Whenever people talk about PC turn-based strategy games, Heroes of Might and Magic 3 always finds its way into the discussion. There's a miriad of reasons why this particular game from the whole series attracts so many players, making them remember this game above all others in this genre.
As mentioned above, this game is a turn-based strategy game. You take turns to buy buildings or units for your castle, to explore the map, you get extra resources each turn depending on how upgraded your castle is or what outside buildings you've either conquered or visited. The right-hand side menu bar helps in keeping all the various things in order while outside, while the bottom bar menu is perfect in organizing your troops within the various castles you might own.
The combat is also turn based, with you and your opponent's units sitting across the field from each other. Here, you can unleash spells each combat turn if you've already learned the spell and if you have the spell points for it. You can also arrange your units within a certain radius before starting combat depending on if you have a certain statistic higher than the other player. Combat is also how you gain experience for leveling up, thus allowing you to increase the previously mentioned statistics.
The campaigns are immersive enough to keep you playing until the end with various objectives for each mission keeping you on your toes. The events are delivered through text boxes explaining the situation or delivering dialogue, but it never felt bothersome; in fact, with the calming sounds going on in the background, you almost lose yourself as you imagine the situations. Or maybe it's just me, but only a handful of games could pull this off as great as HOMM3 did. And if the campaign wasn't enough, you can play hot-seat games with friends on the same computer. Sure, you can spy on each other, but it's still immensely fun.
The visuals in this game are remarkable, full of details and color, and at the same time are easily readable. You instantly know what the situation is even in the most crouded areas of the map. Each unit's art stands out on its own and the animations are fluid and pleasant as they are all rendered CGI. Each map you play on will feel magical, a feat rarely achieved by even the most pretentious games. The cinematics you can find within the game are also quite good for its time and deliver as an immersion point within the game's universe.
While everything up to this point sounds like an incredible foundation for a game, the audio definitely does not take a backseat here. Just like the graphics help you determine what is going on visually, so do the sounds help you identify all the action and, in the case of the outside world, any nearby points of interest. You get close enough to a windmill, you will hear specific sounds that make you instantly recognize what's up ahead. World spells, combat spells and unit vocals are also very distinguishable. After finishing a moderate amount of matches, you can close your eyes and know exactly what is going on during a battle. The musical score is even better, if you can believe, making you dive head-on into any game you play.
As a final word I'd have to say I don't regret any of the sleepless nigths I've spent playing this game with friends, alone, in the campaign or just skirmish matches. It's a great game, period.