Heroes of Might and Magic®

Make no mistake: HOMM I has that addictive if primitive gameplay Heroes series is famous for. Graphics look and feels lush, inviting and a little rough around the edges. Sound and music is brilliant, eaasily on par with the rest of the series, with the Barbarian theme song being the greatest, breathtaking music piece in the game. AI is challenging and will keep you on your toes throughout all the scenarious and especially during the campaign, where it can be estremely ferocious. There are some heavy and infuriating shortcomings being the first game in the series: maps are buggy, with heroes units capable of squeezing through the unpassable terrains such as mountains and enemy units. Most of the maps, even though they are varies, are simplistic in their design and the only story campaign barely has a storyin it. Magic is extremely overpowered and unbalanced, and speaking of magic: Biggest fault is the cheating AI that can seamingly do wonders with magic, I had an enemy sorceress hero in a very long battle of attrition just spamming magic every single round, and pulling magic cheats out of her hat, without having some sort of artifact or higher levels of magic guild. This kind of cheating made me reevaluate final score down to two stars. Despite its major flaws, Heroes of Might and Magic was and still is an important cornerstone of turn based strategy and the start of the astounding series, but be mindful of the nasty cheats this game tries to pool over you.

My favorite HoMM game for multiplayer! Why is this game still awesome and why should YOU play it in 201X even when HoMM 2 and 3 (or any of the newer ones), which have a far bigger fanbase, are availlable as well? Hear me out: + Really easy to get into: HoMM 3s biggest problem we have all experienced is that an experienced player can't play with a new one. Its far too complex to learn about everything important in the game in 5 or even 10 hours. In this game you can get a quick understanding of everything pretty fast since everything is much smaller in scope. + Hot seat is fast :This game's maps can be finished in one evening of multiplay. Heroes 2 and especiall 3 take far more time for one session and do you have all that time? Many times you dont have it. + Great asymetrical balancing: Sure the warlock is the best castle in the game but even a warlock isnt undefeatable and the town costs a lot to upgrade. Play the strength of your castle right and most maps are pretty balanced. + The best Homm music: This game just blows it out of the water in the music department. The barbarian town theme is one of the best music pieces in a video game ever and all the other pieces are just great and memorable as well. Far more memorable than in all other HoMM games. + Unique look: Some players dislike the look but the painting like high fantasy "cliche" look I really love and it makes the game not as dated looking as its age would suggest. It is simply ok to look at even if you dont like the style. + Magic Balance: Magic just works with a few exploits though

I finally decided to try this classic over the Holiday break. What fun! Though it may not be the best of the series, it was the first, and it still has its charms. Simple solid gameplay, decent graphics and interface, few bugs, and lots of fun. I played through the tutorial, which does a fairly good job of getting you oriented, though it does not do much to explain the finer details of play. As was common in this era, you are expected to figure many things out for yourself. Part of the fun, but some may balk at this. All can be found online, though, of course, if you need help. I then jumped into the Campaign and have played though two scenarios so far. Get ready for long hours of fun play! I started in and played for about 18+ hours straight! The legendary 'just one more turn' aspect of II and III can be found here as well. Even better if you start here before playing the others. Someone else here posted about balance and the dragons being too strong (Warlock). I did not find this to be the case. Unicorns (Soceress) handled the Dragons fine and overall everything seemed pretty well balanced to me, though I have not yet enough experience to be absolutely sure. All in all, a lot of fun and the simplicity is appealing. The complexity lies in the strategy (as it should) not in figuring out how to play, although the manual is lacking (look online for more info) and leaves out a lot of important details. Still, it's easy enough to figure out. I do recommend playing through the tutorial game -- it's fun and will definitely help you get oriented, especially if you have not played before. The strategic use of spells during battle is very important and can greatly aid your creatures and hamper your opponents. The 'auto' mode works very well if you want to let the computer do the work and you can learn from watching a few battles in this mode if you are new to the series. But by taking an active role as the "Hero" you can turn the tide in a very satisfying way and truly make a difference. Lots of layers and depth here, even though simple and easy play mechanics at work. Playing is easy. Winning, not so easy! ;) Now stop and think a minute. A 61 MB file download! Less than 140 MB installed. Amazing! How many games do you know that can pack so much fun into a file that size? I'm playing this on an MSI X340 (basically a 'super' netbook class)- 2 GB, Intel 4500HD GMA, SU3500 (single core), Vista 64 and it runs fine. I'm sure it would run on my Asus netbook equally well. (Three cheers for DOSbox and GOG!) Current game designers could learn a lot from this classic game. Great fun and well worth the great GOG price.

While HOMM1 can't match its sequels in terms of gameplay, its unique artwork and charm make it well worth a look.

Truly time has not be kind to this game, the graphics, though bright and colorful, are also quite garish. The animations are sloppy the sound effects are...very bad. Gameplay still can be fun, like all HOMM games each town has it's own flavor and strategy that comes with it. Though primitive and not enduring, the beginnings and concepts seen in HOMM would later be truly realized in excellently conceived HOMM 2 and reach their manificent pinnace in HOMM3, which is rightly considered one of the greatest games ever made.