Heroes of Might and Magic® 4: Complete

I have been a fan of the HOMM series since I picked up a demo of Heroes 2 back shortly before it's release in 1996. I loved Heroes 3 as well and so when I had heard about the changes in the mechanics that they were introducing to to Heroes 4 I recall being unsure of how I would feel about it. It wasn't until around 2010 that I actually bought the game and I have been hooked ever since. While the game is not perfect (you can tell that it's development was a little under funded and rushed) it's take on the HOMM series is spot on. I love that you can actually use your heroes for more than just moving around on the main map and casting a spell here and there; the heroes themselves finally feel like they matter. I really enjoyed the campaigns and they are my go-to thing to play (seriously, this is the first game I install every-time I format or change computers). That having been said, the game does feel a bit unfinished at times, especially after the masterpieces that were Heroes 2 and Heroes 3. The graphics of course are dated now, but they were alright for the time. The maps are generally spacious, but feel a bit sparsely populated in comparison to it's predecessors. It seems as if the developers had originally intended to have more content; I can't quite put my finger on it, but I suspect if they had been allowed more time and a bigger budget this game could have been genre changing.

This is my favorite Heroes game of them all for a few major reasons: I really love the atmosphere! For me, this is the most atmospheric game of all the heroes game. In particular because it has be best sound track in my opinion. My favorite music track. Graphics are also somehow nice and not overcrowded and work well with the beautiful music Secondly, this is the only Heroes game where heroes themselves appear in combat as units. Not only this, but you can have several heroes (theorically up to 7 I think) in combat. Ofcourse, every hero in combat means a slot not taken by units. Usually 2 heroes in an army is the sweet spot. No other heroes game anything like this and I think it adds an additional level of tactics. Really love it.

It is really sad the game sales were bad. It was a refreshing and intresting game. Only problem for me was less faction from heroes 3. I actually liked all the other changes like hero actually fighting or armies without heroes,... One bug though, game does not end becouse of a heroe lying dead on the ground. We should have been able to take the corpse too. It is sad that it was not recieved well

I personally liked everything about the game; the storylines, the absolutely wonderful soundtrack, the gorgeous 2D graphics, the kitchen-sink fantasy atmosphere, all those small texts popping up at every corner, telling little stories. And the quite addictive gameplay

-Contains one of the most well written stories in the series. -Heroes can move on their own without any troops -Contains a variety of skills that, when combined, can augment your hero (eg Combat + Tactics = General, +1 morale to all creatures) -No creature upgrades eliminate needs for heroes to return to castle just to get an upgrade on existing units -Creatures can have choice of attack/movement/spells (eg Harpies can be ordered to just "attack" instead of "attack & return", Water elementals can cast spells such as Ice Bolt) -3DO's last involvement with the HoMM series Overall a very satisfying experience, game is highly recommended to all HoMM series lovers. I completed the whole campaign 10+ years ago and this time am looking to redo all of it by purchasing this complete series.