pointless difficulty and unbalanced maps ruin the fun
the game has only one crucial problem, which pulls it to its grave: a punishing difficulty even on the easiest level resulting from a very stupid map balance. although the maps are quite small, you are able to deploy only very few units even on the largest ones. with those bunch of mercenaries you run into a horde of enemies. this extremely disproportional power relation turns the campaign to a desperate struggle and kills all of its fun.
a golden victory condition - mindlessly set to only 9 - 12 turns - is literally impossible without cheating. spoiled maps prerequisites offers a frustrating game advance. the small and overpopulated battlefield offers no room for tactics or deeper planing, only for unit exhausting combat. the impossibility of a gold (many times also the silver) victory and the necessity of a streamlined advance steals the motivation and makes the game without the necessary money and artifacts (which you´ll find in settlements and unique places) further even harder and more frustrating.
elven legacy is a ruined opportunity. it´s a spoiled child of the so well programmed fantasy wars. its creators assumed that when they´ll turn down the oxygen, the challenge will be enhanced. instead of it they simply choked the gameplay.