Posted 25 January 2005

by Psychobabble

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Just to prove I'm only semi-retired, here are three map reviews of maps of various ages. Beyond the Bastard's Reach is an excellent map from the experienced map-maker Humakt/Thunder. Evil Arise is a promising debut from MT Silver which, unfortunately, doesn't quite hit the mark on a few fronts. Finally, I've awarded the third perfect 10 score ever to Veldrynus' (apparently) final map Beautiful Land. It's a very enjoyable and interesting map, I'd highly recommend it!

Enjoy

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Posted 04 January 2005

by Angelspit

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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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Posted 31 December 2004

by Staff

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Game Reviews Overview

for the Might and Magic Series

 

 

• Eurogamer: Score 7/10
• GameSpot: Score 6/10
• PC Gamer: Score 73%
• GameStar.de: Score 79%
• Stern.de: Score 4/5
• Jeuxvideo: Score 15/20
• Celestial Heavens: "As the most important part of the game, the gameplay aspect delivers, making it a true classic RPG experience. And while the endgame is a bit long, with somewhat disappointing plot twists (reminding me of M&M 9 in both), it truly is a good RPG experience for anyone who wants to play a modernized classic RPG." Score 8/10
• CRPGaddict: "I trust my readers know me well enough to know that getting the game for free has no way influenced my opinion of it. I'd tell you if it sucked. But I'm happy to say that, at least so far, it's a worthy entry in the series, reaching both backwards and forwards." No score
• Eurogamer: "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." Score 7/10
• Game Informer: "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." Score 8.25/10
• GameSpot: " 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." Score 6/10
• IncGamers: "I really quite like Might & Magic X. It's a throwback to the big old RPGs of yore – the games which weren't afraid to smash your face in if you wandered into a high-level area ill-prepared, and required you to take notes of NPC locations and quest hints (which is something that is genuinely important here). But it's a throwback which offers a bit more help, an intuitive interface, and some graphics that generally look rather lovely. If Might & Magic X sounds at all appealing, or if you went “Oh, I remember doing that twenty years ago” at any point in this review, then I imagine you'll really quite like it too." Score 7/10
• Joystiq: "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." Score 4/5
• Lazygamer: "Might and Magic X: Legacy is an uncompromisingly old school trip into forgotten territories. It's a risky move, but it's one that should attract plenty of gamers who want less new school action and a more cerebral roll of the dice in their RPGs." Score 7.5/10
• PC Gamer: "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." Score 73%
• Rock, paper, shotgun: "I did not, I must admit, expect to now be singing the praises of this curious, cheap-feeling roleplaying game. (...) It's a dense and broad game, opening up enormously after its miserably ringfenced beginning, and while its total landmass has nothing on your average Elder Dragon Craft, the combo of step-by-step movement and careful placing of high-threat enemies as beatable but extremely fearsome gatekeepers makes it feel much larger than it is. " No score
• RPG Codex: "MMXL is a must-buy and a must-play. Limbic did a superlative job in bringing together many beloved elements from the series, improving where they could and not dumbing down where it matters. The flaws are immaterial in the grand scheme of things; Limbic have proven they can make a real (and good!) M&M game, and they have certainly proven that they can make an excellent turn-based tile-based blobber with all the joyful gameplay elements that entails." No score

• 3djuegos: Score 88%
• 9lives: Score 83%
• Gameblog.fr: Score 4/5
• Gamespot: Score 8/10
• Gamestar.de: Score 85%
• Gamer.no: Score 70%
• Gry-online.pl: Score 85%
• Onlinewelten: 84%
• Celestial Heavens: "Heroes VI was a game that could have been, but never made it because of poor design decisions, a lack of support and a refusal to involve the fans in anything important. The games's broken features, the lack of a functioning online system and lack of a good editor and random map generator are simply too much to ignore." Score 3/6
• Game Informer: "Heroes VI isn’t better than my memory of Heroes III – which is, to be fair, one of my top handful of games of all time. The nature of the franchise itself makes Heroes VI an excellent title for gamers who don’t typically spend much time in the strategy genre, and if Black Hole and Ubisoft can entice an old hand like me to stick around as well, I consider it a success." Score 8.25/10
• Gamepro: "While Heroes VI does make some interesting changes to the 16-year-old turn-based strategy-RPG series, and the game remains fun, I found some of my usual complaints with Heroes' gameplay more annoying than usual - and that the horrible online system Ubisoft insists on using has sucked away too much of the series' charm." Score 3/5
• GameSpy: "Despite numerous improvements to the formula and graphical updates, Heroes VI has its fair share of issues – and some are more catastrophic than others. The presentation is riddled with visual bugs and minor glitches that impact the gameplay to varying degrees. The real killjoy (...) is the horrendous UPlay system's draconian requirement that you be connected to the internet at all times to play. Let me be clear: Heroes VI is an absolute nightmare if you have a spotty internet connection." Score 3/5
• IGN: "Might and Magic Heroes VI may have some issues with battlefield tactics in the late game and its story, but the strategy remains a blast nonetheless. Near infinite hours of gameplay await, and anyone looking for a well-made and addictive turn-based strategy game need go no further than this." Score 8/10
• MashThoseButtons: "Ultimately, Might & Magic Heroes VI is a good game, but one buried underneath its own bugs and DRM. It's a game that is worth buying eventually, but proves the idea that some games just shouldn’t be bought at launch. Perhaps, when the bugs are fixed, the AI is improved, and the inevitable expansions for the game are released, we'll be able to safely place MMHVI among the games worthy of the Might & Magic moniker." Score 4/5

• Game Informer: Score 74.0%
• PC Format UK: Score 88.0%
• PC Gamer UK: Score 88.0%
• PC Zone UK: Score 84.0%
• PC Zone UK: Score 84.0%
• gamesTM: 8/10
• 1UP: "The visuals are as uninspired as the story. The Source engine has never looked worse than it does in these dimly lit, rotely drawn dungeons infested with technical glitches like stuttering sound and disappearing polygons." Score 4/10
• ActionTrip: "It's painfully obvious that the Half-Life 2 engine caused many problems, which weren't ironed out in time by the programming team. Consequently, players with modest rigs won't be able to experience the game in its true visual potential. A patch is forthcoming. Supposedly, it's meant to fix numerous crash issues and other technical mishaps that have been plaguing the game." Score 68.0%
• Detroit Free Press: "Ubisoft may have somewhat overpromised early on -- boss fights aren't all they're cracked up to be, and more complex interactions like manipulating different enemy factions to fight their own battles are barely present -- but "Dark Messiah" is nonetheless a truly great game." Score 3/4
• Eurogamer: "If you give it, it'll pay you back. You won't remember Dark Messiah's busty-woman character guide, but you will remember the sheer joy of mutilating the orcish, undead and assorted monstrous hordes in a variety of imaginative ways. When mass slaughter is as imaginative as this, it can't help but be memorable." Score 8/10
• GamingExcellence: "What’s left is a game that’s pretty enjoyable, and a strong attempt to put some strong action and visceral combat into the first-person-slasher. The addition of the physics adds some depth to the combat, and the multiplayer gives a reason to play after the story has been played. A flawed game, but a very decent one nonetheless." Score 75.0%
• GameSpot: "Aside from its technical issues, there's nothing extremely wrong with Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. But beyond it being a fantasy-themed first-person action game (which is something of a rarity these days), the game doesn't really do much to make its campaign stand out. You could certainly do worse than Dark Messiah, but you could probably do a lot better, also." Score 67.0%
• GameSpy: "It's easy to be disappointed with Dark Messiah, given that it had so much potential. There is absolutely some compelling content in here (...). Right now, though, Dark Messiah's multiplayer is little more that a novelty. Still, it's hard to deny that the game has some immensely enjoyable moments. It's just too bad that they're too often surrounded by so much clutter." Score 3/5
• IGN: "The multiplayer is the better half of the game, letting players battle it out with five diverse classes and plenty of interlocking and complementary abilities. Though the first-person combat isn't as precise as it could be, this one's still a good choice for some online magic blasting fun. Just don't expect a memorable story or characters if you're more interested in the single player content." Score 7/10
• Pro-G: "Had the story been stronger and the numerous bugs been ironed out prior to release, Dark Messiah would have been very easy to recommend. As it stands, it's not quite polished enough to be anything more than an enjoyable diversion." Score 7/10
• Voodoo Extreme: "In the end, Dark Messiah is a really good first-person shooter that suffers from a serious pest infestation. Another month of polish and who knows? We could've had a serious Game of the Year contender." Score 8 out of 10
• Worth Playing: "Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, though unfortunately titled, is not a run-of-the-mill RPG, if it is an RPG at all! It is a graphically glorious, murderously marvelous first-person fantasy action game that no self-respecting FPS fan should overlook." Score 8.6 out of 10

• Gamezone.de: Score 8.8/10
• 1UP: "Nival took Heroes V in a new, elaborately lush artistic direction, which remains as beautiful as ever -- and well connected to the Dark Messiah look -- in this expansion. General game performance is unfortunately unimproved, and things sometimes slow to a near-crawl on the tactical map. Ultimately, Tribes of the East manages to gobble time as effectively as any good Heroes installment; it's an impressive final outing for Heroes V -- and another strong showing from Nival." Score B-
• Eurogamer: "So this is pretty much the same game again, with a few new missions and multiplayer maps, a couple of new mechanics and a new faction. After a year and a half. If this is the best the world has to throw at me, I might just retire again." Score 5/10
• GameSpot: "This is pretty much the template for second expansion packs these days, so Tribes of the East is at least somewhat trendy. Nevertheless, you can't praise this mediocre add-on for fitting in with the cool kids. Nival should have finished the Heroes V series on a higher note than this." Score 5.5/10
• GamesRadar: "Tribes of the East is a solid follow-up to an already engaging franchise. Players with a lot of time invested in Heroes of Might and Magic V are going to appreciate the engine tweaks and thoroughly enjoy giving it a go with the Orcs. Those new to the series however would probably be better served by looking for a copy of the original game and playing through that before moving on." Score 7/10
• IGN: "Tribes of the East is easy to recommend to players who missed the core game and want to check out what Heroes of Might & Magic is all about. The stand alone nature of the pack and its thirty-dollar price tag makes it an easy buy. Those who enjoyed the original game can supplement their experience is they're willing to pay the price just for one extra faction and a new campaign." Score 7.9/10

• Gamezone.de: Score 8.8/10
• Level online.ro: Score 7/10
• CVG: "Considering the original game only came out a couple of months back, obviously when it comes to the fundamentals, the developers haven't had an awful lot of time to make many changes. Indeed, in many ways, it feels as if you're starting from scratch with a campaign that literally sends you back to base camp. In my case, having just reached HOMMV's end-game, I'd rather have waited a bit longer and received a bit more. Led Zep this isn't, but then thankfully, it's not Marillion either." Score 6.9/10
• Eurogamer: "Hammers of Fate adds a lot of material for HoMM5. But to warrant a better mark, it would have to actually deal with the basic weaknesses of the game. As it is, despite the Caravan's efforts to streamline one aspect, it just doesn't. In other words, would I buy it? Not on your nelly." Score 4/10
• EvilAvatar: "There are two kinds of expansion packs in this world. The first adds new and interesting gameplay elements while simultaneously massaging away some of the poor design decisions in the base game. The second kind slaps on a handful of indistinct new features, most of which were probably removed from the original game in an effort to churn out a quick, cheap expansion pack. Guess which one Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate is?" Score 2/5
• GameSpot: "Like the original game on launch day, this expansion pack balances good points with bad almost every step of the way, resulting in yet another turn-based fantasy adventure that isn't all that it could be." Score 6.4/10
• GameSpy: "Hammers of Fate isn't a revolutionary step for the series. The forgettable campaign and the Fortress hero bug are both huge annoyances -- but the Fortress town itself combined with the new scenarios, random maps, and other goodies make it a no-brainer for die-hards of the series; it makes the idea of going back to the original unthinkable, which is the mark of any good expansion." Score 3.5/5
• Games Radar: "Hammers of Fate is essentially a stew of can't-miss features and less appetizing filler material. You already own it if you’re a Heroes diehard. It's just too bad, for all Nival's hard work and lovely animations, that its legs couldn't be a little longer." Score 6/10
• IGN: "Serious fans of Heroes of Might & Magic aren't likely to be discouraged by the lack of new content or the thirty-dollar price tag. With only one new faction and a smattering of new gameplay options, Hammers of Fate feels more like a small-scale mission pack than a full-fledged expansion." Score 6.5/10

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Posted 31 December 2004

by Angelspit

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Etherlords II is the sequel to Nival Interactive’s Etherlords, a turn-based strategy title that featured a battle system based heavily on trading card games. Players who have played Microprose’s computer rendition of Magic: the Gathering in the mid-90s will have a good idea of what Etherlords is about. Because of their complexity, collectible cards games rarely make good computer games. That’s why Nival went the other way around with Etherlords II and built a card game-based engine with which the computer would feel comfortable. The good news is that players new to collectible card games will find Etherlords a good introduction to the genre as long as they can keep up with what is going on during combat.

One part role-playing…

The story of four conflicts is told through single-player campaigns that put the player in the shoes of a hero in the Ether Universe. A campaign begins with the player’s hero on the adventure map, and feels like a competition where the player must defeat a series of increasingly tougher opponents in succession. The two-year old Etherlords engine has been reused with some changes, and I must say that it is aging nicely. Various textures are used on the adventure map, and animated character, building and bird animations keep the environment interesting and lively.

Adventuring consists on gathering three types of resources that are used only to purchase spells in stores. These resources are not used for any kind of city building, a welcome change for anyone who is familiar with the current lot of strategy games. The adventure map also contains some structures granting hero specialties, artifact charges, or additional resources; the rest is just scenery. Moving around the map often feels uncomfortable because of the camera angle, and using the mouse wheel to pan the view does not help much. I was often looking for my way around, since the very small overhead map does not show the teleporters or the roads clearly. You move the hero by clicking on the desired destination, but only a small portion of the map is visible at a time. The game really needed better controls for backtracking during the longer scenarios, and the keyboard would have done the job nicely. But considering how little time will be spent on the adventure map compared on the combat arena, players should not mind.

The roads and cities leave little freedom to the player, and the scenarios are very linear. If it weren’t for the scenery reminiscent of either Heroes of Might and Magic or Disciples II, it would feel like an adventure game. This makes progressing through a scenario easy enough, especially since the player controls only one hero, a major design change from the original Etherlords, where you were able to control multiple heroes. That single hero moves from one location to another, speaking with NPCs and fighting monsters along the way. Conversations are scripted and do not provide any option to the player. Their purpose is to send the player on various messenger or object-gathering missions, as well as to give some background story. And that’s where the main weakness of the game is. While the main characters will deliver their lines with enough enthusiasm, amateurs with a boring, monotonous tone do the voice acting of the secondary characters. They stretch syllabus without any good reason, seem to hesitate before a complex word, and take pauses at the wrong places. The good thing is that the player will discover a variety of foreign accents. It is a welcome change from the American voice acting found in most of the games these days.

… One part strategy

Things get more exciting during the combat sequences, when monsters and heroes get close and personal. Once combat begins, Etherlords II is a brand new game. During combat, heroes and monsters face each other with a background based on where the hostilities began. All characters are in 3D and have a few animations of their own, like a taunt or a sneeze. The Etherlords bestiary goes beyond the typical elves and dwarves and features some creatures that have not been seen in other computer games. The Pale creatures who don’t get involved in combat until after a transition, the half-snake, half-women Lamias who bring allies back from the dead, and the rushing Giberrlings are the results of good creature design. I found myself changing my decks regularly in order to see all those creatures in action, even if a few of them are hopelessly weak. Additionally, many of the game’s heroes and creatures are female. This would have been a refreshing change from the usual strategy games if not for the large amount of skin showing on those characters. At times you will be wondering how these girls manage to fight in such outfits.

The camera moves automatically and zooms in and out during the combat sequence, and the result looks vaguely like a Japanese-style role-playing game such as Final Fantasy. This can become a nuisance at times, as the constant movement will prevent the player from focusing on the action on the battlefield. The game includes some controls to adjust the camera movement. However, it will keep zooming in to areas where there isn’t anything going on, stare at the ground for a few seconds, or keep moving in all directions if multiple attacks or spell castings happen at once. One time during a game, the camera was even stuck on the enemy hero, preventing me from seeing anything else on the battlefield. Fortunately, the strange bug had no impact on the icons displayed at the top of the screen that keep track of all the spells being cast.

Heroes are not directly involved in combat, but instead cast spells at each other in a way similar to Heroes of Might and Magic III. The spells and combat rules are borrowed straight from Magic the Gathering. The terminology is different in some cases (creatures rest instead of being tapped, ether is used instead of mana, and some old MtG spells are featured under new names), but the concepts are mostly the same. Instant spells take a back seat, with only a few spells being cast during the opponent’s turn, and attackers deal damage first, something MtG veterans will need to keep in mind during their first few battles. Also, players gather energy for their spells differently. Instead of playing land cards along their spells, they will receive new ether channels in increments of one, with special cards granting additional ether if needed. The Etherlords combat system is simple enough to be accessible to players unfamiliar with collectible card games, yet deep enough to keep veteran players on their toes. The computer player plays a decent game, having been programmed to get the most of the predefined decks included in the game. Unfortunately, some battles end up being tedious and frustrating. Winning a fight usually involves meeting the opponent a first time to see what strategy is being used, and then attacking again with a modified deck until the optimal drawing is achieved. The most difficult battles will require multiple tries, but fortunately they rarely take more than 10 or 20 minutes. Some challenges will be particularly rewarding, especially if for some reason you try not using any creature at all during a battle. Hundreds of deck combinations are possible, and fans of collectible card games know well how satisfying it is to discover a truly nasty combo.

One part satisfying game

While the adventure map section provides a decent setting for the trading card game battles, I still feel that a lot more could have been done for that part of the game. The game lacks a solid storyline and a more detailed character development system. Fortunately, card-based combat keeps the game addictive, and you’ll want to try those new spells you just found, experiment with deck combinations, or try to defeat a particularly nasty opponent. The game is suitable for short gaming sessions, but beware of the “just one more battle” illness that kept me away from the bed until late in the night. The multiplayer component of the game should not be overlooked either. Once you are used to the computer opponent’s weaknesses and believe you have mastered the game, a visit to the master server will make you realize this sequel to Etherlords has a lot of replayability potential. Despite its various flaws, Etherlords II is one of the best computer renditions of a collectible card game to date, even giving the expensive Magic: the Gathering Online a run for its money.

Rating : 3.5 out of 5.

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Comments (4)

Posted 31 December 2004

by Vox Clamant

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Heroes Chronicles: The Final Chapters This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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