[Sir Michael]

Just because the game is in the first-person perspective doesn't mean that all you are doing is dodging missiles. When was the last time you were able to stop Quake (or whatever, I don't keep up on the latest FPS) and go into turn-based mode?

MM has rich and developed skill, equipment, and spell systems. The game is very well balanced as well. The only flaw was is MM8, when you could put dragons in the party and the game became a cakewalk after that. But show me a game that DOESN'T have problems with balance at some point.

What I always thought was the most cool about the games was being able to fly or walk to the top of hills and look down and see a whole plain full of hobgoblins, wyverns, or whatever between you and your goal, and realizing you will have to fight them (gradually, not all at once) or find a way around them to get what you want or where you are going. It's a sense of perspective that I've found lacking in every other game I've played.