Battle Mages

About

In "Battle Mages," players step into the role of a recent Imperial Magic School graduate, tasked with completing trials for the Battle Mages Guild. With a vast game world and dynamic quest system, players will engage in strategic combat against undead armies and other fantasy races. The choices made and actions taken will significantly impact the game's outcome, ensuring a unique experience for each player.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 130 reviews

music4 positive mentions

story10 negative mentions

The game offers a unique blend of RTS and RPG elements, allowing players to command units while casting spells, which can be engaging for fans of both genres.
Many players find nostalgia in the game, recalling fond memories from their childhood, which adds a sentimental value to the experience.
The game features a variety of spells and unit types, providing opportunities for strategic gameplay and customization of army composition.

The game suffers from significant technical issues, including poor pathfinding, slow combat, and a lack of modern resolution support, making it frustrating to play.
Many players find the gameplay repetitive and tedious, with uninspired quests and a slow pace that can lead to boredom.
The misleading marketing regarding character options and the overall lack of polish in graphics and mechanics detracts from the overall experience.

story
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
78%
13%
The story is generally described as simple and linear, revolving around a classic good vs. evil narrative with a mage apprentice tasked with saving the kingdom. While some players find enjoyment in the various races and spells, many criticize the uninspired and repetitive mission structure, lack of immersion, and occasional glitches that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the story is seen as unremarkable, with a few highlights but largely overshadowed by gameplay issues.
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “Enjoyed it very much :) nice story, different races and spells to try throughout the game, upgrading the troops and choosing the composition of your army so that you can find your own style.”
- “It is quite simple - you are a mage apprentice and receive a quest from your master to become a real mage to be able to save your kingdom and crush your enemies afterwards.”
- “The missions don't have any serious connection to each other besides the global story of the campaign that you are following.”
- “The quests are completely uninspired: go there, talk to that person (you can't even choose replies in dialogue), bring that item over there, escort a slow-ass wagon from point A to point B.”
- “Due to the story breaking into missions and no graphical details during the missions, there was no feel of immersion at all.”
gameplay
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
73%
13%
The gameplay of "Battle Mages" is characterized by standard RTS unit management, but it suffers from numerous mechanical issues, slow pacing, and frustrating controls that detract from the overall experience. While the game features an interesting blend of combat mechanics and RPG elements, many players find the missions tedious and poorly designed, leading to a lack of enjoyment in progressing through the campaign. Additionally, the tutorial fails to adequately prepare players for the complexities of the game, leaving them to navigate its quirks on their own.
- “The core combat mechanics, combined with RPG elements, spell-casting, and rock-paper-scissors tactics, give an exciting mix.”
- “It's a unique, if not perfect, game with solid gameplay, good music, and probably the best credits video I have ever seen.”
- “Interaction with units follows the standard RTS scheme, and unit management is the core gameplay.”
- “Given that is the main part of the gameplay, this is quite a big issue.”
- “The controls feel a bit like backing a tractor through a library at times, and there's this utterly bizarre mechanic in which your mana depletes if you move your view away from your army, forcing you to keep them together as one lump.”
- “First off, the tutorial doesn't cover 90% of gameplay, you have to figure it out on your own.”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
68%
21%
The graphics of the game, released in 2003, are widely regarded as dated and lackluster, with many reviewers noting a lack of detail and immersion. While some appreciate the charm of its old-fashioned visuals, others criticize the poor graphic engine and overall low quality, suggesting that even for its time, the graphics fall short compared to contemporaries. Despite these shortcomings, the game runs smoothly and does not significantly detract from gameplay for those who enjoy its mechanics.
- “The graphics are old, but in a charming old-fashioned way.”
- “The game is old and it's noticeable via the graphics, but it runs smooth and it doesn't hurt the gameplay.”
- “Kool game so far even with dated graphics. I love the different perspective the mage gives you; I'm surprised more games haven't tried this.”
- “Even for a 2003 game, the graphics are somewhat lacklustre (2003 had us playing games like Max Payne 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, so there's no excuses here).”
- “Bad graphic engine, low quality game.”
- “Due to the story break into missions and no graphical details during the missions, there was no feel of immersion at all.”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
68%
14%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the calming piano background while others criticize its inconsistency and interruptions, particularly during combat. Many users reported bugs that caused the music to stop playing after one track, leading to an empty audio experience. Overall, while the music has potential, it often fails to enhance immersion due to its erratic behavior and lack of options for control.
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
- “It’s a unique if not perfect game, with solid gameplay, good music, and probably the best credits video I have ever seen.”
- “The music was most of the time a classic piano playing in the background.”
- “Music sometimes doesn't play until you enter combat, which also instantly stops the second you order your units to 'stop'. This will essentially keep switching between the ambiance track and the combat track until combat ends.”
- “The music never worked right for me; it just disappears after one song every time you start playing.”
- “However, there was no music whatsoever playing out, and the audio felt empty.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many missions feeling similar and units often getting stuck in terrain. While the presence of monster dens encourages grinding for experience, money, and items, the overall experience can become boring over time. The game is recommended for those who enjoy RTS mechanics and are willing to tolerate its slower pace and technical issues.
- “After a while, it gets boring and tedious with the enemies, and all the units getting stuck in the terrain; it's just not fun.”
- “Anyway, old game but nice storyline and it kinda feels grindy with similar missions repeated two or three times.”
- “Monster dens are scattered around every map (the campaign is broken into maps) specifically for grinding experience, money, and items, which can be equipped on units.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
The game offers medium replayability, allowing players to explore different characters and factions through their respective campaigns. While there is some incentive to replay, it largely depends on the player's interest in experiencing all available content.
- “There's definitely some replayability if you care to play through all the different options available.”
- “This game offers medium replayability since you can try out different characters and factions and explore their campaigns.”
- “There is some replayability if you are interested in playing through all the content.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from poor optimization, being locked at a 4:3 aspect ratio without support for modern display resolutions, and it has not been updated to run smoothly on contemporary gaming PCs.
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is consistently praised, with multiple users highlighting its comedic elements and overall fun experience.
- “Funny game!”
- “Funny game!”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report that while the game features a well-written story, it suffers from balance issues and some glitches or bugs. Despite these stability concerns, many players still enjoy the game, rating it highly.
- “The game has a well-written story, but the dialogues are pretty bad. It's not really balanced since you can easily accumulate so much gold and troops. There are also a few glitches and bugs that detract from the experience.”
- “The game features a well-crafted narrative, but the dialogue leaves much to be desired. The balance is off, allowing players to amass gold and troops too easily, and there are several glitches and bugs that need addressing.”