Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars

The Good
My feelings towards Heroes of Might and Magic II are a mixed bag. I both hate it and love it. How come? Difficult to answer... I guess I just keep comparing it to the glorious Master of Magic, and it consistantly fails to match it. But truth to be told, Heroes of Might and Magic II is an excellent game in all respects.

• High resolution, extremely sharp and smooth (on a P166) graphics. Animations are very good, landscapes and cities simply spectacular. While its sequel improved this aspect of the game considerably, Heroes II's graphics are certainly something to gawk at.
• Great music! Without a doubt the aspect of Heroes II I most appreciate is its music. Terrific MIDI soundtrack (which sounds particularly good with my AWE32), which has a few masterpieces and many great tracks.
• Good user interface. While I reckon it could be slightly improved, a lot of thought had been put into Heroes II, and to good use - the interface is very convenient, simple, easy to learn and makes a lot of sense.
• Great gameplay! Campaigns aside (I don't particularly like built-in campaigns anyway), Heroes II has great gameplay, without a shadow of a doubt. This game is addictive, so much in fact that I spent the better part of two months playing it and it alone.

The Bad
I'd say that the real caveat in Heroes of Might and Magic II is the pretty daft AI. Even in the most difficult setting the game isn't particularly hard (once you get past the computer's incredible spreading in the beginning of the game), and at the lower settings the game is particularly easy. The worst that the computer can do is annoy you.

Another caveat is the pretty lame in-game campaigns - they're just plain boring.

The Bottom Line
A true classic. Everyone knows this game, most people love it and everyone will remember it in years to come.