[Edit] It would appear that my initial review was too optimistic; though it is now outdated, I shall leave it here for posterity.

Following 1) The horrific pricing of the Shadows of Change DLC, and CA's disappointing response, 2) A chronic lack of patches for egregious and longstanding bugs and 3) A mix of misguided reworks and gross inattention to core gameplay mechanics, e.g. sieges and AI, I can no longer recommend this game for purchase. Perhaps in the future I may revert my review to a positive one, but I cannot recommend the game in its current state. CA will have to work very hard to regain my trust and goodwill-trust that was gradually built up over the past half a decade, and has subsequently been eroded at an astonishing pace.

[Original Review]
Now that Immortal Empires has released, I think this game now deserves a positive review. Although there are bound to be many bugs and crashes in this beta, I am having infinitely more fun now than I was with the abysmal Realms of Chaos campaign (whose existence should be ignored).

With the improved alliance mechanics (having Hellstorm Rocket Batteries with Tyrion is a blast), the introduction of item fusing, and a significantly expanded and reworked map, Immortal Empires is a great upgrade over Mortal Empires already. Sea lanes are a greatly appreciated mechanic too, since it did feel strange not being able to circumnavigate a supposedly spherical world.

This is without mentioning all the new factions (and indeed the factions which have received reworks) which I am very excited to try. Having said this, with these new factions comes imbalance, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see many tweaks to the game's armies and economies over the coming months.

After the massive disappointment I felt at the game's release, I now have renewed confidence that Warhammer III will be as grand an ending to a superb trilogy as it ought to be.