Heroes of Might and Magic Online
- Obszar: USA
- Strona oficjalna: Heroes of Might and Magic Online
- Wydawca: TQ Digital Entertainment, NetDragon Websoft Inc.
- Developer: TQ Digital Entertainment & UBISOFT
- Platforma: Download, Microsoft Windows
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- Obszar: USA
- Strona oficjalna: Heroes of Might and Magic Online
- Wydawca: TQ Digital Entertainment, NetDragon Websoft Inc.
- Developer: TQ Digital Entertainment & UBISOFT
- Platforma: Download, Microsoft Windows
Like this game? Tell your friends!
Review
Heroes of Might and Magic Online
By Ron Keith
Heroes of Might and Magic (HOMM) is a venerable gaming franchise. With roots stretching all the way back to the mid-1990s, HOMM is an enduring piece of gaming history. The PC game HOMM was and still is a turn-based strategy (TBS) game. TBS games occupy the evolutionary niche between tabletop games like the original Warhammer and real-time strategy (RTS) games like StarCraft. TBS games were once very popular, but as computing power increased, RTS games became more popular and, today, RTS games dominate (Or should we say zerg?) the strategy games landscape. However, some notable TBS games, like Sid Meier's Civilization and HOMM, still have their followings.
TQ and Ubisoft, the original developer of HOMM have now teamed up, creating Heroes of Might and Magic Online, the MMO.
Why an MMO?
MMOs tend to be real-time. Everything that happens, whether you're exploring, fighting or trading, happens in the real-time environment of the MMO. Real-time is the rule in MMOs, so does it make sense to adapt a TBS game like HOMM to an MMO?
For a game like HOMM, it makes a lot of sense. MMOs can provide something that is usually lacking from a PC strategy game: A real challenge. With most both RTS and TBS games it's almost always you against the computer. In most strategy games, the AI almost always sucks. Even if they're challenging, at first, you almost always figure them out over time and end up owning them. That gets boring.
An MMO can provide ready opponents, human opponents, all of whom think differently and will provide you with a various levels of challenge. By porting HOMM to an MMO, TQ and Ubisoft have made it extremely easy to pit yourself and your army against other players, providing you with an endless variety of challenges.
Graphics
TQ and Ubisoft might have remained a little too faithful to the original game. The graphics in HOMM Online are in the same class as the original PC game. For instance, there are only two resolution choices: 1024x768 and 800x600. The game would benefit greatly from better graphics. (The game was tested in beta, so it's possible more resolutions will be available at the time of official release.)
Character creation
HOMM Online has remained faithful to the original game in more satisfying ways. If you've ever played HOMM, you'll immediately find yourself at home. At the start of the game, you pick the race you want to play, any one of eight different races: Human, Arcane, Undead, Barbarian, Marshland, Subterranean, Sylvan or Infernal. Each race has different units, each with different traits. While the available units are similar in their roles – cavalry, archer, tank – their abilities all vary depending on the race you choose. For instance, a human pikeman, essentially a tank unit, has slightly less defense and offense than a Sylvan dwarf, also a tank unit, but the pikeman can move faster. If you've never played one of the HOMM games be sure to check out the HOMM Online website when deciding on your race.
After you've decided on your race, you create your hero. That's you, the leader of your race's army. The choice is usually between a warrior or mage hero, each can assist your army in different ways, and each comes armed with a variety of spells – buffs, debuffs and damage spells like magic missile.
Unfortunately, HOMM Online provides only very limited character creation options. The character creation screen is restricted to nothing more than a choice of portraits. Some more traditional MMO character creation tools would help make the game more personal. These days, players want to create their own identity when they play an MMO and it's a little surprising HOMM Online hasn't provided players with better character creation tools.
Your city is your resource
As with most strategy games, HOMM Online is a resource game. You recruit troops for your army from your city and you recruit better troops by improving your city. You'll need resources to improve your city and build better structures. In order to stay competitive you must improve your city.
Exploring and questing will yield resources for your city. As a bonus, questing will often yield magical items which can greatly benefit your hero. Oh, and if you find something you can't use, you can sell it on the auction house. Another benefit of playing an MMO.
Combat
When you engage enemy units, your fight will occur within the confines of a tabletop-inspired board, complete with hexagonal spaces. If you're a fan of tabletop gaming, this is sure to bring a knowing smile to your face.
You, the hero, cast spells that can turn the tide of battle. As you progress, you'll learn lots of spells, but you'll be limited by the amount of mana you have, so choose your spells wisely. The life and death of your troops depends on it.
You must manage your troops wisely, too. If you move your cavalry out too far, you'll make them vulnerable to the tanks. If you don't focus fire on the enemy's rear-guard archers, they'll pick off your troops. These decisions make HOMM Online a strategy game more akin to chess than the World of Warcraft.
While there is plenty of player-versus-environment to keep you busy, HOMM Online is most enjoyable when playing against other players. Testing your brain and your army against someone else online is what makes this game fun.
You can get quick fights by going around and challenging other players to duels, but HOMM Online provides a fairly robust arena system that lets you queue for matches against other players. Players are ranked by their level and earn honor by fighting against other players.
How's your Mandarin?
Every now and then, HOMM Online will remind you that the game was developed as an MMO in China. TQ is a Chinese company and occasionally you'll be presented with screens with Chinese text or text that doesn't translate. For the most part, this doesn't impact game play.
Pros: Fun, TBS gaming. MMO environment makes it easy to find opponents.
Cons: Screen resolution is old school. Some text is still in Chinese.
Conclusion
Heroes of Might and Magic Online is worth checking out if you enjoy turn-based strategy games and you're looking for some human competition. Play against other players and see how high you can get in the rankings.
