First off, the Fighter. The Fighter I thought did an excellent job to encourage players to use Light Armor by making both of the new builds give a small benefit for characters that use Light Armor. The Battlerager feature is a nice nod towards the Barbarian I thought, and although the Barbarian now has its own class, the Battlerager has flavor all its own. The Tempest Fighter is another excellent addition, and seems to encourage offhand weapons with their use. Players wishing to use the Tempest Fighter should check out Adventurer's Vault for double weapons, as the double weapons seem to be the perfect weapon for Tempest Fighters, especially those that still want excellent defense.
The Fighter's powers are solid, and as they should complement the two new builds. Also of note are the powers that require you to use a shield, so if you use a shield and want some options, this book is for you as well. Shield support seems to lessen in the later levels, while two weapon use seems to flourish.
The Paragon Paths are excellent for the Fighter as well. The Halfling Bounder and Tiefling Warfiend show Paragon Paths for races not normally suited for the Fighter class, especially so for the Halfling. The Shield Adept is for Fighters that love thier shields, obviously enough, and there are a mix of Paths for both Fighters that want to deal heavy damage, and Fighters that focus on defense. There is a path for the Battlerager, but oddly enough no path for the Tempest Fighter.
The Ranger is the next class. The Ranger adds a new feature in this book, notably the ability to get a beast companion. You have to give up both your Prime Shot and Fighting style, but in my opinion that's a fair trade. Beast rangers get to choose which beast they'd like, and although you have to use your actions to direct your beast, there are powers aplenty that let your beast move and attack.
The Powers are of course ripe with Beast powers, but there are also plenty of powers for standard bow and sword Rangers. Offhand strike lets you get multiple attacks off in a round. Combining that with an Action Point and Twin Strike can land you 5 attacks in one round. There are also a number of powers you can use with a ranged weapon in melee without provoking an attack of opportunity, so if you use a bow there might be something for you there too.
The Paragon Paths for the Ranger are where I think this really shines the brightest. Horizon Walker has excellent powers, and the Astral Infusion feature, which grants you a bonus to Healing Surge values and Death Saving Throws, makes you practically unkillable. At level 16, when you get that feature, you can count on having at least a a +4 bonus if you started with a 14 in your Wisdom, which will help a LOT. Best of all, the path is completely neutral in regards to range vs. melee, so whether you are a two weapon or bow ranger, the powers are useful. Oh yeah, and you get a teleport power. Win. My other favorite Paragon Path is the Ruthless Punisher. You first off get a HUGE bonus to ongoing damage. You also get bonuses to fighting Humanoid foes as well, and can use an Action Point to reroll an attack against a humanoid designated as your quarry. The powers are just icing at this point, and they aren't the best, but the bonus to ongoing damage and against humanoids is too good. The rest of the Paths are alright, but those two easily stand out the most.
The Rogue introduces two new builds as well. Now you can be a Thug or an Acrobat from level 1. Ruthless Ruffian lets you use a mace or club with your Rogue powers, and if you use a power with the rattling keyword (which is new to Martial power as well) you get your Strength modifier as a bonus to the damage roll. The Aerialist Rogue has no class feature, but offers you plenty of powers to use with it.
The powers are good as well, Handspring Assault has excellent flavor and at level 1 is a great Daily to choose. You get to charge, and if you hit, you can shift 2 sqaures (perhaps back behind the fighter) and if you miss, the power is not expended as it is Reliable.
The Paragon Paths are solid as well. The Cloaked Sniper makes you a god with crossbows, and the Rakish Swashbuckler has great flavor as well. The Halfling gets its own Paragon path as well, which is amazingly solid too. Strong-Arm Enforcers seems to be for Ruthless Ruffians, and is also a strange mix of Rogue/Fighter almost.
The Warlord is the last class in the book, and has two features: Bravura and Resourceful. Bravura Warlords focus on High Risk and High Reward actions, while Resourceful Warlords tend to grant two benefits, one for a hit and one for a miss.
The Powers complement the new features as should be expected, and also some powers that complement Tactical and Inspiring Warlords alike. Rousing Words is an excellent must have Utility for Inspiring Warlords and others alike, and Marked Revelation lets you mark enemies for the party Defender. There are some good Paragon Paths available as well, and one for each the Bravura and Resourceful presence.
The new Martial Options available include feats and epic destinies. The feats are mostly excellent, with a few duds here and there. There's something for just about everyone in a martial class, and multiclass characters can especially benefit from the new multiclass feats.
The real treat here is the Epic Destinies. The Adamantine Soldier makes you unstoppable in Heavy Armor, Beastlord is for Beast Rangers, obviously enough. Dark Wanderer is interesting, but is ultimately underpowered. Eternal Defender turns you into a god of war, increasing your size and reach, letting you wield large weapons, bonus to strength, you can treat a hit as a crit once per day or a miss as a hit, and a utility that lets you deal your strength modifier in damage on a miss for the rest of the encounter. If that looks boss, Godhunter lets you reroll an attack once per encounter against an opponent higher leveled than you, when you crit an enemy of higher level than you, they take a -5 to saving throws and can't regain hit points OR recharge their powers for a turn, and can turn a hit from a higher leveled creature as a miss, and regain your second wind and an encounter power. Whew.... breathe with me now. And that's not even the best part. Decidal Eye lets you ignore all resistance and immunity the creature has, and the creature gains Vulnerable 5 to all of your attacks. If the monster is a solo monster or a higher level than you, add 5. If both? 10. While that sounds like it has limited use at level 30.... There are monsters in the Monster Manual that are above 30th level... and they are TOUGH. The Undying Warrior is fun, because well, you can't really die.
So as you can see, Martial Power has a lot of options for the Martial characters, and I have to reccomend it if you need an edge. The Epic Destinies alone are worth it.
Overall: A
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