Lords of Magic: Special Edition

"Favorite PC Game to Date"

Well... let's just get right into it, shall we?

Story: 9/10

You are in control of a nation (faith) of people. Each faith has its own strengths, weaknesses, etc. You may choose to be the almost purely offensive, purely defensive, ranged, melee, or fall somewhere in between. You might choose to make peace with your neighboring faiths, or choose to take over their land, and kill their Lord. Either way, you can blaze your own trail through the history of Urak. If, you do decide to obliterate another faith, the whole army of that faith will be hurling itself at your Lord, swearing vengeance. Or, you could maintain a good relation with your neighbors, and trod their ground in peace. You can even do both.

Game play: 10/10

Spectacular. Stupendous. Stellar. Running out of S words, here. Amazing. There's just something about it that makes you feel like you're in total control. Except for the battling, everything is turn based. Unless a computer gets in a fight with you, then it might take thirty seconds for it to get back to your turn. Tops. Not only that, but with the game being turn based, you have to sacrifice one thing for another. Will you leave your capital in search of a new gold mine? Or will you stay, just in case your sworn enemy is just over the hill? During combat, will you leave a group of archers to defend your Lord, or will you move them, and hope your Lord ends up alive? Will you cast that spell, giving all your warriors +1 attack, or give them +1 defense? Unless you're completely overwhelming, and out leveling the enemy, one wrong move could spell disaster.

Levels go from 1-12 (for your Lord), 1-10 (for a Champion), and 1-5 (for a minion). Each level is invaluable, and having to constantly buy new minions may be a somewhat annoying task, especially if you haven't bothered giving them experience.

You can equip your champions with weapons, rings, armor, staves, etc, boosting their skills immensely. You can have them wield a potion, just in case they begin to die. You can even have them use nothing at all.

If you do decide to make war with your neighbors (or get via bartering with them), you can use some of their military units to your advantage. For example, if you're of the Life faith, who have a horrible defense, and you decide you'd much rather use a Dwarven Axe Warrior, or an Order Horseman, for their superior defense, go right ahead. Or don't. Whatever you want.

Graphics: 7/10

Although not great, they work perfectly with this game, especially on an older system. You have an overhead view of the game at all times. When you're in combat, you get closer, so you can actually see and control your own units. It works great, they never get so horrible you don't know what is what, but they aren't as sharp as say... Final Fantasy Ten.

Map Editor: 10/10

...Wow. Limitless possibilities. You can set an infinite amount of encounters, you can completely alter the terrain. You could even set all the nations right next to each other, then watch them fight.

You can set the level of the encounter (1-11, 11 being hardest), what kind of enemies you'll find in it, where it'll be, etc.

You can make it incredibly difficult for one faith, and horrendously easy for another. Once again, it's all up to you.

Multiplayer: 9/10

Since there are only three levels of difficult in the game (Easy, Medium, Hard), you'll eventually want to travel into the multiplayer area. Now, it being a strategy game, you'll have to think about your turns, and make wiser decisions. You can set a time limit so someone doesn't take hours on their turn.

Overall: 9/10

This is an older game, so you can probably pick it up for about $10. And it is well worth it. I play it quite often, and I've had it for years. It never loses its appeal.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/09/03, Updated 04/09/03