Lords of Magic

"A game to conquer all strategies!"

Introduction
First off, I am generally not a fan of strategy games. This game is just an exception. Lords of Magic was probably the first strategy game that I ever owned for the PC, and it made me think about whether I would like strategy games. After purchasing a couple more games, I decided that I was right in hating strategy games, and that LOM was just a very good exception.

Story 7/10
The basic story is that Golgoth, the all-powerful God of Death has decided to conquer the world of Urak, through the means of his servant, Balkoth. The seven other elements of the world, Life, Order, Chaos, Fire, Water, Air and Earth have to unite against Death, and to prevent Balkoth from ruling the world. You start off by choosing an element you wish to represent, and whether you would like to be a warrior, mage or thief. The story is very cliche, but Sierra manages to pull it off, giving it an unique feel.

Gameplay 10/10
Click on your soldiers, click where you want them to go, click on the enemy. What could be simpler? The advantages of the mouse means that this game has a simple and easy to learn control system, with nothing complicated or tricky about it like on a console game. The buttons on screen are self explanatory, meaning you can easily learn how to play without any instruction manual or booklet.

Graphics 7/10
The graphics on this game are reasonably detailed. The overview, where you tell your troops where to move has quite simple graphics, but the battle screens are very detailed, with floor variants and dozens of detailed soldiers. Also, the small scenes which you see when a Lord is killed are very detailed, almost video-quality, crisp, detailed images and smooth edges.

Sound 8/10
There is some good sound tracks while you are playing through this game. The music, depending on where you are, in building, travelling or in a battle, changes with the mood. There is some really dramatic music for while you are in the battlefield, and there is gentle music for in buildings. There are also voices included in the game, where your soldiers and people in buildings talk to you. This is not always a good thing, as they say only a handful of phrases, and can get quite annoying and repetitive for some.

Play Time/Replayability 10/10
There are so many different things you can do in each game, and so many choices you can make. You can choose from seven different elements, eight after you defeat Balkoth, and you have the choice of starting the game with a thief, warrior or mage. This gives you 28 different starting combinations to begin with. You can also adopt numerous techniques on how to go about your mission. Whether you want to be diplomatic, and negotiate with the other faiths, or whether you want to just go all out attack and kill everyone and everything you see. There are also dozens of weapons to find, collect or win from caves around Urak.

Conclusion
This game is a must-buy for people who like fantasy games and/or strategy games. Even if you don't like strategy games, I suggest you give this game a try, you might be surprised!

Overall Rating = 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/30/04