Conceptiually best heroes game?

[Mace the Councillor]

Hi!

I'd just like to ask everybody which Heroes of Might & Magic game they think is the best conceptually. Which has the best designed factions when it comes to uniqueness and following the given theme. Which has the most interesting ideas for faction themes.

[DaemianLucifer]

HII for me.Each faction was trully unique,not just in looks of its creatures but in how it plays as well.Id voted HIV if not for the infernopollis.

[Omega_Destroyer]

II is the way to go.

[Mace the Councillor]

I voted Heroes III, myself. I suppose I got into the Heroes series a bit too late (fall 1999, after the release of Heroes III) to ever fully appreciate Heroes II.

[The Mad Dragon]

Heroes 2 was simply awesome for it's time. It was definately a great challenge.

[Gaidal Cain]

If we're just talking town design, H2 all the way. If we talk overall game design, I'd frankly be at a loss as to what to vote for, but probably H4 (H2 is missing stuff like wait button, H3 was great when I got it but both H4 and H5 ahas improved over it. H5 is very good in some areas but worse in others. In H4, there's very little I find detracting)

[vhilhu]

h3.

if h2 would have had got mighty_moo / dragonfly / lizardman town, i would have voted h2.

[pepak]

As far as concept goes, Heroes IV without a doubt. Too bad the actual execution of the superior concept was so poor.

[Odish]

3 or 4, 3 or 4? I don't know, they're both gr8.
H2 i got after playing alot with 3 & 4 so although nice will never be my favourite..

H3 was te game that really got me in the serires so i'll have to go with it.

[Metathron]

Has to be HoMM IV, though the execution is lacking in some areas (but I certainly wouldn't call it smack down poor).

The fact that you were presented with a choice as to which creature dwellings to build (levels 2-4) imbued the game with almost endless diversity and replayability. Sure enough, some choices were badly balanced and obviously no-brainers, but luckily the equilibris mod dealt away with some of those (the only creature I still always choose is the cyclops over the ogre magi, not because equilibris ogres would suck so bad, it's just that the cyclops are so good).

The magic system of HoMM IV was, in my opinion, just awesome and provided loads of tactical possibilities. And even the spell descriptions themselves were smart and fun to read.

Then there was the caravan, the fact that creatures accumulated in dwellings, the new battlefield (which I learned to love after taking some time), and about a dozen other peculiarities that contributed to this title being the most conceptually innovative and ground breaking.

[Grumpy Old Wizard]

Homm4 for many of the same reasons Metathron listed.

I also prefer the faction specific magic schools approach of HOMM4 and killable heroes on the battlefield.

It was also possible to make neutral heroes in the map editor and an unlimited number of new heroes, something HOMM5 does not offer unfortunately.

GOW

[Akul]

Talking about factions:

H3 had most factions but they seemed to be nothing more but a bunch of different creatures and hero class names.

In H4 factions are more complex and magic schols, the fact that every class is different, leveling system depends on heroes faction... It got my vote for complexity.

H5 factions are less complex then H4, but are perhaps more diverse. Every faction feels as if gameplay is different and no faction is similiar to one another. If magic was a little bit more faction-specific, it would get my vote (well, I am a mad wizard).

[Marzhin]

For me it is Heroes V. Of course the game has flaws, but on the side of game design it's the one I like the most. Heroes II comes close behind, followed by Heroes IV, then III.

[asandir]

just got to be HII for me, with HIV as a very close second due to some of the more novel ideas it had

[ThunderTitan]

but on the side of game design it's the one I like the most.

What exactly do you like so much?

[okrane]

heroes 4 for me... followed by 5

[george137]

Heroes IV for the same reason as metathrone, and the added RPG elements of the game.

[Graiskye]

Just an observation from a newcomer to the franchise... Anyone else notice, or find it strange that HeroesIV seems to get the nod as being the, 'conceptually', most interesting Heroes. It also seems, judging from other posts/boards,too get slammed as being the worst Heroes.
Just an interesting observation ! It seems that after giving it a proper chance most hard core players give IV its props,I guess change is hard !
I have just started too play HIV, and it seems a pretty good game to me, but Im a newcomer like I said, so I have no preconcieved 'notion' of what it should be like. I bought Heroes V too start but it wouldnt run on my old Nvid card, so I took it back and got IV, and have been having much fun with it.

[DaemianLucifer]

Well HIV had lots of problems with stability and balance,but thats not why many fans disliked it.Its because lots of things changed.Although,many of those were pretty good changes,and if they got implemented better,the game would be an amazing hit.

[Mace the Councillor]

WOW, I didn't realize Heroes IV was this popular. Many people seemed negative to it, in its day. Well, I always thought it was a pretty good game, with a few small exceptions. Removing creature upgrades was a bad idea, IMO, just like a few other things. But overall, a very good game. Heroes III was always y favorite, though.