This game has stolen so many hours from me and my friends it's unbelievable. The tournaments we'd hold still spring back to mind every time I boot up the game. Excellent characters, every one different from the other, incredibly balanced gameplay, you can always tell what you did wrong when you lose a game. The single player modes are also satisfying, giving you incentive to complete story modes or arcade fights by unlocking artwork (or in cases where you've completed arcade mode with all characters you unlock a new one). The visual style is also breathtaking, every bit of animation was crafted with skill and love and it shines throughout. The soundtrack is exquisite and you'll thank GOG over and over that they provided it as a download. I find it hard to believe that for a game that I love so much I can only find so few words to describe it. But don't believe me, believe all the tournaments held that circle around this wonderful game. All in all, for 5.99, it's a must buy!
This game has stolen more time from me than I care to share. I don't know exactly what makes it so addicting, especially if you plan out long hot-seat sessions with friends, but I can try and explain in my own words: Firstly, it has a greatly refreshing formula compared to other turn-based strategy games out there. The fact that it relies heavily on your wizard which, if lost, means game over, while the wizard, in turn, compliments the dispatched units across the playing field really struck me as awesome. Your wizard can learn spells that can be cast within your range of influence that expands if your wizard is located in a city with specific buildings built, and skills that benefit your overall economy or army. Before every skirmish round you can customize your wizard to specialize in specific areas, this determining what types of spells you can research and subsequently use, along with race/faction, power alignment, etc. Aside from your wizard, you get the chance to employ various heroes to lead your army. Each army unit can only be comprised of a maximum of 8 individual units. The hero is no exception, but you always want to have a hero in your pack whenever possible as they provide their own area of influence (provided your wizard is in that city with the special building I mentioned previously). The great thing about this game is how it handles positioning in battles. Since the grid is hexagonal you can surround and enemy unit with six of your own. When one of them attacks or if one is attacked all the surrounding units (provided they're withing one hexagon range) get dragged in the battle. It can end up providing such strategic options you're never gonna have a boring game. Two new races are added to the ones that were kept from the previous games, making this installment feel like a steal. They're all very diverse, very fun to play in their own unique way and best of all, it can take a while to discover all they have to offer which provides a great incentive to keep on trying the same race until you've squeezed all there is out of it. The campaign itself is lighthearted in dialogue, serious in events but very engaging altogether. You'll find yourself wasting just as much time here as you will in multiplayer skirmishes or custom maps. I don't want to spoil anything but the intro will provide a good sense of what the campaign focuses on. The visuals and audio, in my opinion, should be tackled together. They compliment each other so well it immerses you completely the second you start a game. Some unit sounds can get on your nerve every now and then but I've always looked at them as good comic relief and frequently would taunt my hot-seat friends with them. Good fun. The levels themselves are all full of detail, never bothering the eye with blandness or repetitive tiles. Spell effects are also impressive and add a sort of dreamy fantasy feel to it all. This is where the sound really compliments as not only are spells recognizable based on sound, they also accentuate the feeling of power they have. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone that wants a slightly more refreshing twist on the turn-based strategy genre. While it may seem complex at first, it's really easy to get into even without having played previous installments or other staple games of the genre.
Whenever people talk about PC turn-based strategy games, Heroes of Might and Magic 3 always finds its way into the discussion. There's a miriad of reasons why this particular game from the whole series attracts so many players, making them remember this game above all others in this genre. As mentioned above, this game is a turn-based strategy game. You take turns to buy buildings or units for your castle, to explore the map, you get extra resources each turn depending on how upgraded your castle is or what outside buildings you've either conquered or visited. The right-hand side menu bar helps in keeping all the various things in order while outside, while the bottom bar menu is perfect in organizing your troops within the various castles you might own. The combat is also turn based, with you and your opponent's units sitting across the field from each other. Here, you can unleash spells each combat turn if you've already learned the spell and if you have the spell points for it. You can also arrange your units within a certain radius before starting combat depending on if you have a certain statistic higher than the other player. Combat is also how you gain experience for leveling up, thus allowing you to increase the previously mentioned statistics. The campaigns are immersive enough to keep you playing until the end with various objectives for each mission keeping you on your toes. The events are delivered through text boxes explaining the situation or delivering dialogue, but it never felt bothersome; in fact, with the calming sounds going on in the background, you almost lose yourself as you imagine the situations. Or maybe it's just me, but only a handful of games could pull this off as great as HOMM3 did. And if the campaign wasn't enough, you can play hot-seat games with friends on the same computer. Sure, you can spy on each other, but it's still immensely fun. The visuals in this game are remarkable, full of details and color, and at the same time are easily readable. You instantly know what the situation is even in the most crouded areas of the map. Each unit's art stands out on its own and the animations are fluid and pleasant as they are all rendered CGI. Each map you play on will feel magical, a feat rarely achieved by even the most pretentious games. The cinematics you can find within the game are also quite good for its time and deliver as an immersion point within the game's universe. While everything up to this point sounds like an incredible foundation for a game, the audio definitely does not take a backseat here. Just like the graphics help you determine what is going on visually, so do the sounds help you identify all the action and, in the case of the outside world, any nearby points of interest. You get close enough to a windmill, you will hear specific sounds that make you instantly recognize what's up ahead. World spells, combat spells and unit vocals are also very distinguishable. After finishing a moderate amount of matches, you can close your eyes and know exactly what is going on during a battle. The musical score is even better, if you can believe, making you dive head-on into any game you play. As a final word I'd have to say I don't regret any of the sleepless nigths I've spent playing this game with friends, alone, in the campaign or just skirmish matches. It's a great game, period.
Lords of the Realm III was released in 2004, roughly about eight years after its predecessor, Lords of the Realm II. As would be expected, most everything was updated, however, a lot was either removed or changed so drastically, it felt like the third game was produced by a different developer. This was not the case, as all the games in the series were developed by Impressions Games. The changes were quite unfavorable to fans, as the game was toned down in difficulty and the game was played completely in real-time. I, for one, took these changes as a welcome re-imagining of those historic times. Castle management was a lot easier and you had to manage assaults to and on several fronts. The latter was a lot more forgiving than it sounds, as you could leave an assault in the hands of the AI at any time and tend to other, more important matters, or you could jump in and redirect the AI's decisions if you found them unfavorable. Units were also quite easy to manage. You had your several types of infantry units, cavalry and siege weapons, but each type of unit from either category served best in a certain situation. That isn't to say they weren't generally useful, but it serves to show the developers made the game feel right at home for both casual and more serious gamers. The AI, too, made good use of the units you left it in charge with, further showing the dedication inserted in offering a very good experience. The story mode featured four campaigns, that dealt a little more heavily on diplomacy, but in general you felt compelled to use your brawn rather than brains. This might put off some players, but to me the mix felt just right. As expected, the campaigns increased in difficulty as you progressed, giving way to improving your micromanagement skills on all the fronts presented to you. The visual wonders this game has to offer are very welcome in this type of game. As the engine makes use of 3D as much as any strategy game of 2004, it can only complement the remarkable gameplay it has to offer. You never really feel assaulted with crammed visuals even in hectic battles. It just feels right. This is also further enhanced by the sounds. Both the musical score and the voice acting fit perfectly, I can't really add much more to this except that you must taste it yourself to fully appreciate it. In conclusion, this would fit in any real-time strategist's game collection even if it is a break from all the straight-forward battle-oriented games of this genre available out there. It feels fresh while also familiar to enjoy.
