The Year in Review: Top Ten News

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Below is my Year in Review column, something I started doing two years ago. This time, the format is different because, to be honest, the last twelve months have been quiet compared to previous years. Here are the top ten events of 2004, sorted by their importance (according to me):

10) While not the bigger tournament around, the Round Table Battles remain one of the friendliest competition. The relaxed format and the cooperation between players proved that it's still possible to play for fun.

9) Various versions of the Equilibris mod are released. The Heroes IV mod makers quickly earned the respect of the community by making the game harder and suitable for an online competition.

8) Gameloft's Might and Magic wins a Spike TV award for the best mobile game, a first award for a Might and Magic game in years. The game was ignored by the Might and Magic community, but it generated decent sales and received good reviews.

7) "Heroes will probably not participate directly in combat", says Fabrice on April 16 at the Round Table. A controversial move, considering that the heroes in combat concept had been quite popular. Perhaps Ubisoft is eager to bring back the fans from the Heroes III era.

6) On March 12, H3Trio decides to close its doors after several years of activity. "It has been a pleasure over the years to serve the Heroes of Might & Magic community, and it allowed me the chance to make many new friends, whom I will never forget," says Black Marauder.

5) The Wake of Gods 3.58 mod is publicly released on August 27. The mod has a huge following that keeps asking for more and more features, and Slava and friends never disappointed.

4) The name of Nival Interactive has been mentionned in rumors all year long. Comments by Nival employees and some artwork found on a public server seem to indicate a partnership between Ubisoft and the Russian developer.

3) TQ Digital announces Heroes of Might and Magic Online for the Asian market. The community was a bit confused and disappointed by the unexpected announcement. But most fans agree that the artwork looks interesting.

2) Jon Van Caneghem joins NCSoft on June 8 to work on a new MMORPG. Until then, Van Caneghem had been talking to Ubisoft about working on their Heroes game, as revealed in a Computer Gaming World interview. Even though Ubisoft might not really need the help of the legendary game designer, Van Caneghem going away marks the end of an era.

1) The announcement of Heroes V get delayed... and delayed. The game was to be announced "in a couple of weeks" according to Fabrice Cambounet in January 2004, and later on some time after the E3 in May, but fans are still waiting nearly a year later. The lack of information about the game had a drastic effect on the activities of the community. Most fans who contributed to the discussions early in the year moved on to other games by the time Fabrice stopped talking. Hopefully, athe upcoming announcement will bring them all back.

Now it's your turn. What is your top event of 2004 in the Heroes community?

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