Master of Magic without the Caster of Magic mod is a fun game, and worth maybe 50 hours of play. However, Master of Magic with the Caster of Magic Mod is the best turn based strategy game I have ever played. Graphics are obviously not up to the current standard, but the AI is the best I have every played against. The AI, in fact, is the major improvement over the original Master of Magic game. The additional units and spells that the Caster of Magic mod adds, improve the game greatly as well. The game controls are intuitive and easy to learn, especially for a game whose core was designed in the 1990's. The versititliy of strategies are unrivled by any other game I have played and the psuedo DnD feel of the game has great nostalgia value. If you wanted to play a fantasy hybrid between Civilization and Heroes of Might and Magic, this is the game. The only cons are that the graphics are old and you will need a relatively fast computer for the AI/computer turns not to take too long toward the end of the game (after turn 150), which should tell you something about the AI.
Pathfinder is basically DnD 3.5. It is a great system for those who like a little more tactical combat. The story in this game is OK (not as good as BG2, but still decent), but the combat mechanics are more fun, especially when you use teamwork feats. The atmosphere is fantastic and it is really fun exploring the mostly open world. The game is long, and you can easily spend over 100 hours in it. I'm at about 80 hours and figure I'm only halfway through at most. There are a lot of fun classes in Pathfinder (like Magus) and it is fun to try out different classes in your party, for different missions, as you have a variety of companions to choose from (like BG2). However, unlike BG2, they all go up in level at the same time you do, so you are not locked into a specific party configuration if you spend too much time with it. Overall, a great game for tacticians who like a great Fantasy atmosphere. However, the storyline doesn't have quite the same engagment as the best CRPGs like BGII (and presumably BD3, though I haven't played that yet). and the game can take a long time to complete.
