"An extraordinary classic fantasy rpg-strategy game."

I remember going to this store one day and in the bargains box there was this game which caught my eye, Master of Magic. I payed a few dollars for it, but, hell, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that moment. I thought I had just bought a simple old-style game with some fantasy look to it, but this game was something I never imagined.

Master of Magic is one of the greatest strategy game that I have ever played, it is up there in the classics, among Civilization, X-COM, Simcity, Age of Empires, etc.

The first aspects that come to mind when first playing this game, (especially when I first bought it, in 1998 or so), are that the graphics and the sound really stink. Well, this game came out in 1994-95 or so, so you pretty much don’t expect some high-tech advanced graphics or audio.
The game utilizes some simple sprites to show units and cities. The graphics look pretty 16-bit style, or even worse, and the textures, well, there are hardly any textures.
The songs in the game are only 2 or 3, and there are some pretty sound effects which sound as if they were done by a dog or a person via microphone. They do the job of adding sound, but preferably, I play without game sound and put on some mp3 in the background.

Now, the game’s most crucial aspect of this game is the strategic rpg elements and the depth that this game has. First of all, I recommend getting v. 1.31 patch, since otherwise, you won’t be able to play the game right, and there are many bugs.
You start out with a simple settler unit, and have to establish a city. You can either establish it on the first turn (yes, this game is turn-based, but hey, what d’you expect from a 1995 game) and start your little hamlet/village. Also, the town you start off with is your main base, since you’re a wizard, and your tower is placed there.
From then on, you have to grow economically, research new magic spells, build an army, build more settlers so you can found more cities, meet other wizards, and your main objective is to defeat these other wizards. In order to do this, you can either build a giant army to crush them one by one, or you can use diplomacy in order to ally with someone and kill the other wizards first, then finally kill him.
The wizard aspect is very important. Before even starting to build your first city, you have to choose either one of the 14 preset wizards which have their own attributes, or you can customize one. If you’re just starting out, choosing one of them is fine. However, once you start becoming more expert, you’ll definitely want to try out the customize feature. You can choose in what areas of magic you want to specialize. Choose between the power of nature, the illusion of sorcery, the evil powers of death, the rumbling chaos, or the heavenly light. You have 11 spell books/units which you have to use, and for each unit, you can choose between one of these elements. So, you could have like 11 chaos books, or 5 books of death and 6 of nature. You cannot have books of life and death, though. However, you are not limited to this. You can also not use the books for spells, and use them to have special attributes instead. I’ll state a few, warlord increases the power of your army, charismatic makes you more friendly looking to your fellow wizards and fame makes you more famous and you can get better items from merchants and more offers from heroes.
Heroes are a particular unit in the game, you can only have 6 units of heroes, and they are unique as in they can wear items (such as weapons, armor) and they gain experience (like other units) except that they go way beyond their levels. They are generally much stronger than other units.
The game’s depth lies in mastering this game and its various aspects, and trying harder difficulties as you become more expert.

If you’re a person who doesn’t judge a game by it’s graphics or sound, and/or is a person that is patient enough to play turn-based strategy games, then, by all means, go buy this game. It is an absolutely rewarding experience. (The only problem is that, heh, it doesn’t run on win xp machines).

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 03/05/03, Updated 03/05/03