comparison shopping

[mercurycs]

Hello all,
I was just wondering what everyone's thoughts were on this game compared to other similar games on the market. The price for this one is a little steep in my opinion. I will probably end up buying it if enough people say its good though. How does it compare to other similar games??? such as medieval:total war, or age of wonders:shadow magic. how is the AI?
I can't find any reviews that really say anything useful.
Is there modding capabilities or a chance i could add some enhanced graphics to this ( the graphics are quite poor in my opinion, but I can overlook that if the gameplay is solid)
Also, how in depth is the city management? I love dealing with small adjustments and all that micro-management. I hope it has alot of management.
I cannot find a manual to download and the demo is very difficult to figure out without one.

please respond, thank you