STARTING A NEW GAME
First thing I noticed is the mood. There's a pretty tune playing in the background. I am about to enter a devastated land with the task of rebuilding from scratch in a hostile world. The mood should be - danger, defiance, boldness, ambition. The beginning needs a good kick and some excitement from the music. Play this on the background and you'll get my meaning http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZP7vWiaxw7Y
The visuals of the opening menu screen are really really cool with the magical pool or portal in the center. But I feel the menu buttons with a solid stone background don't complement the image well. Lighter floaty text above the water with some magical highlight would fit well. The button clicking 'dink' sfx is rather weak, would be nice to have something with more impact. Overall sound effects seem like not much attention went into them. Apologies if these are placeholders. 
Clicking New Game brings up the Sovereign window. Why does the Sovereign not appear in this cool magical pool we have already established? Instead a crude window covers this visual gem entirely. All the information is laid out clearly and the mouseovers are great. The only thing missing is a visual representation of the chosen race. The image of your Sovereign and the race he leads is the most important choice you make on this screen. I.e. a fiery warrior Sovereign leading a race of grey skinned orclike brutes. Image is a priority while the stats are secondary.
SOVEREIGNS
Apologies, I have to be blunt. All the Sovereigns are bland and unexciting. None of them incite any excitement and I always end up creating my own. And then that Sovereign ends up being generic and boring. These are immortal creatures who alone can channel magic, destined to rule the world. They don't reflect their status and potential at all. I.e. Lady Irane is just a chick with a bow and Lord Relias is the most generic adventurer you can imagine. They both come equipped with random air/water/life powers that don't characterize them at all. I feel there's work to be done here. MoM with its crappy 2d portraits and magic books reflect more power and potential in its Wizards.
I want to see Sovereigns like an Icy Queen of the North whose gaze can freeze you solid. A fiery chaos Sorcerer from Hell who can set the world ablaze. An immortal soul sucking warrior of Death unmatched on the battlefield. No need to go over the top with this either but their potential has to be reflected from the start. They need a clear identity to be cool and interesting. And this means focusing on their powers.
Stat/traitwise the choices are interesting and it's just right with the level of customization (no stat point allocation is good). I would like to see much more choice for equipment so warriors could start with armor etc.
RACES
These are all essentially human. Exactly same size, just a different skin color or texture here and there. Lots of work to be done to make them all unique. Personally do not like the black and white cut between Life and Death, Kingdom and Empire. There should at least be a neutral faction. An entire race following the Life or Death ideology is an extreme and should be the minority instead of the norm. Just as well there should be races associated with Nature, Winter, Fire etc. all the different paths of magic. But a more diverse look is the most important part here.
