I actually first played Fantasy Empires when it was first released, along with other strategy titles such as Stronghold. I was hooked on the game then, and for some strange reason I find myself returning back to it every year or so.
Let me begin with some of the flaws of Fantasy Empires. First, the computer seems able to expand exponentially, acquiring multiple territories each and every round. The result of this ability is game that can seem to stretch on forever, especially when facing multiple opponents, and which can drive players away from the game early.
Another flaw is that the in-game battles seem to run too fast on some modern systems - you can literally blink and the battle will be over. I am also not a fan of the fact that you have to create keeps in each of your territories to make sure they remain in your control - it hampers your economy and makes the game-play less enjoyable than it might have been otherwise. Finally, I will disagree with one of the reviewers above and heartily recommend shutting of the Dungeon Master speech as soon as you can - his tired dialogue and patronizing advice will no doubt drive you crazy if you listen to it for more than a few minutes.
I think that the positives
of Fantasy Empires vastly outweigh the negatives, though. For example, it's fun being able to make a bunch of heroes and send them on quests to acquire magic items. These magic items can then be used to attack your opponents, although I would recommend shutting off some of the animations for these attacks (especially the lightning bolt), as they can take awhile and seem repetitive quickly. Another great feature is the fact that certain units can only be created in certain territories - for example, Elves can only be created in Alfheim, and halflings can only be created in a few of their own regions. I think that this added a nice touch of strategy to the game and I wish more titles today would do this.
Finally, I like the fact that you can choose multiple character classes for the character you play in the game, but I think that the game is heavily favored towards magic users instead of the non-magic using classes.
