I gave the Heroes of Might and Magic V demo a try this weekend. It’s the next in a long line of turn-based strategy games. I remember well the first time I discovered the HOMM series. It was my sophomore year of college, and I downloaded the demo for HOMM2 to give it a whirl. I played that demo over and over and over, for so many hours, late into the night.
I eventually picked up a copy of it, and played it addictively. When HOMM3 came out, I was psyched. I picked up HOMM3 and then HOMM4 when it came out. But somehow, that initial excitement became diluted. All the basic gameplay elements were there - you control heroes (who gain experience and skills) and move them around a map collecting resource nodes, recruiting troops, and capturing cities. However, the latest iterations just weren’t very good. More of the same isn’t always all you need.
The HOMM5 demo is good. I think I spent at least 5 hours playing it this weekend, and I might give it another try. I can’t quite say what made this so much better than HOMM4, but I was enthralled. Maybe it’s just that I haven’t played a HOMM game in so long, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There was a beta earlier and the news about it wasn’t so great, but it looks like they turned things around. This was a solid demo, and it looks like it could be a good game.
8 Responses to “Heroes V Demo Thoughts”
One thing I like about HOMM 5 is the fact that the developers announced a launch date, and then pushed it back solely because of the negative fansite reaction (supposedly, anyway). It’s not often the publisher pays any attention to that kind of thing, so it’s nice to see.
Yeah, I heard about that. But call me a cynic, I’m betting the game was just delayed. Now that’s great marketing - instead of getting bashed for the release date slipping, everyone is cheering because they “listened to the fans” and “pushed out the release to make the game better.” Yeah, definitely call me a cynic.
Yeah, I was careful to use the word “supposedly” in my comment. I’m not sure which is true, but at the very least they DID delay the game, which in and of itself is more than most publishers would do.
Speaking of new games, will you be checking out Longest Journey: Dreamfall when it’s released tomorrow? I’m really looking forward to it.
Probably not. I’ve had The Longest Journey on my “To buy” list since it came out. That’s a long time. I never managed to pick it up. I like adventure games, but they’re not at the top of my priority list. You’ll just have to let me know how it is.
From the looks of things, it plays much more like a 3d ‘action adventure’ game, similar to Tomb Raider or Psychonauts perhaps. Not sure if that sways you. And yeah, I never even finished The Longest Journey. So much dialogue! Oddly though, that’s what made the game so good. Funny old world. But yeah, I’ll try let you know what I think of it when I pick it up.
Oh gee. I didn’t know that Dreamfall is out already. I didn’t even finish TLJ… It was pretty good, though.
Joystiq has a metareview up here - the reviews are wildly varied.
Ha, I hadn’t seen the 1up review. Gamespot is usually the only one I read, with a quick glance at the User score (9.0) and the average of other major review sites (which, even factoring in 1up, comes out at 7.4 from only three reviews). From what I’ve heard of the game, the story is genuinely amazing, and unlike 1up I’m not put off by the sound of unchallenging gameplay. If there’s one major drawback to adventure games, it’s the sheer length of time they take to complete, so I’d even say I’m attracted to Dreamfall for it’s simplicity. As for the combat system, is that really what adventure game players are looking for? I mean, more important than story, in this genre? Really?