"A shining example of a CLASSIC video game - GREAT FUN !!"

FOREWORD

Although it's been around for DONKEYS years, Master of Magic has always stood out in my estimations as one of the hallmarks of video game coolness that I was fortune enough to experience when I was growing up. You know the titles I mean ... titles that stick out in your mind as having been a GOOD turn in the video games lineage ... like Street Fighter II when it FIRST came out ...or Sonic the Hedgehog when that was first released.

It represented a breath of fresh air when it hit the shelves back in 1993, and still has a special place in my collection as one of those classic games that I play to remind me of the good old days ...

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME

Master of Magic is a turn-based strategy game, the deceptively simplistic object of which is to conquer two worlds - Arcanus and Myrror, crushing or enslaving your enemies as you go until you become the ''Master of Magic''.

As the name suggests, this game is ALL about magic ... troop management, the development of your chosen race, city construction and maintenance and diplomacy with the other wizards you encounter is vital, but it's the MAGIC that makes the world go around (no pun intended). So ! Without further ado ?

LET'S GET IT ON !! =D

GRAPHICS - 7/10

The graphics in this game are EXTREMELY functional. Even when the game was released in 1993 there were much prettier and more glamorous titles drifting about, and by today's standards, the graphics look DECIDEDLY dated I'm sorry to say.

HOWEVER, having said this the graphics have a quirky originality to them that sticks in your mind ... even now some characters stick in my mind - like Jaer the Wind Mage and the Shadow Demon units ... they were cool *wipes a tear from his eye*.

Anyhow. The graphics are all animated, but only with a very limited number of frames per unit - whilst units are moved on the overland map, combat takes place in a 3/4 view of the area in question, which is neat as it presents the game an opportunity to display backgrounds that reflect the terrain - e.g. the introduction of ice or fire, and so on ...

The portraits of your rival wizards (which are used during diplomacy and negotiations) are far from beautiful, they are, again, functional, and do the job well enough. The wizards faces animate when they speak, and it is rather obvious from their facial expressions and the music that is playing (which I'll get to in a moment) whether they are happy with you or not ...

... so, whilst the graphics are certainly nothing to write home about, they do their job reasonably well.

SOUND - 7/10

Again, the sound is dated. There's no fairer or unfairer way to describe it. The game lacks digitized speech, and relies on music to add emphasis to the dialogue you engage in when you are speaking with other wizards (which I must admit actually DOES work !!). The sound effects add to the enjoyment of combat ... there's NOTHING quite like listening to your Sky Drake SCREECHING as it lays into a group of unsuspecting enemies and gobbles them up whole ...

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAR.

To sum up the sounds, the music sounds decidedly .midi in style, and the sound effects in-game are reasonable - nothing more than that. The spellcasting sound effects are quite enjoyable in my opinion, and even though it is a bit of a pain trying to get all the sound (i.e. sound effects and music) to run on modern PC's, it's worth it in my book as they do add to the enjoyment of the title).

CONTROLS - 8/10

The majority of functions can be performed using the keyboard, and ALL can obviously be done using the mouse.

Whilst there is no tutorial as such, most of the screens are easy to work with and once you have gone through your routine actions a couple of times you should have no problem rattling through them at break-neck speed any time you want to - e.g. urgently converting gold pieces to mana points, or casting the ''recall hero'' spell once you start to get your butt whupped in combat.

PLOT - 8/10

Whilst it is EXTREMELY simplistic in concept, the plot can twist and turn as you play - new wizards being introduced as you encounter them, and treaties and alliances forming and being broken as you play. There is no linear plot to follow - basically the game is the equivalent of a head-to-head session where you pick the number of opponents and duke it out with them for control over Arcanus and Myrror.

Having two worlds to conquer adds another dimension to the game as well, since they occupy the same space it is possible to teleport from one to another and, depending on the emphasis you have placed in the schools of magic you have studied, you can even warp planes for an entire group of your units, which can really flummox your enemies or get you out of trouble quickly if needs be.

GAMEPLAY - 10/10

If I could give it higher ? I would. This game is HELLISHLY addictive in spite of its dated graphics, sound and simplistic plot. I believe its addiction stems from the sheer level of detail you can immerse yourself in when you are playing it. If you wish, you can control EVERYTHING that goes on, from the spell you are researching or casting to the diplomatic talks you enter into with the other wizards in the game, to the grouping and movement of individual units on the overland map AND during combat (which I think is great - it really irritates me when you have no control over combat, but in this game you can take TOTAL control over what's going on - even aiding your units with spells during combat (mana permitting)), right the way down to what buildings and units are being constructed in each and every one of your cities.

The game's designers have thought of pretty much EVERYTHING, from the gross to the minute. One neat feature that I particularly like is that you get varying levels of unrest depending on what race you have chosen when you conquer other races' cities - e.g. the Dark Elves, whom I ADORE, are loathed by EVERYBODY, so you get considerably higher levels of unrest in cities that you conquer as the Dark Elves than you would if you were playing, say, the Halflings.

REPLAY VALUE - 10/10

Whilst there is only limited scope for play - as in, the game functions (as I have said above) as essentially little more than a head-to-head free-for-all with options dictated by yourself, given its HUGE level of addictiveness, there is PLENTY of scope for replay.

Plus there are ''random events'' that you can turn on should you wish, to add to the uniqueness of each session.

Ah yes, there's nothing quite like having pirates loot half your gold when you are JUST about to sink all that dosh into funding your latest war effort.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

VALUE FOR MONEY - 10/10

It was 10 when you had to pay for it, and now the game is available freeware.

I don't believe I am entitled to post its freeware download location in this review, but you can always contact me for the info ;)

GET ... IT ... NOW !!!!! That's all I have to say !!

OVERALL - 9/10 (This is NOT an average)

If you are looking for an old-skool game that enriches you for the experience of playing it, even though graphically, aesthetically and sound-wise it most DEFINITELY isn't going to cause your jaw to drop ? Then you should DEFINITELY give this title a good thrashing. If you are fan of good turn-based strategy games, then you should already OWN three dozen copies of this title. If you are into arcade shooters ? Then skip it. It's not designed for those of you that are looking for a quick fix (unless you're a long-time follower of the title and easily able to quickly customise your character and army to your liking) - each session can take hours to complete (and that's WITHOUT cheating) lol.

MAIN GOOD POINTS

* VERY addictive.
* Immersive and enjoyable by virtue of the sheer depth of involvement you can enjoy whilst playing.
* Great replayability.

MAIN BAD POINTS

* Graphics are dated.
* Sound is dated.
* The title was released in 1993 and is, consequently quite difficult to get running on newer operating systems (2000/ME/XP) especially. In most cases, the game will run, but without sound ... and even though I've told you about 3,000 times that the sound is dated ? It DOES add to the enjoyment.

SO SHOULD YOU GET IT ?

Are you MAD !?!?! You should already be trawling the 'net to find a freeware download for it !! Or come see me !!! I don't care !!!!! JUST GET IT !!!!! I very much doubt you will be disappointed by the experience, and if you do ? It's freeware !! Just delete it !! ;)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/03