Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia

The Good
The different varieties of monsters, castles, and magic spells. The map editor was one of my favorite parts of the game.

The Bad
The Inferno group only has one shooter. If it had one more it would have been my favorite group.

The Bottom Line
You start with a castle and you build it up. You can buy buildings to create men and then recruit them, and you can build your mage guild (place where you learn your spells). When you have acquired an adequete army you can try to take over the world!