Heroes of Might and Magic III boasts that "minute to learn, lifetime to master" learning curve only few video games in history do. The gameplay manages to be so simple and approachable while at the same time containing enough depth to keep you entertained for years to come. Learning to build your armies and improve your heroes is simple, but learning to use every monster and spell to their best effect can take years of experience. I picked this game up in 1999 and still play it to this day - trust me, I know. For a game introduced last millenia HoMM 3 has aged extremely well. The beautiful hand drawn sprites still look great to this day, and all the windows and pop-up screens are well polished and easy to use. Also John Romero's music score is among the greatest ever. Only with time will you value how much care and precision was put into every little detail of the game. Click on a hero sailing on a boat and, and a fitting music piece is introduced in the background. Make your way through a desert and another music piece is heard. Small things like this hardly make or break a game, but it all just goes to show how New World Computing set out to make the best game they possibly could, and how handsomely that work paid off. The flaws in Heroes 3 are few and minor. Not all of the eight factions are equally balanced, and a few of the skills are all but useless. Short of these small imperfections, there's little bad to say about the game. I LOVE Civilization and still I would still name HoMM 3 my favourite TBS game hands down any time. More than that, I would name it one of the best PC games ever. Why HoMM 3 isn't a regular visitor in all the greatest video game lists out there is a mystery to me. Really, it is that good!
Depending from your viewpoint, you could rate MM 8 to either one star or five stars. Frankly, I can understand both verdicts. As much as you might like the overall gameplay of the Might and Magic series, the flaws in MM 8 just can't be overlooked. The game uses the same engine as MM 6, which looked obsolete already when the game came out back in 2000. Also, the plot (involving the four elements threatening to destroy the world) is by far the weakest in the series. Instead of improvign the game engine itself, New World Computing tried to mix thing up by changing many gameplay elements. Instead of building your party of adventurers from the start, you only get to create one main character. Rest of the characters will join your quest as the game progresses, and can be recycled freely with one another. A vast number of new character classes, such as trolls, vampires, minotaurs and dragons were also introduced. If having a dragon as your party member sounds over powerful to you then... well, you're right. MM 8 is significantly easier that the previous installments, much of this is due to the party management. Instead of having to painstakingly grind your team level by level, players may easily hire themselves high level characters who already carry high quality gear and know most of the spells. This may completely break the difficulty curve of the game, making much of the game a walk in the park. The huge dungeons of MM 6 and 7 are also gone in favour of smaller, more tightly drawn ineriors which also contribute on the easiness of the game. Still, by some weird Jon van Cangheim magic, 'Day of the Destroyer' IS a fun and enjoyable game. There's tons of side quests to accomplish, secret dungeons to explore, monsters to slay and magic artifacts to be found. If you liked MM 6 and 7, you will undoubtedly like MM 8 too. Still, if you're only getting started with the mM series, try the earlier installments instead, as MM 8 is the weakest game of the trio.
First a bit of history: A lot of people, myself included, we're unhappy with how Heroes of MIght and Magic IV (HoMM 4) altered the gameplay too much from the previous installments of the series. While some more hardcore players did actually the enjoy the changes, that didn't make the game any more approachable to the casual gamers among whom HoMM 3 had hit a home run. Heroes 4 wasn't the kind of commercial success 3DO would have needed. Add to that the total disaster which was the Might & Magic IX, and - abrakadabra - 3DO was bankrupt, taking down New World Computing and the M&M series down with it in 2003. Enter Ubisoft. Gamers around the world must have rejoiced when Heroes of Might and Magic V was announced, promising a return to the classic style of Homm 2 and 3 with a full 3D engine and superior production values. HoMM 5 also abandoned the sci-fi tingled world of the earlier games with its Demonic alien races, computer oracles and blaster weapons and brought Heroes to a more traditional fantasy world much reminiscent of the Warhammer universe. All these changes could have been bearable if HoMM 5's gameplay could have reached that of HoMM 2 and 3. It doesn't. The implemention of the 3D engine absolutely destroys the gameplay. The new adventure maps are but a fracture of size of those in the earlier games, totally removing the spirit of exploring and adventuring, as in most cases you can see the enemy castle soon after you leave your home castle. In Homm 2 and 3 your heroes could be wondering weeks away from home, conquering mines and cities as you go. Not anymore - most maps in HoMM 5 have you run into an overly powerful enemy which stops you from advancing Add to that terrible graphic style, piss poor writing, tons of UI issues and _abysmal_ voice acting and you've got HoMM 5, theugly offspring of the king of TBS gaming.
