DoctorFinger
10-21-2011, 10:53 AM
Might & Magic Heroes 6 Review
Title - Might & Magic Heroes 6
Platform - PC
Developer - Black Hole Entertainment (http://www.blackholegames.com/)
Publisher - Ubisoft (http://www.ubi.com/)
ESRB Rating - T (Teen)
MSRP - $49.99
Editor - Michael "DoctorFinger" Chauvet
What's Hot: Wonderfully balanced factions. Great character design. A return to greatness
What's Not: Story is a little overwrought. Clunky and convoluted menus. Multiplayer still isn’t a whole lot of fun. AI still stinks.I have a complicated history with the Might & Magic franchise. Might & Magic 1 for the Commodore 64 was one of the first games I remember receiving as a gift, and I was absolutely enthralled with the world map included in the box. It’s sequel was the first game I ever spent my own money on. The Heroes offshoot, a then revolutionary mix of strategy and role playing, didn’t appeal to me at first, but by Heroes 2 it was my favorite series of all time. Then series owner New World Computing was snatched up by 3DO, and the decline began. The eventual break-up of 3DO put the series in the hands of Ubisoft, but the damage had been done. It was a series I liked, but no longer loved. Could Might & Magic Heroes VI be a return to glory, or will it be just another reminder of things past?
Heroes 6 is the prototypical turn based strategy game. If you're not familiar with the genre, you choose a hero aligned with one of 5 factions, each with their own unique creatures and abilities. That hero moves around a map, eventually fighting battles on a grid. You lock up resource mines, snag artifacts and build up your town. Heroes level up and gain new abilities, while armies grow larger and more powerful. Simple, but effective.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6160/6266441653_151eff2a54_z.jpg
The adventure map
Scenarios in Heroes 6 are split between combat and adventure maps. In combat you line your troops up on one side of the map, your opponent lines up on the other, and you have at it until only one side is left standing. Each unit type has it’s own strengths, weakness and abilities. Some fly, others shoot, still others have spells or abilities which can be activated. You get these armies by building up your castle, choosing which structures to buy with a limited pool of resources, and using whats left to purchase creatures.
So up to now it sounds exactly like every other Heroes game. But there are some changes, big and small. The most notable change comes with the resources. Previous Heroes games had a total of 7 different resources for you to gather or mine: gold, ore, wood, gems, mercury, sulfur and crystals. The last 4 resources were used to different extents by each faction, so their value would differ based on which one you chose. In Heroes 6 those have all been consolidated down to a single Blood Crystals resource. Even as I write this I don’t know if this is a positive or a negative. On the plus side you have fewer mines to worry about, but it makes the whole resource system a little more shallow. As I said at the top, that’s both a good thing and a bad thing.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6060/6266441879_9eb3c09f1b_z.jpg
"Krunk smash!"
Combat has also been tweaked a little. Your hero still attacks and casts spells from behind your front lines but they can take their action anytime one of your creatures have a turn. Maps also occasionally have points of power, which grant the creature standing on them - or their hero - small bonuses. These serve to move the battles away from one side of the map or another a little bit when facing another person in multiplayer, but the AI almost never takes advantage of these points. Each of the five factions feel different and unique, and are mostly well balanced. I have my favorites, which is normal for a game like this, but all of the factions are fun to play.
The adventure map has also been updated. All mines and external troop generators are now linked to a particular castle or fortress. You can only extract resources from a mine if you own the fortress it’s linked to, or if your hero is standing directly on it. Previous Heroes games let you run around the map with very low-powered heroes claiming as many mines as you could. That strategy - dubbed ‘Roach Heroes’ by a buddy of mine - is more or less dead in Heroes 6. Character progression has also been completely revamped. In old Heroes titles you gained a level, then chose between a pair of skills to learn or upgrade, which made for a fairly random character progression. Now when you level up you get a skill point, which you can put into any skill - Might or Magic - spread across a number of disciplines. This lets you exert much more control over the progression of your character than before, and really lets you personalize your hero.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6234/6266969380_10aaa70ffd_z.jpg
Would you want to fight something that looks like that and shoots bats out of it's hoo-ha?
The campaign takes you through the story of the human Griffin clan and their conflicts, both internal and external. The campaign very slowly allows you to play with all of the part of the game. Too slowly if you ask me. In custom games you can simply jump in with both feet and immerse yourself in everything. But you only get the story in campaign, and it’s surprisingly decent. It’s not Bioshock or Ico level storytelling, but for a TBS it’s not bad. The AI, as with all other Heroes games, isn’t so great. They’re very predictable and not too bright. There are multiple difficulty levels, but they only change starting resources for each side, not the actual performance of the AI. The matches are still fun, but they don’t get to the dynamic level of challenge seen in some other strategy titles.
There are a few multiplayer modes, but the nature of the genre makes them painfully slow. If you have a good friend whose into it you can have some fun, but the thought of playing a 2-3 hour bout against a random opponent isn’t my idea of fun.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6111/6266969712_6ea9e32d98_z.jpg
The winds of battle
Heroes 6 really shines in the character and monster design department. Each faction now has more of a regional feel, with the Sanctuary monsters all coming from Asian legends while the Sanctuary has a Mesoamerican feel. All of the creatures are just beautifully designed and well animated. Sound design is also pretty well done, with some nice background music and creature sounds.
Score: (4 out of 5 Cogs)
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4.png
Michael says, "If you’re already inclined towards turn-based strategy game, then this is a title you should check out. Unfortunately I’m not sure it will convert anyone new to the genre. Like most TBS’ the multiplayer is a bit too clunky to be a big draw, but the single player is enough fun to make up for the lack.”
Title - Might & Magic Heroes 6
Platform - PC
Developer - Black Hole Entertainment (http://www.blackholegames.com/)
Publisher - Ubisoft (http://www.ubi.com/)
ESRB Rating - T (Teen)
MSRP - $49.99
Editor - Michael "DoctorFinger" Chauvet
What's Hot: Wonderfully balanced factions. Great character design. A return to greatness
What's Not: Story is a little overwrought. Clunky and convoluted menus. Multiplayer still isn’t a whole lot of fun. AI still stinks.I have a complicated history with the Might & Magic franchise. Might & Magic 1 for the Commodore 64 was one of the first games I remember receiving as a gift, and I was absolutely enthralled with the world map included in the box. It’s sequel was the first game I ever spent my own money on. The Heroes offshoot, a then revolutionary mix of strategy and role playing, didn’t appeal to me at first, but by Heroes 2 it was my favorite series of all time. Then series owner New World Computing was snatched up by 3DO, and the decline began. The eventual break-up of 3DO put the series in the hands of Ubisoft, but the damage had been done. It was a series I liked, but no longer loved. Could Might & Magic Heroes VI be a return to glory, or will it be just another reminder of things past?
Heroes 6 is the prototypical turn based strategy game. If you're not familiar with the genre, you choose a hero aligned with one of 5 factions, each with their own unique creatures and abilities. That hero moves around a map, eventually fighting battles on a grid. You lock up resource mines, snag artifacts and build up your town. Heroes level up and gain new abilities, while armies grow larger and more powerful. Simple, but effective.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6160/6266441653_151eff2a54_z.jpg
The adventure map
Scenarios in Heroes 6 are split between combat and adventure maps. In combat you line your troops up on one side of the map, your opponent lines up on the other, and you have at it until only one side is left standing. Each unit type has it’s own strengths, weakness and abilities. Some fly, others shoot, still others have spells or abilities which can be activated. You get these armies by building up your castle, choosing which structures to buy with a limited pool of resources, and using whats left to purchase creatures.
So up to now it sounds exactly like every other Heroes game. But there are some changes, big and small. The most notable change comes with the resources. Previous Heroes games had a total of 7 different resources for you to gather or mine: gold, ore, wood, gems, mercury, sulfur and crystals. The last 4 resources were used to different extents by each faction, so their value would differ based on which one you chose. In Heroes 6 those have all been consolidated down to a single Blood Crystals resource. Even as I write this I don’t know if this is a positive or a negative. On the plus side you have fewer mines to worry about, but it makes the whole resource system a little more shallow. As I said at the top, that’s both a good thing and a bad thing.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6060/6266441879_9eb3c09f1b_z.jpg
"Krunk smash!"
Combat has also been tweaked a little. Your hero still attacks and casts spells from behind your front lines but they can take their action anytime one of your creatures have a turn. Maps also occasionally have points of power, which grant the creature standing on them - or their hero - small bonuses. These serve to move the battles away from one side of the map or another a little bit when facing another person in multiplayer, but the AI almost never takes advantage of these points. Each of the five factions feel different and unique, and are mostly well balanced. I have my favorites, which is normal for a game like this, but all of the factions are fun to play.
The adventure map has also been updated. All mines and external troop generators are now linked to a particular castle or fortress. You can only extract resources from a mine if you own the fortress it’s linked to, or if your hero is standing directly on it. Previous Heroes games let you run around the map with very low-powered heroes claiming as many mines as you could. That strategy - dubbed ‘Roach Heroes’ by a buddy of mine - is more or less dead in Heroes 6. Character progression has also been completely revamped. In old Heroes titles you gained a level, then chose between a pair of skills to learn or upgrade, which made for a fairly random character progression. Now when you level up you get a skill point, which you can put into any skill - Might or Magic - spread across a number of disciplines. This lets you exert much more control over the progression of your character than before, and really lets you personalize your hero.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6234/6266969380_10aaa70ffd_z.jpg
Would you want to fight something that looks like that and shoots bats out of it's hoo-ha?
The campaign takes you through the story of the human Griffin clan and their conflicts, both internal and external. The campaign very slowly allows you to play with all of the part of the game. Too slowly if you ask me. In custom games you can simply jump in with both feet and immerse yourself in everything. But you only get the story in campaign, and it’s surprisingly decent. It’s not Bioshock or Ico level storytelling, but for a TBS it’s not bad. The AI, as with all other Heroes games, isn’t so great. They’re very predictable and not too bright. There are multiple difficulty levels, but they only change starting resources for each side, not the actual performance of the AI. The matches are still fun, but they don’t get to the dynamic level of challenge seen in some other strategy titles.
There are a few multiplayer modes, but the nature of the genre makes them painfully slow. If you have a good friend whose into it you can have some fun, but the thought of playing a 2-3 hour bout against a random opponent isn’t my idea of fun.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6111/6266969712_6ea9e32d98_z.jpg
The winds of battle
Heroes 6 really shines in the character and monster design department. Each faction now has more of a regional feel, with the Sanctuary monsters all coming from Asian legends while the Sanctuary has a Mesoamerican feel. All of the creatures are just beautifully designed and well animated. Sound design is also pretty well done, with some nice background music and creature sounds.
Score: (4 out of 5 Cogs)
http://www.colonyofgamers.com/images/CoG4.png
Michael says, "If you’re already inclined towards turn-based strategy game, then this is a title you should check out. Unfortunately I’m not sure it will convert anyone new to the genre. Like most TBS’ the multiplayer is a bit too clunky to be a big draw, but the single player is enough fun to make up for the lack.”