I have a theory about PC games that get converted to Mac. Basically, I think we get the cream of the crop, and not much else. Of course, the fact that most games take forever to reach the 5% of the population who do own Macs is a huge drag, but I'm never sorry when another great game makes the leap. Heroes III Complete is definitely one such game, and although it isn't everyone's cup of tea, it does what it does so very well. The look of the game is true God's Eye, fairly standard for turn-based strategy games. If you've played games like Myth and Starcraft, you at least have the idea, and although there is a lot of stuff on the screen, graphics are flat 2D. The occasional cut-scene shows off a little, but don't expect to view things cleanly without at least 128MB of RAM and Virtual Memory dialed as far up as it will go. This one is a total memory hog! It makes Photoshop look kind on memory, and I'm not even kidding. Sound is limited to effects and the music themes which play during a battle or at times in your wandering. Again, nobody comes to a game like this for fancy graphics or Dolby Surround, but more for the 'oh sweet lord when will I be able to sleep!' deepness and addictive quality of gameplay.

If you liked Starcraft or Myth, you know Real-Time Strategy (RTS). Things are moving along without you, and the only way to keep up is to gather, build and conquer. Heroes of Might and Magic is a seriously mature franchise that PC gamers have known about forever, and is arguably the best example of Turn-Based Strategy (TBS) anywhere. Heroes III Complete is actually a combo pack of Heroes III: The Restoration of Erathia and The Shadow of Death with Armageddon's Blade as an add-on release. Much like Myth: The Total Codex, or the Diablo and Starcraft 'packs' that were released over the last year for Mac, Heroes III Complete is a great way to get in on what the PC world has known about for years and years. Each of the main games has a unique storyline, settings and characters, broken up into campaigns and scenarios. Instead of only having a choice to play scenarios in order, Heroes III Complete lets you either choose Campaign or Scenario Mode. Campaign is the more linear of the two, but gives you choice in how to play through by way of different maps and objectives. As a practice run, Tutorial is a nice way to get acquainted with the world of Heroes and individual maps can be played out in Scenario Mode. If you haven't tackled much TBS, it doesn't feel quite as dynamic as RTS, but makes up for it in pure depth. Heroes III Complete doesn't come with a printed manual, which is a shame, but lets you browse the manuals in .pdf format after install. Great, except the manuals are obviously the ones written for PC, so you'll see references to the Start menu, and weird keyboard instructions that don't apply. Oh well, we should just feel lucky that we got the game converted, right? Multiplayer is great for LAN, Appletalk or Internet, and easy to set up. As much of a drain as Heroes III Complete puts on your system, latency may be the least of your problems, but Multiplayer can even be managed as a 'hotseat' setup, with players taking turns at the same computer. Multiplayer in any form represents the ability to have multiple human-controlled players, with up to 8 at any one time. Hosting games is possible, as long as everybody knows your IP address (you've got one, right?) and Game Ranger is included as a way to sniff-out active Internet games.

No way could I ever begin to explain the elements of a typical session in Heroes III Complete but suffice it to say that resource building and strategically planned battles are only the beginning. At first, everything around you is clouded, and you explore and conquer slowly. Towns and resource locations can be won, and towns really serve as the nexus for all power-struggles and character building. Multiple heroes can be managed, but often your success hinges on the success or failure of a specific character. Moving around the world, you'll fight and recruit other creatures while digging for treasure and collecting precious artifacts. Aligning creatures is a factor, and maximizing each hero and his/her army is key to winning. Any single scenario, whether played on a small or large map, is incredibly engrossing and will take hours of your time. Consider that there are 200 stock scenarios and you begin to appreciate the time one could invest here. Don't like the stock scenarios? Create your own, or use the random generator to 'roll the dice' and play whatever comes up. This is a TBS gamer's dream.

Nothing about even the Easy Scenario on a small map is simple here. Folks who like things simple will likely be blown away (and discouraged) by how much management and strategy is required to be victorious, but the patient will be rewarded. Impulsive equals dead, and building up a strong army or stronghold is everything. Sometimes the requirements of managing developing heroes and the monsters aligned with them can be daunting, but it all boils down to a mature game that rewards mature gamers. Granted, the abstraction of battles (you're thrown into a different interface to fight) may turn off people who loved Myth or the Blizzard RTS games, but at least give Heroes III Complete a fair try. What may at first seem like poor balance will usually resolve to a need for more preparation or strategy before action.

Under the AI, interface and great storytelling, Heroes III Complete is a little disappointing in terms of the technical requirements. Somehow, it doesn't seem right that a machine capable of running Oni without a hiccup should choke on 2D graphics. Mostly, this is noticeable in creature animations and in the small cut-scene animations for anything from magic effects to watching events play out on the World Map. Not to harp on it, but don't think that 64MB is going to cut it for this one. The interface is actually designed smartly, and if you don't have a 2-button mouse, Command-clicking will show you everything the right mouse-button would have. This kind of information pops up on character descriptions, shows you the makeup of an enemy party, and serves as a good reminder mechanism for elements in the interface after the tutorial is over. Heroes is cool in that it lets you get to places several different ways. Cycling through views to see each of your heroes can be done on the keyboard, but also works by scrolling the map or selecting from a mini-map highlighting territory and holdings. A button-style interface lets you view heroes or towns, and also controls things like movement and system options. Various choices can be made on a system level to affect animation speed, graphics quality and even difficulty. Heroes III Complete feels very much like a product where every suggestion was taken into account, even if it was just someone wanting to do something a certain way. Programmers aren't always wild about redundancy, but this interface is as friendly and flexible as any typical desktop productivity application. Luckily, it's way more fun... =)

Nobody could argue that this is the 800-pound gorilla of strategy games, real-time or turn-based. Since we (Mac people) only have this release to base our decisions on, we won't have to worry about debating with PC gamers which Heroes game is the best. Many people may find the depth is almost intimidating, but strategy gamers wouldn't have it any other way. Finishing or beating Heroes III Complete could well be a lifelong pursuit unless you've got a spare 40 hours socked away somewhere every week, but even if you only play a few of the scenarios contained here, you'll have a taste of one of the smartest gaming experiences available.