
use	O
of	O
"	O
hard	O
lines	O
and	O
soft	O
tones	O
on	O
realistic	O
forms	O
"	O
–	O
and	O
designed	O
for	O
"	O
minimal	O
overhead	O
"	O
so	O
the	O
game	O
might	O
be	O
played	O
on	O
"	O
a	O
crappy	O
netbook.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Elemental	O
uses	O
Havok	B-General_Concept
middleware	O
for	O
physics	O
and	O
animation	O
and	O
Bink	B-Algorithm
video	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
Multiplayer	O
is	O
handled	O
using	O
Stardock	O
's	O
Impulse	B-Application
Reactor	I-Application
;	O
players	O
may	O
use	O
Facebook	B-Application
credentials	O
to	O
log	O
in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Originally	O
users	O
were	O
required	O
to	O
register	O
the	O
game	O
via	O
the	O
Impulse	B-Application
software	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
download	O
updates	O
,	O
but	O
after	O
Impulse	B-Application
was	O
sold	O
to	O
Gamestop	O
updates	O
are	O
also	O
available	O
through	O
Stardock	O
's	O
own	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
came	O
with	O
a	O
coupon	O
for	O
exclusive	O
downloadable	B-Protocol
content	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Elemental	O
has	O
an	O
average	O
rating	O
of	O
53%	O
on	O
review	B-Application
aggregator	I-Application
Metacritic	O
,	O
with	O
grades	O
ranging	O
from	O
72%	O
to	O
30%	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewers	O
criticized	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
technical	O
issues	O
,	O
problems	O
with	O
core	O
game	O
concepts	O
,	O
and	O
poor	O
GUI	B-Application
and	O
documentation	O
,	O
but	O
praised	O
its	O
ambition	O
and	O
strategic	O
flexibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
PC	O
Gamer	O
felt	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
ambition	O
and	O
sense	O
of	O
discovery	O
were	O
let	O
down	O
by	O
inadequate	O
AI	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
1UP.com	O
also	O
criticized	O
the	O
AI	B-Application
and	O
over-ambitious	O
design	O
,	O
concluding	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
just	O
is	O
n't	O
fun	O
"	O
due	O
to	O
crashes	B-General_Concept
and	O
"	O
a	O
poorly	O
designed	O
GUI	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
GameSpot	O
,	O
Elemental'''s	O
"	O
solid	O
game	O
foundation	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
many	O
worthy	O
ideas	O
and	O
ambitions	O
"	O
were	O
impeded	O
by	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
problems	O
including	O
frequent	O
crashes	B-General_Concept
,	O
disappointing	O
visuals	O
,	O
a	O
poor	O
interface	O
,	O
bad	O
AI	B-Application
and	O
unsatisfying	O
tactical	O
combat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GamePro	O
felt	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
complexity	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
focus	O
may	O
be	O
off-putting	O
,	O
but	O
fans	O
of	O
the	O
4X	B-Application
genre	O
would	O
find	O
a	O
fun	O
game	O
underneath	O
the	O
bugs	O
and	O
lack	O
of	O
tutorials	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
ascribed	O
the	O
game	O
problems	O
to	O
insufficient	O
QA	O
process	O
and	O
misuse	B-Architecture
of	I-Architecture
RAM	I-Architecture
Memory	I-Architecture
and	O
"[his]	O
own	O
catastrophic	O
poor	O
judgment	O
in	O
not	O
objectively	O
evaluating	O
the	O
core	O
game	O
play	O
components	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
