Lords of Magic, Special Edition (Jewel Case)

Naturally, when I got my hands on the full game I was hopelessly spellbound. My wife might say "hexed"! Be warned: if you do buy this game, be aware you will be investing not only hard-earned cash (though not much--the price is a steal), but huge pockets of your time. This is not only because LOM is great fun, but because it's exceptionally difficult as well. Beating this game is not easy. Be prepared to take your lumps and go through a lot of frustration (albeit fun frustration!) before you finally win the day.

The game itself is strategy-based, and runs on turns during which each of the eight paths--called "faiths"--that populate the world of Urak make their moves. Though the turn system is convenient and offers your character many choices of action, each turn does take a while. Healing and resource accumulation are based on the passage of time, so after a tough battle you will have to sit passively through a few turns to recuperate. Moreover, the map of Urak over which your character moves is pretty big, and it can take several turns just to get from A to B, during which time you may be attacked by wandering monsters or see one of your fortresses sacked by raiding parties. To put it mildy, LOM is not for the impatient!

LOM follows a straightforward fantasy formula: the world of Urak is being overrun by the armies of Death itself, led by Balkoth the Destroyer, a diabolical necromancer who commands huge armies both living and dead and a powerful arsenal of black magic. You the player must choose a champion from one of eight different faiths (Order, Water, Air, Chaos, Fire, Earth, Life, or for those who have beaten the game at some point possibly even Death)and take on Balkoth and his seemingly limitless hordes on as either a Warrior, Mage, or Thief. (I personally usually choose to be a Warrior of Order, since that allows me to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a Paladin or Knight.) Each class of character is different from faith to faith, so the possible characterizations are many and varied. Whichever type of hero you choose, your character starts out weak and unknown and must slowly, painstakingly build himself up in terms of experience, magic, artifacts, fame, money, and military might. This means liberating besieged dungeons and forts and defeating enemy troops or marauding monsters, or bartering with friendly neighbors (of which there aren't many). Battle resolution is fun and plays in real time so there's a lot of variety. Battles do feature a "pause" option if you want to reconsider things and there's also an "autocalculate" button if you want the computer to determine the battle's outcome for you, though it seems the computer often underestimates the player's strength. If things go badly, the "restart" option lets you give it another go, and you may want to save your game often. If--and I do mean if--you meet and defeat Balkoth head-to-head, you win!

Lords of Magic probably isn't for everyone. The slow pace will aggravate those more inclined towards fast arcade-style games, and the fact that you may have to play for several days on end is an understandable turn-off for others. Moreover, the game can get repetitious at times, as you're likely to have to conquer and reconquer the same territory several times and spend an awful lot of game time simply convalescing. And then there's the simple fact that LOM is a very difficult game. Merely staying alive can be a problem, especially if you're ambitious, and actually killing Balkoth may seem like an impossible dream after you've just given your 53rd character the last rites.

But you can win, if you've got the time, patience, and energy it takes. If you do, then I heartily recommend Lords of Magic to you. When you finally finally kill the Arch-Demon of Death, it will all be worth it!


Fire is good   December 4, 2003
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I have had this game for a year, but I have still not beat it. It is tough, but it is a fun tough that you get addicted to. You start the game by picking a class for your champion-Warrior, Mage, or Thief. Next you pick a faith, all with different strengths and weaknesses. You have to fight monsters in caves to build up your experience, and then take your Great Temple. That is just the very beginning. The graphics for this game are not the best considering the games that are out now like Halo and the Matrix, but the gameplay is what keeps me coming back to my computer. I have always liked strategy games and fiction; this game combines the two. I like the turn-based playing system because you don't have to worry about being attacked while your trying to do something like in Age of Empires. Resource gathering and troop producing is more realistic in this game than in any other one I've played. The special Quest are great. This is a game you do not want to use cheats on, because they make the game dumb. I give it 5 stars, the gameplay overshadowing the poor graphics.


so sweet!!   November 12, 2003
 1 out of 6 found this review helpful

Ilove the graphics,music,the so-so battle,and the nonstop carecters.the fact that u get to be the bad guy(balkoth)after u defeat him the first time is not original but after u play as him everone else just stinks.the weapons are beutifully graphic and magic divercity is unparelel.also that u can command fallowers to mine for u and be trained up to worriors.this is the m,ost realistic medival game i ever played!u even have too summon mages to teach u spells from your library.after u play this game u will know what a pro is and forget the word con from your vocab.


Impressions of an amateur   July 13, 2003
First of all, I'd like to say I got a demo of "Lords of Magic : Special Edition" from a friend who never liked it, and when I started playing I immediatedly enjoyed it, especially for the combination of turn-based strategy with the real-time one, which allows a lot of independence on the battlefield to the player. The way followers are being introduced to the player is also one of my preferences, but I think the methods of renewing troops is a little difficult for anyone who plays (I hate having to go all the way to my fortress to recruit warriors so that my experienced ones don't die). Other than that, the game is great. I gave it five stars.