PSN and XBLA gets Might and Magic Clash of Heroes

[Akaimizu]

This is sort of a Roll Call. Anybody else getting this?

This was a highly awarded game on the DS, but by the time I really found out about it, some HD screenshots showed up with an announcement for PS3 and 360.

I also happen to have owned a number of Might and Magic Heroes games since the original Kings Bounty release on the C64 (and Apple II machines).

Needless to say, this has been my most anticipated non-portable release on the download service, for the past year.

Don't know how many other strategy nuts are out there, but I figure I'd get the word out. It's kind of like Puzzle Quest meets Heroes of Might and Magic. Though I would say that the puzzle element looks to not take over the strategic RPG goodness, but just embellish it. That means, special units, special abilities, spells, are all intact as you take one Hero and their forces to battle against another foe and his forces. Like some of the most celebrated M&M Heroes games (Like Heroes of Might and Magic 3), the Hero is not a unit in battle, but more of the one in the back with readied support for the forces.

Problem, like before, it gets released with almost no advertising, so it's plain word of mouth. Just be careful, this might be your favorite game on PSN, and a good contender to match the best of XBLA. Of course, if puzzle and strategy is not your thing, it may not be for you. However, like Kings Bounty did for me, it could possibly turn some into fans.

The previews showed the enhancements having some of the most eye-watering High Def hand-drawn animations ever for some attacks, but some characters may seem a little bit generic to you. This is mostly due to how old the series is, and that when the series started, the character architypes were still young in the gaming industry. My start of Might and Magic play was with Kings Bounty and Might and Magic 2, so I have a bit of a long history with the games. I will admit that. So I'm definitely excited to jump back into the realm especially after the many praises the DS version got. It's been a while since Heroes has gotten such critical acclaim.

The game's story is still based around Heroes of Might and Magic 5, so the music is fine, but not the best out of the series. The tunes are basically the same or slight remixes of current Heroes of Might and Magic.

So fans of Heroes 3 might be a tad disappointed that they didn't harken back to this one a bit. But then again, Heroes 3 had some tunes that are quality beyond most video games. Heck, you could play the Forest tune right behind a recording of the original "Flight of the Valkyrie" and not notice one iota of a dip in quality. Yeah, it was that good (and that expensive to make since full-blown live orchestras don't come cheap). But what they have here, works; and if you happen to like Heroes V, you'll be instantly familiar with the tunes.

[AC9breaker]

Yeah this game totally came out of nowhere, never even heard of it until it was released like the other day. From the little bit I've seen of it it looks pretty cool and I might pick it up on my PSN since I think my xbox is getting close to breaking so I try to avoid playing on it as much.

[AC9breaker]

So I've been playing the demo and I'm totally digging the game. However whats really turning me off is the damn Load times. Seriously why does this game have so much loading down time, what is this 1998? Actually I've been playing Parasite Eve and Ridge Racer type 4 on the PSN and even those games don't have load times as bad as in this game. I would even go as far as to compare it to Sonic 2006.

I might pass on this game just because of the load times. any idea if it's better on the Xbox?

[Akaimizu]

I haven't tried the PS3 demo, so I don't know. It does load a lot, but I can't say they are that long. Obviously, this is different to different people.

[Outrider]

I downloaded the demo last night but haven't had a chance to play it.

It definitely looks neat, and I love the idea of replacing abstract elements (like the blocks in a puzzle game) with soldiers. I'm looking forward to giving it a shot.

[Akaimizu]

It's neat in the aspect that it does initially give the puzzle vibe, but unit strategy ends up also becoming a major factor. It really does blur the line in such a way that turn-based strategy fans could be fooled into thinking it is strictly a turn-based strategy game, at times. Puzzle fans may see some difficulties arise, at times, until they use more strategy.

Puzzle challenges are just that, puzzles. Though you do have to think about basic properties of chains, fusions, and cascades. What moves cause you to gain your allotted moves back, or build upon your moves left. But that still falls straight into puzzle category, just that you're learning a few new properties that play differently than existing puzzle games.

[AC9breaker]

So I downloaded it for the Xbox and I can confirm that load times are definitely shorter on Xbro. I haven't timed it but it's noticeably less then it was on PS bro. So now I might get it on the Xbro but just waiting to see if I can coax some friends into getting it so I can skrim with them.

[Akaimizu]

I finished the first campaign out of 5, and was able to max out Anwen and all of her troops, for the Unstoppable Army achievement. Also did all the side quests and puzzles for that mission. I should also have all of her artifacts. Now into campaign 2 with Godric. Pretty awesome stuff, so far.

[AC9breaker]

So I'm close to beating the game now. on the last Campaign with Nadia. I really like this game. My favaoite armies are Griffon and Necropolis doods. Griffion is just too beast with Master swordsmen and Angel units. Where as the Ghost and Vampires units are imho the best 2 slot units. Once you get the artifact that increases your attack by 75% and reduces HP by 75% it's pretty much easy mode. Not too fond of the demon army. They seem super lacking and just all around unremarkable.

[Akaimizu]

Funny you should mention the Angels. In some of the old Heroes games the Archangels were among the scariest units in the entire series. While not totally unbeatable, they were a *winning* unit. I used to use humorous analogies with them, updated for certain audiences. For FF7 folks, I would say they hit like Sephiroth, heal like Aerith. Even worse, they used to instantly add morale to every unit on their side and could ressurrect units. Including each other. Get a group of them in the game and if you're smart with them, it was practically game over for the other guy. The only real downside of Archs were basically the cost. Which makes perfect sense given how powerful they were.

The Demon army used to be, more or less, the rushing (initially strong) army, in the original games. Unit cost and such was a major factor. Overall, you could get the straight damage from their higher units, for less cost. The problem being (like typical demons) they aren't excatly good at helping each other out. It's just raw power. In Heroes games, support functions are just as much important, if not more important than raw power. Heck, Leprechauns could be a good help due to the power of support capabilities. You just had to wrap your head around support functions and use them well, and it's great stuff.

In this game, it almost seems that the undead army is more of that type.
Still Supports do some amazing things. I like Anwen's Unicorns for the simple fact that charging them and any adjacent units instantly turns them into minor tanks. Grouping those suckers with an all-out attack is actually pretty scary considering their relatively low cost to get them charging. It also ends up being a pretty tough thing to kill off before they attack. The trick is having them on the field and organizing them. I had to laugh when I saw a good early attack blocked by a single pixie that just happened to be next to a charged unicorn. Instant wall, anybody?

Still, Heroes of Might and Magic is a series in which I always loved how they balanced Raw Power vs. Support functions. They never forget to make both just as important. Something a lot of other companies need to learn from. Like *ahem* today's Phantasy Star.

[AC9breaker]

So I'm at the last boss and this is some straight up bullshit. Mandatory grinding is the remedy for this boss. I need my Champion and elite units to a minimum of level 4 to tackle this monster, he's just too much. My Djinn is level 2 Wizards level 3 and the 3 elites are 1 and 2. I've lost to him like 3 time sin a row now and it's pissing me off. I actually managed to get his HP to like 50/300 doing some cheese tactics with the lightning hero spell but his offense is just too much and I can't kill him fast enough.

[Akaimizu]

Sounds about right. I pretty much raise my units like that (grinding) for most end-campaign bosses. So I wouldn't treat him any different. Since levelling aids in the survivability of your units and the damage (particularly when stacked/comboed), that makes sense. A good formation (which already adds some multiplier to your damage/defense/effectiveness depending on the action) is always beefed up that much better when levels come into play.

[AC9breaker]

So have you done any online multiplayer? I'm noticing the Elvan doods seem to be the most popular. People love spamming reindeer. Also, I have to take back my statement of the Demon army being lacking. They seem really beastly when you get links and fusion bonuses going and their Hero abilities for both heros are fantastic. I personally like the abysmal lord over Pit Lord since it seems to have the most potential out of the demons. Succubus and Abysmal are my units of preference. When items are allowed I always choose the ring that allows extra movement. Allows you to be much more aggressive.

Units of choice for Necropolis are Ghost and Death or Ghost and Mega Skeleton Knight. Zombie dragon seems super lacking since it's so dependent on idle units and if someone sees a big unit like that charging they more likely to build walls then use idle units to block it. If items are allowed, the ring that builds magic meter for every destroyed idle unit is the way to go.

The silver cities mages by far seem to be the most lacking in terms of Elite and champion units when it comes to single player games I like to go Phoenix and Djinn with the linking bonus if items are allowed. I haven't played enough with them but combing their elite units in team games makes them really a tough nut to crack especially with their wall abilities. The hero spells seem to be the worst out of all the races though.

[Akaimizu]

Not really. I've been using some of the current PSU event to make sure my character makes it up to the end game and start collection AP points. I've bounced back to this game to continue the campaign, so that I can finish it with a good understanding of all the races. So no, I haven't jumped into Multiplayer yet.

[Outrider]

Okay, I just played the demo and it was a blast. These are the kind of casual/core crossovers that I love. I'm going to have to pick this up when I get around to buying another Xbox points card.

[Akaimizu]

It's nice. It has a Casual surface, both in art style and the puzzle aspects. But it sneaks a pretty hardcore-satisfying strategy experience on you. It's the whole. "Make it seem easy to get into, attract the audience, then keep them there with amazing depth."

Or for the Fat Albert fans, "You better be careful because you might learn something before it's done." If you go through it, you'll actually become a pretty savvy strategic player (before you know it), if you aren't one already. And considering that I tend to play all my games coming from the more strategic unit mindset, this one was pure gravy. It doesn't quite replace Heroes of Might and Magic itself (there's different gameplay aspects in those), but I can safely say it is a very nice spinoff that also gets people interested in playing the regular series. (It certainly had me cracking out some of the older HOMM games, I haven't played in awhile, again.)