A preview of Heroes V at Eurogamer tells the story of Ubisoft as it picked up the HoMM series and tried to find a way to market it to a new audience. I'll summarize it with a little dialogue made with actual quotes from the article:

• "Heroes of Might and Magic was starting to fall apart. It's a bit like the Police Academy series, really."
  
• "We're doing Heroes 5, what are your expectations?"
  
• "We want Heroes 3, with new graphics."
  
• "They worship Heroes 3, it's like they kneel in front of it each morning when they go to work..."
  
• "It's not like you are just an evil guy who wants to rule the world - you've got a past history that explains your reasons."
  
• "Or you can play as a fascist, burning people at the stake for criticising you. So it works in two ways."

I wish you could see my raised eyebrow right now. Fortunately, The article talks a little about the various multiplayer modes, in case you missed them. There is also a reference to Heroes VI as "the game that changes the series, and takes it in another direction."

The Cranky Hero and Celeste (that's the name the Round Table people gave her) discuss automatic translation. Don't miss the calendar featuring a famous mouse in the background. It isn't related in any way to Fabrice Cambounet's new signature image. Don't click that link -- you have been warned.