"A great Strategy War game"

Fantasy Empires is one of the greatest medieval strategy war games I've ever played. It was excellently executed and it was done by TSR (what more do you need). I feel that this is one of the best games of the genre.

Story: The story is simple, you are looking to conquer the country side. But others are trying to do the same, and they will stand in you way (or try to). You may choose your characters alignment, thus choosing how he will go about ruling the country. Your alignment will change to better represent you actions though, so be careful.

Graphics: The graphics are dated, but it's a DOS game and the graphics serve the purpose. When you see a wizard, you know it's a wizard and when you see a castle, you know it's a castle. The character portraits are very well done. The overhead map looks extremely beautiful, or dark and twisted depending on where you are at.

Gameplay: The gameplay is flawless. You direct your army from an overhead perspective. You may take control of individuals in your army at any given time to work a better strategy, because occasionally the AI of your army is a little sub-par. You earn tributes from the territories you own and you use this money to recruit troops, and build castles, mage towers, and temples (to name a few). you can also use this money to bribe other leaders into leaving you alone for a while.

Sound: The music is splendid, very reminiscent of an orchestra playing war music. The voice (only the DM has a voice) sounds very god like which is most appropriate for the character who oversees all that happens in the game. He will chide your lawful characters for having too many undead: ''Due to the number of undead in your army, you would better serve chaos.''

Difficulty: The difficulty varies, it all depends on who you choose to be you opponent (and how many you choose). If you want an easy game try facing Nightspawn. For a near impossible game, try facing both Dambervale and Prince McGregor. Your character will get stronger as he defeats opponents, but don't underestimate your opponents.

Should I buy this game? If you can find a copy of this game, I highly recommend purchasing it. I bought this game as part of a TSR collection. All the games were good, so if you see it, pick it up.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/20/02, Updated 01/20/02