Rating: 
Summary: DO YOU DARE TO FACE DEATH FOR THE FATE OF THE WORLD?
Review: I first encountered Lords of Magic as a demo and immediately fell in love with this engaging, difficult, sometimes maddening but eminently addictive game. Even in the relatively spartan demo game LOM's strong points were irrisistible: the classic theme of pure good vs. pure evil, the picturesque maps, the enchanting and absolutely gorgeous music (probably the best of any game I've encountered), the multifaceted tactical combat system, and last but not least the game's superb replayability.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!
Rating: 
Summary: The Demo
Review: I first started out playing the demo I found it very difficult because there were so many limits so when I got The real thing it was very easy so biginners should start with the demo.
Rating:
Summary: Fire is good
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: a very stratigic game
Review: I have played the demos and the complete game. I've learned that you have play on easy mode for a while before you should get on tougher modes. It may take a while to get more followers( so you can get more recruits )but once youve got enough power you can beat lord balkoth in a snap. you should save your game at least every half hour. I reccomend that you don't use cheats because it could mess up your computer. this game can be hard but once you've learned every thing you can master it.
Rating:
Summary: life and air
Review: I liked this game it took me along tiem to understand it but after I understood it, the game got too easy now I can beet the game on normal in abotu 150 days it is too easy but also I have had the game for about liek 4 years a long time. if you leave your herrow at the place liek a thefe at the theves guild then if you buy a new thefe it will be at a much hier leve the only thing is the thef that you leave at the guild has to be at a very high level
Rating:
Summary: Awesome game, the best I have ever played
Review: I loved this game, I played it for over two years every day. You can use many varied strategies on the battlefield, and there is not ever just one way to win.
There are many special features in this game, some that I discovered just as I was beginning to get bored with it. The map creation tool is great, and the legends are awesome.
It is fun to be an evil race, particually death, and conquer the world, but there is a certain satisfaction in beating up on Balkoth as a good race as well.
Prehaps the only bad thing about the game is that archer's arrows only ever hit their target or miss everything, and there is not much advantage in higher ground.
The 'last save' option is great, you can fight a battle 1000 times until you are pleased with the outcome, and you never miss much at all if you don't save.
I seriously believe Sierra should expand on this brilliant game, which is worth $$$... any day.
Rating:
Summary: Great Fun, but . . .
Review: I really enjoyed many aspects of this game, and bought each one of the LoM bug fixes (why do you have to pay for their bug fixes?) hoping that they would solve some of the problems I found with it, but am still waiting. I really like the fantasy concept and the ability to build up one of several races. I have spent quite a bit of time with this game over the past year or so, and certainly like the ability you have to develope you characters and also build you kingdom. It is all great stuff, but . . . You just spend too much time waiting between turns! Waiting and more waiting drives you nuts because you are eager to get on with the game. Also the game locks up and fatals out during some especially interesting battles. This is very frustrating and teaches you to save your game on a regular basis. The game also seems to be too easy to defeat once you have built up your armies to point where it is getting to be great fun. The bad guys just seem to top out and then become patsies who are easy to defeat. I keep hoping that the next LoM update will fix the slow play and the random hanging, but no luck so far. Maybe the next one will get it right, but most likely there will not be a next one.
Rating:
Summary: so sweet!!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: looking forward to LoM II
Review: Lords of Magic is a very ambitious game. It has great graphics and sound, and it is quite different from all of the Warcraft clones out there. Unfortunately, the game has many problems. The AI is seriously flawed in combat, and when bartering with computer players. Also, the game is just too easy. It may take a while to biuld up your forces, but you can win the game without ever encountering serious opposition. Sure, the marauding parties are a constant nuisance, but they usually never accomplish more than taking over a brewery for a day or two before you eliminate them. Despite its flaws I really like what the game tries to accomplish. With a little more variety and much better AI the next Lords of Magic could be the best fantasy-strategy game available.
Rating:
Summary: Lords of Magic
Review: Lords of Magic is an exciting and challenging game in which you will have to pick one of 8 faiths. Then, you will have to create and lead creatures to take over your Great Temple, Breweries, Caves, and many other buildings that you will find. Your main objective though is to get big armies from the spoils of buildings and defeat Balkoth, the necromancer of the Death faith. Everyone will love this challenging game.
|
