So what makes this game so fun?

[Yrkoon]

The difference between the nations is second to none, and that means the replayability is unlimited. Many games claim that, but in fairness Dominions is the only game I know that delivers. And I have been playing games for 15 years.

You can play one game as a nation of indian deities worshiped by sentient apes, or one eyed giants that have emerged for the underground, or humanoids sprung from lava, or a nation of undead that spreads its curse and so on. Of course there is human nations as well.

Each nation has its own feel, its own capacities that other nations don't have. And even if you play with the same nation twice, you will have a completely different game depending on the god you choose and how it affects the land - your can emphasize magic, or regular troops, or sacred soldiers with god-given abilities.

You also have a huge variety of random sites that can change the course of your strategy. And magic is huge : many schools (evocation, enchantment, alteration) means you can go for really different paths (a bit like the elder scrolls series you surely know, as rpg gamer). And each schools is split in different path (fire, air, nature, human sacrifice ...) with each nations having access to its own selection of paths.