Heroes of Might & Magic V
- July 10, 2006 08:37 AM PST
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An Archlich, an Archangel, and a Dragon walk into a bar . . .
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Ranged units that do damage multiple enemies are worth their weight in goldload up on them early and often.
Heroes of Might & Magic V (HOMM V) shipped missing a lot of things: a decent manual to help you with the hundreds of units, the traditional Heroes map editor, and anything more than a handful of standalone, non-campaign mission maps. But the biggest omissionschiefly game stability, bug squashing, and a little thing known as actual play balancinghas been fixed thanks to a patch. You won't hear an actual chorus of angels singing once you install that patch but you should because that sucker sews up the most egregious wounds in the game, ultimately making HOMM V a more than worthy addition to this beloved turn-based fantasy strategy series.
Pretty on the Inside
If you still have love for the HOMM franchise after the colossal bellyflop of HOMM III then you're in luck because number five has everything your little heart holds most dear: sprawling maps loaded with artifacts and other goodies, unique heroes to level up RPG-style, massive armies built from hundreds of units with unique abilities, a challenging economy to manage, plenty of city-building, andbest of allthe series' signature challenging turn-based battles where the forces of the damned (or the undead, or the elves, or noble humanity, or yadda yadda yadda) face off against their foes. Hardly a turn passes in the game where you aren't faced with a potentially crucial decision, making for addictive, "just one more turn" strategy gaming at its best. And the best Heroes game since HOMM III.
Extreme Makeover
But it doesn't look like a traditional HOMM game and I mean that in a good way. No, in a very good way. The 2D rendered maps and units of yesteryear have been booted in favor of a glittering 3D game engine that creates a simply gorgeous gameworld and injects the chessboard-style battles with new life. While the exploratory nature of the gameplay encourages you to reveal the map in order to grab more resources and snag more goodies, the beauty of the game prods you along as well if only to uncover the next beautiful swath of landscape.
There's a downside to all this goodness though: the 3D terrain can obscure items (here's a tip: if you ever need to hide some gold, drop a mountain on it) and the movement interface is easily confused by the rugged terrain, making navigation a frequent frustration. The lack of non-campaign mission maps is similarly frustrating: for a franchise that has long given its fans a wealth of replayability via standalone maps and a do-it-yourself editor, the reliance on well-executed but still stingy multiplayer features to provide replayability just feels cheap.
Maybe we'll need another patch for that. In the meantime, there's still dozens upon dozens of hours of fun to be had here as is.
Classic good vs. evil conflict as an Archangel battles a demonic Pit Fiend.
