This was my introduction to role playing games in general, D&D especially. I have put many many hours into this game, so many that I could only guess at the number. You get so much with this title, the "premium modules" which I never actually owned until I bought the Diamond Edition, the toolset to make custom equipment (which you can use through the original campaigns and the dlc campaigns) and whole worlds yourself. The original campaign is really long, but it's not the sort of story you can play through more than a couple of times before you are just going through the motions and playing on auto-pilot. The second and third campaign storylines are better, there's more humour and depth - and Deekin - to get you through it so that even when you've played it a few times, it's still amusing and attention grabbing. I feel that in terms of how you play it, from the HUD to the controls, it's much less complicated and almost fool proof in comparison to Neverwinter Nights 2 (if you've played that already).
I think what I love most about this game is that much of the humour and absurdity is lost on anybody who doesn't go out of the way to notice it - it feels as much as a reward to those who do take note of the little things as it adds colour and depth to the make believe world the hospital exists in. In practical terms, the game is easy in most respects, but you do need to actively monitor your hospital to prevent all hell breaking loose so while it's not especially challenging, it has more than enough within the environment to keep your attention. It's strategic elements are what draw me to it the most, where to put the rooms to keep traffic flowing, where to put the chairs to have the most effect, how many staff members do you need before you have the number you need and not too many... It's an interesting and in-depth adventure. There will never be a time when I don't enjoy this game.
There really isn't praise high enough, you can put a couple hundred hours into this game without even taking any notice. Having put more than a couple thousand hours into this game over the years, much of it lacks the inital magic I experienced when I first loaded the game and threw myself into it - but it is still a fabulous game and the campaigns and single quest maps are plentiful. It is a keen reminder that while modern games spoil us with mind blowing graphics, and impressive musical scores, there was a time when to be a good game, a game had to have substance, replayability and originality. This game has all of that, and in my opinion, is the best of the entire Heroes of Might and Magic series.
I played this game as a kid, it was brilliant and such tremendous fun. It's going on my wishlist and I'm buying it at the first available opportunity! I played this game alongside the greats of my childhood, Duke Nukem & Commander Keen! So much fun!
