I've returned to this game time and time again over the years after first playing it while I was in college. I love the high fantasy setting with the wide variety of races to choose from and their different traits. Heroes are another big favorite of mine...exploring the numerous monster lairs in search of treasure often takes higher precedence for me than having them lead my armies against opposing wizards.
To me, the game feels like playing your way through a David Eddings or Weiss/Hickman fantasy novel.
Though the game could benefit from a more customizable random world generator (like some of the Civilization games) the one it has is good enough.
It's a shame Microprose never made MoM 2. Regardless, I've returned to this game time and time again over the last 17 years and cannot recommend it highly enough.