As a life-long fan of Populous, Powermonger, Sim-Anything, and all the Civ games, I rushed to buy this. Indeed, the physics and elements engine is quite satisfying to play with for awhile. But the game ultimately devolves into time-based and/or scripted events that undermine its potential. In short, it never quite becomes fun nor addictive. The graphics, sound, and even loading screens have high production value, but the levels vary between sandbox (literally, in this case) and reload-happy trial-and-error exercises. Note that there's no form of quick-save, checkpoints, etc. -- if you want to explore an option, plan on replaying the entire lengthy level each time.
As noted in other reviews, the pathfinding is flat-out broken. You'll often find yourself dumping sand on & around one of your little guys, despite seeing an obviously clear path and line-of sight.
The elements and physics engine, however, is generally very satisfying. Let's hope that their next effort with this engine turns out to be a fun game. (It would be fantastic for a Populous-type sequel, as long as they ditch the timed events and threw in some better AI.)
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