The art and sound are phenomenal, even when the game gets a bit repetitive at times the grim atmosphere never got old. Gameplay however is either love it or hate it depending on your enthusiasm for pain. All the complaints about random rolls screwing you over are a bit exaggerated, there's a strategy for pretty much anything the game can throw at you (accuracy trinkets/quirks are your friend.) When you fail horribly there's always a different team that could have won. Just remember to retreat when things look hopeless. Overall the game is about minimizing risk and recovering from lost progress, it certainly won't appeal to everyone.
I'm someone who only got into the Heroes series over a decade after New World Computing went bankrupt, so I'm not speaking from nostalgia when I call this my favorite strategy game ever. The gameplay is easy to learn but hard to master and just never gets old for me. The art and music aged better than most newer games, though I do prefer HoMM2's soundtrack. The only problem is finding enough time to play the vast number of maps out there. Overall I'd rate this a timeless classic.
