Heroes

Heroes of Might and Magic V

Graphics 2/5
The graphics are decent, although they could have stayed like HoMM III for all I care. Putting 3D graphics to a turn-based game with a 2d world is a big mistake. Why you say? Well, first of all, it's a pain in the ass to have an additional useless thing to do to play the game... moving the stupid camera around so you can see something. The fact that you cannot zoom out much makes it an even bigger pain. The fact that you,re always rotating the annoying camera is really irritating. In the end, it makes the game unpleasant and annoying... the main reason why I stopped playing, because a game is supposed to be fun, not irritating or annoying. The reason why it only receives a 2 for graphics instead of a 3. The Heroes of Might and Magic series shouldn't be about graphics, but content and quality of the game itself, we all know that graphics are not important in such games. Just look at all attempts at making a successful 2D game into 3D graphics, they all failed miserably like Panzer General 3D, that sucked.

Play Control 6/10
Controlling the avatars is just above average, nothing that would make you jump out of the window, and the fact that the graphics are 3D is really annoying and makes play control plummet to a 6 because of that rather than being higher. It is simple to move your avatars around, but it could have beena bit better.

Interface 5/10
The interface is cumbersome compared to Heroes of Might and Magic III, it is quite confusing the first time you play... the interface of the cities are the worse. Why change a recipe when it is successful? The general interface is rather average and need working, take example on HoMM III to build the sequel to this half-failed attempt at making a sequel to the series (not total failure like HoMM IV, now that was pathetic, trying to immitate a crappy game named Disciples).

Fun 6/15
Like I mentioned earlier, the 3D graphics are a real pain in the ass and having to do an additonal useless thing (moving the camera around) in the game makes this rating going from 12 to 6. There is really little fun in this game with the annoying camera and confusing interface of cities. They should have kept the game simple like HoMM III and just improve the 2d graphics and add more stuff to the game instead of trying to change the recipe... well, not as much as HoMM IV, which was a total fiasco, no wonder 3DO went bankrupt...

Depth 8/10
It has a good depth, both official campaigns and the game itself. But unlike the complete edition of Heroes of Might and Magic III, it has but half of what that old game had. It does have enough to keep you playing the game for a long time, but you will get tired of the game because of the annoying camera and 3D graphics.

Story 8/10
The story is plausible as a story in the Might and Magic universe. There are some lows, but it is otherwise decent enought to be appreciated. At least there is something worth seeing in this game. Although the characters talking in the small videos in the game could have done more than just show off with a sort of power display, that sucked and look more ridiculous than anything.

Idea 5/5
Like all Heroes of Might and Magic game, it is a great idea that few used in the past, but it seems that since the third of the series, no one was able to do anything as good as that game, whether it is 3DO, Ubisoft or any other companies trying to make clones, like for example Disciple which is a fiasco in my opinion.

Non-linearity 0/15
The game is unfortunately totally linear, you cannot change anything in the storyline, you cannot take multiple paths or anything like that. Which makes this a big zero.

Interpretation 8/15
The idea of the game was somewhat bad... putting a 2D game into 3D is a recipe for failure which has been proven time and again since video games exists to a few exception (Super Mario, Zelda, and prince of persia are part of the few exceptions and are all classics that couldn't be just hastily being made to make a quick buck since they are the franchise game of the companies). The voice acting is decent enought to be credible and interesting and the writing is alright too. The only down side here is that they changed the game into 3D, which is more a pain in the ass in turn based games, and the fact that they did not use all of HoMM items and spells plus as many new ones is also unfortunate.

Completion 3/5
The game was almost complete upon launch, it had some bugs which lead to patches. What makes this rating being a 3 instead of a 4 is that they came out with boring, almost empty, expansion packs that added VERY LITTLE to the game and THAT SUCKS and is a good way to screw people. Luckily, I never paid a penny to play that game or its expansions. Take that Ubisoft for spoiling a good recipe with your crappy 3D graphics!!

Total 51/100 An okay game, but do not buy unless you want to complete the collection. It's not worth more than 10$ in the recycling bin with all the expansions included (since the expansion adds VERY little to the game.