i didn't get very far in the game, but what i played was grade A stuff. your character is way more powerful then D&D standards, but thats good becuase your often going solo through the game. at least in the beggining you are. the story is top notch stuff too, really inspires a sense of hopelessness and despair. never did tinker with the expansions, can't say much about those.
i got duke nukem 2 on a pc gamer disc a while back, and boy have i enjoyed playing it. i like how in these games, you have a life bar and its not just one hit by an alien and you have to start over. my favorite part was the part where you fly a giant flying car through a level, its pretty hard but a lot of fun.
i have always had trouble with might and magic games, they are quiet challenging. however, the first part at least of this game is just right, easy to get into without a lot of reading the manual. I thought combat was very fun and the enemys died in a satisfying way. purhaps the funnest moment i played was the battle with the wearwolf, took me several armys and several trys to get all his bodyguards. very fun game. i reccomend it especially to fans of HOMM