A hex map unfurling, and suddenly it's 4am and you have no idea how.

When the community picks on instinct, Heroes III edges past two thirds of games, already a good signal even if it rests on few duels. The detail confirms and refines it. On the desert island, it blows everything away, ahead of 95% of titles, and the soundtrack climbs almost as high, past 9 games out of 10, true to its legendary score. Attachment, fun and art direction all land above the average. Two shadows on the picture: the urge to rediscover it and above all the controller-in-hand pleasure fall low. Makes sense, this is a game of the mouse and patient strategy, not of instant thrills.

In the turn-based fantasy strategy genre, it's a monument, the yardstick whole bloodlines of successors still try to match. Its depth has crossed two decades.

So, who's it for? For you if you love thinking long, managing an army, losing yourself in a session without watching the clock. Much less if you want twitch and feel in your hands, that's simply not what this game offers.