Might & Magic: Heroes VI

Review from Cav - Monday, 31 October 2011 @ 9:49pm

Before we begin:

I apologise to those who have never played any of the Heroes games. I can assure you that I will rattle on like you’ve all dabbled in Might & Magic at one time or another in your lives. That being said, I’ve come to believe that some people think that those of us who review games have played just about everything that’s out there, but there is no way that can be true. So this time around, forgive me if I think the same way some of you do. I will attempt to cater for those of you who do not know the series, but please be prepared for me to waffle on like you’ve played a thousand games of Multiplayer Hot Seat with me. So now that we have that out of the way, can there possibly be anymore I can tell you above and beyond what I told you in my report on the Closed Beta for Might & Magic: Heroes VI? Yes ladies and gentlemen, yes I can.

Someone always gets drunk and falls over at an Orc party

Now firstly don’t be afraid that you are going to have to upgrade your PC for this game, as it has some very basic requirements. Also if you are going to purchase this game, hunt around and find yourself the Collector’s Edition, which I have also told you about. I’ve spotted it priced at just over $100, which is a steal when you consider all the goodies it contains for around $20 more than the game itself. Just be careful with the Stainless Steel Haven ring as it is too big for my little finger, but when on my ring finger, it took a little coaxing with soap to remove it. The art book is fantastic and I am yet to wear the T-Shirt or listen to the soundtrack, I’ve heard plenty of it just playing the game anyway.

The game itself hasn’t changed much and that’s something I welcome with open arms. I never mentioned it in my preview but, I was truly worried that the whole game would be revamped, but I suppose they went with the old adage that ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’. Gameplay is still based around players building castles/town, collecting resources and building armies. Battles against monsters and other armies still take place on a grid and are turn based. There is a little more to it now with positioning of your troops having an effect on attacks and retaliation. This can really work to your advantage to minimise your casualties of war.

The family was keen as mustard to play Hot Seat on the new 1080P Projector, so without even looking at the Campaign, we jumped in head first. It must have been the shallow end of the pool as we got pulled up very quickly when we found that unlike previous games in the series, there were no characters available to use for play. Our next step was to create four characters, which took quite a bit of time… well actually after installing the game, loading the updates which were already present, then creating the characters for the game, it was time for the kids to go to bed, so we hit it the following evening. To turn a negative into a positive, when we did get the game going it felt, for lack of a better word, comfortable. Being what you could possibly call ‘Heroes Veterans’, we played the game like we had been playing it for years. Yes, we had to get used to the new buildings and the screen layout (of course I gave the family a crash course on what I had learned from the Beta) but we played like we had never missed a beat.

The storyline for the single player is well written and plays out well, involving all of the available factions. It should be familiar to those who have experience in Might & Magic, but those who are new shouldn’t have any trouble following the characters and picking up the storyline. There are some great twists and turns which keep the game and story fresh. The best part of the single player campaign is the ability to re-do a battle that you have lost... and you will lose. To be successful you have to find the medium between waiting and building your army or getting out there before your enemy builds a bigger one. This is also handy if you use the auto-combat feature. I believe a blind man could be more successful than auto combat as it quite often sends your troops to their death instead of playing strategically/defensively.You will gain achievements throughout the game, which I don't believe are truly neccessary, but you will gain bonuses through a your Uplay account. Uplay account I hear you say? It's Ubisoft's gift to the uber loyal.

You have sunk my battleship....

Building your character throughout the game (either single or multi) has become a little more complex than it was in preceding games. Spells are no longer acquired from Magic Guilds built in your towns and skills are no longer acquired when reaching experience levels. There’s no more luck as to what you will achieve, everything is your own choice. Every level you reach earns you an Ability point, which you can spend points. The skill tree where you make this selection from is initially extremely overwhelming, with its extensive selection. It pays to take some time to become familiar with what’s available to you. I also find that the equipment layout for you character lacks the visual appeal that it once had, making it hard to decipher which goes where. Heroes VI also brings out your ‘shoulder angels’ as well, letting you decide which path to take in certain situations: The Path of Blood and the Path of Tears – I’ll let you work out which is which. Another perk is that certain armour sets provide extra stats for your character. I feel that they don’t really make that much difference and it is extremely hard to collect every piece of a set.

Even though this game doesn’t require a super-duper, kick arse graphics card, the environments in Heroes VI are quite lovely. Not only that, but the creatures are well detailed, as displayed in the Collector’s Edition art book. During battle, if you leave them alone long enough, your army will begin their own little animations. I swear I saw my crossbowmen using their crossbows like pogo sticks.

Pros

• MASSIVE improvement on Heroes V
• Great story
• Excellent detail in the creatures
• Battle re-do
• The Collector's Edition is kick arse

Cons

• Lack of interactivity within the towns
• Skill tree is overwhelming for beginners
• Auto-combat often proves costly
• Preparation
• Does there have to be 'cheevos' in everything these days?