Reviews
- by Kalah
Might & Magic: Heroes VII Review
December 31, 2015
(Click here to hear the review as a sound file)
Let's start with some useful information, in case there are those of you who are still wondering if you should buy the game. This game requires a huge download capability. Even if you buy the DVD version, there is a huge patch of around 11 Gb you need to download right off the bat. Then there are the other patches, easily taking the total download amount up to 16 gigs. If you have a low bandwith quota, or a very slow connection, the patching becomes prohibitively slow and you can just forget about playing this game. There is some comforting news, though: I have it confirmed from the developers that since the patching is processed through Steam or Uplay, you can interrupt the download and start it up again later from where you left off. That means you can realistically download the patches if the problem with your connection is that it's slow or unstable. You can set it to patch and leave it over night or go to work. It's only if you have a small quota or non-DSL line that it becomes impossible. So to conclude, the game is totally unsuited for anyone who either has a slow web connection (non-broadband) or has a limit (quota) on how much data you can download. Even if you have a good connection, like I do, I question the optimization when you have to download 4 DVDs worth of updates.
With that out of the way, it's time to have a look at the quality of the actual game:
Read on: Might & Magic: Heroes VII Review
| Comments (13) |
- by Angelspit
PC Gamer reviewed the recently released HD edition of Heroes of Might and Magic III. They say the gameplay still shines after all these years:
"HOMM III remains an excellent game. Even with just the base, you get seven campaigns, 50 skirmish maps and a map-editor, and it’s only really the availability of the original that gets in the way. It’s a game best defined not by its strategy as such but in the satisfaction of each individual act; the turn-based equivalent of looting monsters in something like Diablo, with just about every move adding a little something to your stockpile of gold or gems or units, and building up towns and armies turn by turn, squad by squad, to be able to go from fearing a few wolves hanging around town to being an unstoppable deathball rolling over the whole map"
On the other hand, they cannot recommend the purchase of the HD remake:
"It’s hard to recommend anyone buy it. The redrawn graphics are okay, if nothing particularly special, but there’s a problem. The original version of HOMMIII is already available on GOG.COM, and fans have long since modded it to run at modern desktop resolutions. You don’t get the new sprites that way, but this is a turn-based 2D game from 1999. Updated or not, it was never going to out-shine the prettiness of successors like Age of Wonders III. Put against the original game, the difference isn’t even particularly noticeable."
Get the full review over here.
| Comments (13) |
- by Kalah
Along with our own review, published a month ago, we have assembled a collection of reviews from various sites on the web. In it, you may find quick summaries and scores, as well as links to the off-site reviews themselves.
These are just some of the many reviews and video blogs out there, though, and if you head over to the Ubisoft review collection, you can also find reviews in different languages.
- by Angelspit
I came across a Zero Punctuation review of Might and Magic X by chance on Reddit. If you're unfamiliar with this column, well you need to be properly caffeniated, open your ears wide, and not mind the NSFW language:
Video review - Zero Punctation Review: MMXL
Do you agree or disagree with the criticism from the review?
| Comments (7) |
- by Tress
The big sites have had their say, and now it is our turn to speak. Just added to our list of game reviews is our in-house review of Might & Magic X: Legacy. The review is written by Tress, one of our loyal members and a real fan of the Might & Magic series.
Having had to be quite stern in our criticism of the previous instalment of the Heroes series, it is pleasing to see that the results of Limbic's efforts, while it would never produce a AAA title, does indeed seem to be a good step in the right direction. Hopefully this is a step that may lead to more, bigger, games in the future.
Read on: CH MMX: Legacy Review
| Comments (15) |
- by Angelspit
Ubisoft's Might and Magic X: Legacy is getting fairly good reviews so far, judging from its megacritic score of 74, by the time I write this. Here are the highlights from some of the largest gaming sites:
- Joystiq (4/5): Might and Magic 10 plays so smoothly, with an elegant simplicity and almost effortless depth, that I can forgive its lack of story and indifferent graphical presentation. There's a common argument that pits the more complex/confusing conventions of older games against the accessible/"dumbed down" conventions of more recent fare, with one always good and the other always bad, depending on your point of view. Might and Magic 10: Legacy reveals just how irrelevant those arguments are. It's my new favorite installment in the series, and it offers a great example of how to update old-fashioned RPG mechanics for the present day.
- Game Informer (8.25/10): Might & Magic X: Legacy lives up to the quality of its long-lost predecessors. Despite streamlining and accessibility upgrades, it’s not a game for everyone. Turn-based grid walks are a rarity today and the title may feel a bit bizarre to those that never had a chance to experience 90’s era Might & Magic fare, but for those that have always wanted a legitimate heir to the classic series, Might & Magic X: Legacy provides.
- Eurogamer (7/10): Might & Magic 10: Legacy feels like a pleasant throwback to dungeon crawls of decades past, but its limited scope and combat-heavy focus might put off those pining for the freedom afforded by the more recent Elder Scrolls games, or the wordy character interaction of a Dragon Age. Nonetheless, for those keen on poring over stats and comparing colour-coded loot, it serves as a modern introduction to those games' precursors, delivers a heady blast of nostalgia, and preserves a little slice of history.
- GameSpot (6/10): Might & Magic X: Legacy is a somewhat successful trip back in time to an era when RPGs were both simpler and more complicated than they are today, and a lot more demanding of players when it came to combat. If nostalgia drives you to visit this particular kingdom, you'll not likely regret the time spend there. If your good old days weren't brimming with games of this nature, it's more difficult to appreciate the take-no-prisoners challenge and overlook the limitations.
- PC Gamer (73/100): What gives Legacy its old school charm though is that as much as it's weighed down by an obviously low budget and the mechanical sacrifices of jumping back a decade, there's a love for its style underpinning the action. The result isn't likely to do much for anyone raised on a diet of The Elder Scrolls, and even at its best is a nostalgia trip rather than call for revolution. Even so, for old-school RPG fans as sad as its creators seem to be that nobody makes games like this any more, it’s a solid way to relive the good old days.
Many more reviews are expected during the next couple of days, so we will provide an update in time. Until then, tell us whether the critics' comment match your own impression of the game so far.
| Comments (21) |
- by Kalah
Zeriel and Broseph over at RPG Codex have posted a thorough and, frankly, excellent preview of Might & Magic X: In it, they delve deep into the story, gameplay and overall impressions from a typical diehard MM fan point of view.
"If you're an old grognard who grew up playing games like Wizardry and the earliest Might and Magic titles, you don't need to know anything more: Might & Magic X is a beautiful dinosaur that just stepped out of a time machine. It marries old-fashioned mechanics that should never have been abandoned with a modern graphical approach. There is nothing else on the market quite like it, and for the fans of this forgotten genre it's an unavoidable day one purchase."
Indeed, the game does seem like it will achieve its goal of returning to the "roots" of Might & Magic, aiming to satisfy those grumpy old MM fans who care little for effects and instead want a nostalgic revisit of their childhood's favourite passtime.
The question is, as RPG's preview also summarizes, whether this niche game will be a success beyond the core fans... A success big enough to warrant a follow-up. It will be interesting to see whether people still want to play this kind of game.
| Comments (25) |
- by Jeff
Ubisoft have launched an official early release of MMX: Legacy. Available for download right away is Act 1 (out of 4) and you can try out 4 different classes, while 12 will be available in the finished game.
The last couple of days, Jeff has been playing the game, and put together a thorough preview of the game for you all to read.
Go here to read the MMX Preview.
- by Kalah
Znork has once again been on the move for the benefit of the Might & Magic Community - taking a sneak peek on the upcoming free-to-play game Heroes Online.
For those of you who don't know what is going on, Ubisoft have been working for some years now on the strategy of expanding the Might & Magic franchise. That means not only making big series games like Heroes VI and Dark Messiah, but also smaller games, in an effort to attract a broader audience to the M&M franchise. That means making games for different platforms, making small games as well as big ones, free downloadables as well as all-out retail collector editions, also increasing the range of game types. The results have been mixed - the "crowning achievement" being the success of Clash of Heroes.
Is Heroes Online anything for you? Well, go over to the preview to find out.
| Comments (5) |
- by Znork
Heroes Online Preview
February, 2013.
Znork has once again been on the move for the benefit of the Might & Magic Community - taking a sneak peek on the upcoming free-to-play game Heroes Online. To comment on the article, go to our forum.
On january 30th, Blue Byte flew me down to Düsseldorf for a hands-on session with Heroes Online. First a small disclaimer: Sneak peeks like this is that I get to see about 5% of the game to get a general feel for it; I got to play for about 3 hours with the Blue Byte people filming and proudly jumping up and down, trying to tell me how cool everything is - so bear with me here. I'm not a journalist, just a fan, so don't expect me to be entirely objective either. Also, when you get to play a sneak peek like this, it's really hard to see how things will end up.
So what is Heroes Online?
It's not Heroes VII, so don't fool yourself to think so - you'll just be let down that way. This is an online Flash game you play 30 minutes a day. It's not something you play for 4 hours and then quit. Building towns will take weeks, reaching the final level will take time and won't be done after a hard gaming weekend.
It will be free-to-play, so you can log in and play without paying for anything and still get a full game. Although you can pay to get things faster, it will follow Ubi's FTP principles so you get to play everything for free.
How will this play out, then?
Well, you have your town, which I did not get to see in this sneak peek. Then you have your units and you have your hero. Your hero has items and skills like in all the Heroes games. There will be some more stats due to the special online principles, but they were only talked about and not shown. My gut feeling tells me this might be a danger point with the game, but we'll get to know more about this as the development progresses.
So, you have your hero and you have your maps. You do missions and get rewards. And you'll have some epic battles - you'll have to plan for weeks in advance before you take them. The adding of new contents will be the main focus of the team after release.
So hex is back?
Yes, but spell books are out. You'll have hero attacks like in H5-6 and you'll have skills, but due to some constraints with Flash, no spell books. But you'll have the beautiful hexagonal squares back and all creatures will be back to one hex. And I must say the combat was really fun - it was like playing the old games again. Again, not without huge drawbacks due to Flash. Attacking units was two clicks, not one, which is what annoyed me the most when I was playing. But the epic battle I got to play was really fun, even though the graphics were buggy and things were unfinished. The initiative is back to the way it was in H3, which is great in my view.
The adventure map
Yes, well, they are now called "instances" - you gate in and out of them and you do missions on them. But for being a Flash game, these maps were beautiful in a very moving way. The had shadows that moved with the wind, oceans and beaches - it was stunning and I forgot I was in a browser game. The things these guys have done with Flash is close to magic. But as I had to point out to the BB team, good graphics don't weigh up for a poor game.
How many factions?
We got to play Haven and Necro. Each faction had 3 tier one units, 2 tier two units and 1 tier three unit. We don't know if the other factions will have a different setup. We did not see any unit level up as we played. They have also promised us more factions. If the fame is a success, we'll wee lots of them and then maybe we can finally see the Forge.
So, what does Znork think?
I played it for 4 hours and I had fun. That is a good start. There is potential, but I have seen that wasted many times before. Normally when I play games like this, I get a good feeling, but my gut tells me that they are on the right track this time. The hex grid is a huge improvement from the other heroes. The Flash graphics area great, the people are smart and we are talking about Blue Byte here - Ubi's golden boys.
My biggest problem is the need to control how long you play. The mechanism they are talking about for how they plan to implement it has left me with some troubling thoughts.
So should I even bother to sign up to the beta?
Well, if you're tired of playing H3, why not. Everybody's feedback is needed. I'm sure your site admin will have some beta keys to dish out.
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