GameSpy Review Now Online

[Angelspit]

William Abner, who wrote the Heroes V previews for GameSpy, is back with his final review of the game. He describes the new game as an utterly addictive and fun, and a worthy addition to the storied franchise. However, the list of problems is longer than what we saw in the articles published earlier this week: camera problems, disappointing sounds, forgettable music, slow and uneven campaigns, corny cutscenes, lack of content, buggy multiplayer, and the list goes on.

<blockquote><i>"Despite some obvious flaws and failure to try anything spectacularly new, the fun in Heroes of Might and Magic V manages to win out."</i></blockquote>

The game manages to get three and a half stars out of 5, one of the lowest scores so far. You may remember that both Heroes IV and The Gathering Storm expansion got four stars from GameSpy back in 2002, before the Winds of War add-on was trashed with a single star.

If you would like to take a look at the original page visit this link:
https://www.celestialheavens.com/1148607670

[Psychobabble]

That was a really good review, I agree with it on most points. The game is very fun and enjoyable to play, but it is let down a bit by some sloppy execution and non-innovative design.

[Campaigner]

"non-innovative design"....and what's that supposed to mean...? That it's like Heroes III? That's a good thing if you ask me and half of Russia.

[dragonn]

Forgettable music!? Nonsense...

[reynaert]

caravans :'(

[Kalah]

That Heroes 4 (which was released without as much as a multiplayer feature) got four stars in its day is a testament to GameSpy's utter stupidity. I agree with several points in this review though, and it seems to be coherent with most others: the game is good, but not fantastic.

[JessieLC]

Lately it seems that the Reviewers have really trashed some good games, spoken highly of some bad games and been non commital on some fair games.........I look at the reviews then go to the "Real Reviewers".......the people buying and playing the games.............you can get more from them then the Professionals.........plus just because a game is not PERECT when it comes out does not mean that when its all said and done....patched etc........that the game stinks!!!! Heroes 1 got fair reviews yet it addicted me to the series!

[Bandobras Took]

Forgettable music?



And where's the secret "sixth" mission in the Haven campaign? I must have missed that one . . .



On a side note, though, most reviews I've read have rated the game based solely on the perspective of: "They're trying to revive the series. Have they made something that will do it?" They don't particularly care whether it's based off of III or IV except so far as those helped or killed the series financially.

[Labyrinth]

What a terrible score! O_o

What an "average" review...



What of that awesome music is forgettable?



For the factions, they are mentioning Dungeon in the list as if it was the same dungeon we had before!



They call the initiative bar a minor tweak - what the hell?? The whole initiative system is new and innovative. But no, instead of figuring that out, they even mourn about how the morale bonus is applied.



For the content, they say the later patches won't "help anyone at the moment". So what? Who needs more maps now??
Edited on Fri, May 26 2006, 08:13 by Jerrie

[JessieLC]

Plus you add up all the Reviews so far and we come out with a so so game. The upcoming patches and improvements need to be good ones!
Edited on Fri, May 26 2006, 08:10 by JessieLC

[DaemianLucifer]

Why does evryone say that HV is darker?I find HIII,and especially HII to be way darker then this.

[Ethric]

I've wondered a bit about that myself. Could it be because it lacks the humorous touches of earlier games? No, laughing at the cutscenes involuntary humour doesn't count

As for reviews, they are no more valid than the opinion of people in general, and as such you may agree or disagree. This review seems to capture my impression of the game though.

[Labyrinth]

In that case, I'm finishing you.
Edited on Fri, May 26 2006, 09:07 by Vlad976

[reynaert]

more mature? I find some plotlines rather immature. Both on part of the writers as on part of the characters :p

[ThunderTitan]

More mature = Using "Tree-shaging Pixies" as an insult.

First time they said it was gonna be more "mature" i knew it will end up bad.

[DaemianLucifer]

More mature = Using "Tree-shaging Pixies" as an insult.

Well it is an insult!If someone called me a tree-shaging pixi Id go berserk for sure!

[Orfinn]

Flower sniffer :p

[niteshade6]

I'm a huge Heroes 3 fan. But one of the things I find myself needing to remember is that I actually had mixed feelings about Heroes 3 when it first came out. The original campaigns were uninspired, easy and in many cases boring. The AI wasn't good enough to bother playing multiplayer boards against. And none of the scenarios that came with the game were really worth bothering with. My initial feelings about H3 were that the game mechanics were lots of fun (though with issues) but that it had a ton of wasted potential. It wasn't until people started making elaborate custom maps for it and the expansions came that it really blossomed into my favorite game of all time.



With that in mind, I actually think H5 is off to a stronger start then H3.
Edited on Fri, May 26 2006, 15:24 by niteshade6

[ThunderTitan]

Well it is an insult!If someone called me a tree-shaging pixi Id go berserk for sure!

Yeah, i'd really foam at the mouth from all the laughter.

@niteshade6
Except it's missing half the buttons and maps. And the AI cheats it's a$$ off.

[niteshade6]

number of maps doesn't bother me, H3 didn't have a lot of maps at first either and the ones they had were usually pretty boring. I'll take quality over quanitity any day....and in that area H5 comes out way ahead.



A cheating AI is annoying, but neither game had sufficient AI to make it worth playing a fair game. The fact that H5 has AI scripting to help get around that puts it miles ahead IMO.