Heroes of Might and Magic® 3: Complete

Well, this is the best HoMM ever and now that an engine rewrite is ongoing (vcmi) it's truly necessary to have a copy of homm3 (digital is even better) just for when vcmi will be stable :D (you will need the data from the original homm3)

This is the #1 classic of all time even though i never played it's campaign i loved the gameplay when i was little.

I lost days and weeks to this game playing hot seat with my friends or wasting a lazy weekend away in solo play. Randomly generating a massive map and playing from beginning to finish is something to relish. Easily one of the best turn based games ever created. The only game I've spent more time with is Civilization 4.

There are many, many other games that use the same basic formula as HOMM 3. This is good, because after you've gone through the several hundred hours of content included in this games campaigns you will probably be ready for more. It's that good. Although I like both the King's Bounty series and HOMM V, I keep coming back to this pack, because there is something about it that just works better than any other game made since. The balance of units works quite well, your hero can impact the outcome of the battles, but is not the total focal point like in later HOMM games, the art style is older, but the bright colors and simple designs really hold up well. During the game, you will create an army of heroes and conquer many lands while vanquishing your foes. The thing that originally set these games apart was their use of a persistent hero that you can use in multiple missions in each campaign, and that really helps tie you to the fate of your armies. All in all a masterful turn based strategy game, and still one of the games that can instantly suck me in for hours while I play just one more turn.

This game is amazing and worth the learning curve, so get it.