So let me get a couple things out of the way.
- I have never played MOM. Frankly I didn't know what it was until I participated in Elemental's initial release.
- I had not invested any real time in a TBS game like Elemental, preferring more RTS or RPG like Baldur's Gate or Fallout.
- I purchased Civ IV (+ expansions) shortly before Elemental for $5 and played it for a bit. Enjoyed it but never really got into it.
- Played Elemental for a bit and really liked the concept of the world but never really got into it.
So...
I have to say I really like Fallen Enchantress so far. The initial exploration of the world and the random monster encounters is already fun to play. Frankly the world feels alive and the graphics feel top notch. The fact that they still have more art assets to add is outstanding.
I was wondering why I was spending so much time in the FE Beta that I fired up Elemental and "WOW" the difference between the two games is striking. No reason to go into too much detail here but if you haven't fired up Elemental, then do it after you play a couple games of FE. The two are just plain night and day to me and explains a lot of why I've been having the fun I didn't expect.
Things I definitely like about FE:
Non-intrusive hud options that are optional. Right now I have most of the huds turned on while I learn the game. The art is good for the huds and the prompts make sense for a new player like I consider myself at this point.
The worlds more alive. I like that monsters spawn from pits. I like that quests that need to be unlocked are already visible. There's just so much more stuff on the map that exploring really means taking note of the stuff around so you can map a strategy to get back to it eventually.
The graphics compared to Elemental to are triple A compared to Indie. Everything from the Interface down to the effects just feels so much more polished and modern.
The monsters are already pretty kick ass. I forget which map I randomed into, but the Giant Serpent in the fissure with 700+ hitpoints was really striking and I enjoyed losing to it.
I like my dog totem 
and feel bad when he dies. I had him leveled up to around 40 or 50 HP and got cocky attacking some random monster.
I like how Sovereigns level up so much more now than the antiquated point allocation system. The path based leveling up is really great too that unlock other traits or attacks is really great too. I wouldn't mind seeing some special magic unlocks for those following the Mage path though.
Are there issues with the game still? Sure! I hate, hate, hate Caravans. I had one person describe them as sadistic. I think Sovereigns and champions are too powerful and level up way too much (annoyingly so IMO). I think Maul weapons break the game and should be limited to certain number of strikes. It just seems cheesy having a lower class champion maul something to death 3-5 HP at time for a ludicrous amount of HP lost. I mini-dumps occasionally but is usually fine on reload. Probably some other stuff, but I'm considering the next beta the new baseline so not really focused on minor stuff. That said the announced changes especially to caravans and experience address two of my biggest issues so far.
I think recruiting champions could be made more interesting too for human players. Not sure if the AI could handle or even would need too (could just pay underneath the scene), but adding quests to recruit champions would be kick ass. I would go so far as to say multi-layered quests or just straight hard quests for higher level champions would be even more kick ass. Paying for a champion just isn't very fulfilling and doesn't create that connection/immersion to the champion that a quest might provide. For example, when the 3 brothers join you after saving their mom, it's cool and makes for more of a connection to them in the party. I'm also more willing to level them up carefully as they aren't immune from death.
The biggest difference with FE compared to WOM is I'm actually having fun (almost a lot of fun) and looking forward to the next Beta release.
