Heroes of Might and Magic
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Heroes of Might and Magic is a series of video games created by New World Computing. As part of the Might and Magic franchise, the series changed ownership when NWC was acquired by 3DO and again when 3DO closed down and sold the rights to Ubisoft. The games feature turn-based, fantasy-themed conflicts in which players control armies of mythical creatures. The series began in 1995 with the release of the first title, and has most recently seen a release in 2007 with an expansion to the fifth title.
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[edit] Games
King's Bounty (1990), an earlier game from New World Computing, largely precipitated the design of Heroes and is included in some Heroes anthologies. It was later remade and branded as a Heroes title for the PlayStation 2 game, Quest for the Dragon Bone Staff.
- Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest (1995)
- Heroes of Might and Magic II (1996)
- The Price of Loyalty (1997)
- Heroes of Might and Magic III (1999)
- Armageddon's Blade (1999)
- The Shadow of Death (2000)
- Heroes of Might and Magic IV (2002)
- The Gathering Storm (2002)
- Winds of War (2003)
- Heroes of Might and Magic V (2006)
- Hammers of Fate (2006)
- Tribes of the East (2007)
[edit] Spin-offs
- Heroes Chronicles (2000)
- Heroes of Might and Magic: Quest for the Dragon Bone Staff (2001)
- Heroes of Might and Magic Kingdoms (2008)
[edit] Anthologies
- Heroes of Might and Magic Compendium (1997), includes King's Bounty and first two Heroes games including expansion pack
- Heroes of Might and Magic Millennium Edition (1999), includes King's Bounty and first three Heroes games, but not the Heroes III expansions
- Heroes of Might and Magic Platinum Edition (2002), includes first three Heroes games and their expansions
- Heroes of Might and Magic Complete Edition (2008), includes all five Heroes games and their expansions
[edit] Gameplay
Heroes is a series of games that incorporate turn-based strategy and turn-based tactics. The titular heroes are player characters who can recruit armies, move around the map, capture resources, and engage in tactical combat. The heroes also incorporate some role-playing game elements; they possess a set of statistics that confer bonuses to an army, artifacts that enhance their powers, and knowledge of magical spells that can be used to attack enemies or produce strategic benefits.
On a typical map, players begin a game with one town of a chosen alignment. The number of different alignments varies throughout the series, with the lowest count of four appearing initially in Heroes I and peaking at nine in the Heroes III expansion Armageddon's Blade. Each town alignment hosts a unique selection of creatures from which the player can build an army. Town alignment also determines other unique traits such as native hero classes, special bonuses or abilities, and leanings toward certain skills or kinds of magic.
Towns play a central role in the games since they are the primary source of income and new recruits. A typical objective in each game is to capture all enemy towns. Maps may also start with neutral towns, which do not send out heroes but may still be captured by any player. It is therefore possible, and common, to have more towns than players on a map. When captured, a town retains its alignment type, potentially allowing the new owner to create a mixed army. A player or team is eliminated when no towns or heroes are left under their control. Barring any special conditions, the last player or team remaining is the victor.
[edit] Resource model
The primary resource is gold, which is generated by towns on a weekly basis. Gold alone is sufficient for obtaining basic buildings and most creatures. As construction progresses, increasing amounts of secondary resources such as wood and ore are required. These resources are produced at mines, which are located on the map and require heroes to march out and capture them. As with towns, mines can also be captured by enemy heroes, presenting an additional avenue for conflict.
[edit] Armies and Heroes
The player controls several armies which use movement points move about the Adventure Map as a unit. With the exception of HoMM IV, every hero has an army and vice versa; in HoMM IV, armies may contain from zero to seven heroes. Army can perform a variety of tasks on the adventure map, such as exchanging troops with other armies and castles, entering battles with neutral armies and opponents, and seizing resources.
Armies have a certain number of slots, each of which can hold any number of a given type of creature. Creatures, which serve the player in battle, can be obtained in a variety of ways, although by far the primary way is being purchased at a castle.
As they lead armies in battle, heroes gain levels, which allow them to give greater bonuses to their creatures and use more powerful magic. They can also acquire artifacts on the adventure map, which give additional bonuses. In all the games except HoMM IV, heroes had four primary skills. The attack skill boosts the attack skill of creatures in their army, which gives a bonus to damage based on the defense skill of enemy creatures. Defense skill boosts the defense skill of creatures in their army, which makes them more resistant to damage from attacks. Spell power increases the strength and duration of spells. Knowledge allows heroes to cast more spells, either through a spell memorization (HoMM I) or spell point (II-V) system.
Heroes II introduced secondary skills. Heroes have can learn a limited variety of secondary skills with several levels of proficiency. Secondary skills give specific, miscellaneous bonuses to heroes and their armies. For example, skill in logistics increases the distance a hero's army can travel, while skill in leadership gives their army a morale bonus.
[edit] Battle
Battle occurs between a hero and a neutral army, a hero and an enemy hero, or a hero and an enemy or neutral castle which may or may not have a hero in its garrison. Creatures in both armies are represented as "stacks," which act as an individual and take turns moving around the grid; the order of the turns depends on the speed or initiative of the creatures. Creatures may attack enemy creatures if they move adjacent. When attacked, creatures will retaliate with an attack of their own; however, they generally can only retaliate once per round.
While creatures have various special abilities such as magic resistance or the ability to cast harmful spells upon attack, they can generally be classified into three types. Shooters may attack at a distance, but cannot fire if an enemy creature is adjacent to them; they will only be able to move or perform a melee attack for half damage. Flyers can fly over the random obstacles that litter the battlefield and can generally move far, making them good for getting close to shooters. Walkers must move around obstacles in order attack something in hand to hand combat, making them vulnerable to shooters, but are generally stronger than flyers. Thus, the game has a rock-paper-scissors system between walkers, shooters, and flyers, although it is weak, as creatures vary greatly in strength.
Heroes participate in battle by granting bonuses to their creatures and by casting spells. Spells can be generally classified into four types: those they provide further bonuses to their own creatures or remove negative effects, spells that create negative effects in enemy creatures, spells that directly damage enemy creatures, and spells that summon additional friendly creatures.
There is also a luck and morale system. A variety of effects, such as secondary skills, artifacts, and how many factions the creatures in an army come combine to give creatures an overall morale level, which determines their chance of receiving positive and negative morale and luck effects. Positive morale allows creatures to take an additional turn; negative morale causes them to lose a turn. Luck can double the damage a creature gives (or, in HoMM IV, halve the damage it takes).
[edit] Replay value
Games in the series often include a map editor or random map generator.
[edit] Reception
Critical reception for the series has been generally positive, with Game Rankings scores averaging from the high 70s to high 80s. New World Computing closed after the production of Heroes of Might and Magic IV, and since then the rights to the franchise have been owned by Ubisoft. Nival Interactive developed the first game in the series since the changeover, Heroes of Might and Magic V.
[edit] Platforms
Most games in the series are available for Windows and Mac OS, only the third game is available for GNU/Linux. It was ported by Loki Software. The first two installments of the series were for DOS but later ported to Windows. The original game, King's Bounty, was released for the Commodore Amiga, Sega Genesis and DOS. Gametap began offering the first four games in the series over its pay service in 2006. The first and second games were also ported for Game Boy Color and are now somewhat rare. One unique version, made for the Playstation 2, had real-time movement and turn-based battles.
[edit] Heroes Chronicles
A spinoff series, Heroes Chronicles, was released for Microsoft Windows, featuring the same world and gameplay as Heroes of Might and Magic III. The story centers on a hero named Tarnum. Games in the Heroes Chronicles include:
- Heroes Chronicles: Warlords of the Wastelands (2000)
- Heroes Chronicles: Conquest of the Underworld (2000)
- Heroes Chronicles: Masters of the Elements (2000)
- Heroes Chronicles: Clash of the Dragons (2000)
- Heroes Chronicles: The World Tree (free download when you buy any two chronicles, USA only)
- Heroes Chronicles: The Fiery Moon (free download when you buy any three chronicles, USA only)
- Heroes Chronicles: Revolt of the Beastmasters (2001)
- Heroes Chronicles: The Sword of Frost (2001)
Note: The last two were released in the USA and the UK together in one bundle called Heroes Chronicles, the Final Chapters (2001).
[edit] External links
- Ubisoft Might and Magic website
- The Heroes of Might and Magic series at MobyGames
- Age of Heroes - fansite
- Celestial Heavens - fansite
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