M&M: Heroes VI - Preview @ RPS

Dhruin

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Might & Magic: Heroes VI has been previewed at Rock, Paper, Shotgun:
I have, I must confess, relatively limited experience with prior HoMMs, but it’s pretty obvious that this one’s a serious rethink after the lukewarm reception to game V. It’s intended to harken back to HoMM 2 and 3, oft-believed the series’ glory years, but with a thoroughly 21st century paintjob and interface. The essential structure – roam a map, acquiring units for your army and boshing assorted fantasy monsters in the face in tile-based battles – is along very familiar lines, but… oh, I’m just dancing around a few key words, trying to buy time, trying to prevent anyone getting the wrong end of the stick…
So: it is a bit simpler, ok? There, I said it. But only a bit. Unlike KB – and again, that’s my primary frame of reference here, so you’re going to have to put up with a few more comparisons, I’m sure – there’s a strong emphasis on gathering resources, building up settlements, touring your holdings to check in on what’s become ready for collection and construction, and even having ancillary heroes and their armies roaming the map or defending your strongholds from enemies. Actually fighting stuff only takes up a portion of your time. Managing, upgrading and protecting your kingdom covers the rest of it. It’s big on numbers and short on explanation – you’ll work it out if you’re new to HoMMery, but the existing fans seem to be the group VI is mainly making eyes at.
More information.
 
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The article also mentions it was delayed until October 13th too - it was coming out on September 6th. I had read it earlier on the ubi site.
HOMM 6 News
I don't mind waiting if they deliver a more polished game. It looks like they are really paying attention to what the beta testers have said. I just hope that they don't change it to use the horrid Ubisoft always on DRM at the last minute.

I liked HOMM5 myself, even more than the earlier titles. I prefer the Kings Bounty games where you aren't concerned with city building and resource management, but more with combat and exploration.
 
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Yeah I don't think HoMM V was as poorly recieved as this review would suggest, it did spawn 2 expansions after all. It definitely had issues, but the bar was set pretty low after HoMM IV so a lot of people were just happy to see it not be a disaster.
 
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Yeah I don't think HoMM V was as poorly recieved as this review would suggest, it did spawn 2 expansions after all. It definitely had issues, but the bar was set pretty low after HoMM IV so a lot of people were just happy to see it not be a disaster.

To me HoMM 5 was second only to HoMM 3 in the series. I enjoyed it quite a bit
 
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I loved H3 when it came out, plus the expansions, but in my opinion H4 surpassed it. I know I'm in the minority there. H5 was a backwards step and it is the only M&M game I am yet to finish. Once I got my hands on KB it never again saw the light of day.

KB2 cant be too far away. :D
 
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I liked 5, and in fact still play it from time to time as I haven't yet finished it after all these years. 6 looks great, and it seems that the strategic part of the game is well in-tact. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the best possible outcome.
That said, I at least somewhat concur with Xian in that the King's Bounty games appeal to my sensibilities just a bit more. I was completely unable to stop playing KB until I had finished. KB doesn't quite have the feeling of grand scale that the HoMM games have, but it has tons of charm and remains challenging without becoming frustrating.
 
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It does say something about the strength of a series when nobody can agree on which version was the best. HoMM 3 is probably the most popular but you will find people who argue for each one being superior. Like most people I did hate HoMM 4 though. 5 I didn't think was quite as good as 3, but it did add some much more advanced map/mission design tools which were really cool. The amount of scripting you could do in a mission in HoMM 3 was quite limited.

I also loved the King's Bounty series, although despite the obvious similarities I think HoMM and KB are too different to compare directly.
 
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My opinion is I played all the HOMM games and have no favorites. They all follow the same formula. Now as for KB I never plated any or care to. Sorry if that pisses anyone off.;)
 
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Completely lost my interest in the HoMM games after King's Bounty. :(
 
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I enjoyed V a lot although I previously only played III a bit. Still it was a good game IMO.
 
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KB = singleplayer-only = boring.

My personal favorite is a toss-up between 2 and 4. 3 was good, but somehow felt…. not quite as charming as the others.

5 was crap in most ways - in my opinion.
 
:)) That makes all games I play boring.

Probably not to you :)

King's Bounty is very much a game that would have been perfect (for what it is) - to me - with some kind of multiplayer mode. I just can't play games with endless combat against an AI - unless there's something more to it.

Simplistic text-based quests just don't do it for me.

HoMM series only works for me because of multiplayer. It makes it "worthwhile" to play against the AI - because I know I can take what I learn from that, and apply to what I really want - to compete against (or cooperate with) other human beings.

Overcoming AI in strategy games is too much like a single puzzle to me. Once you figure it out, there's zero challenge left. Too artifical for me. Winning the game becomes a very predictable and samey thing.

For that same reason, I can't enjoy the lastest Civilization games. Their multiplayer mode sucks big time.

I don't remember when I stopped enjoying singleplayer strategy games - but it's been years. I miss it, actually, but I can't get excited about yet another stupid AI.
 
HoMM 3 is the only game (of a reasonable complexity) that I would consider 'perfect' - in the sense that it delivers everything it promises and I never felt there was something missing or out of place in it. I was so much satisfied with it that I never saw the point of trying any other similar ones.
 
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HoMM 3 is the only game (of a reasonable complexity) that I would consider 'perfect' - in the sense that it delivers everything it promises and I never felt there was something missing or out of place in it. I was so much satisfied with it that I never saw the point of trying any other similar ones.

I think HoMM4 went in the right direction with a more involved character development system. That said, I'm a huge fan of the "RPG" aspects of the series. I know many people disliked the focus on heroes - but I loved it.

Too bad the game had other serious flaws.
 
Probably not to you :)

King's Bounty is very much a game that would have been perfect (for what it is) - to me - with some kind of multiplayer mode. I just can't play games with endless combat against an AI - unless there's something more to it.

Simplistic text-based quests just don't do it for me.

HoMM series only works for me because of multiplayer. It makes it "worthwhile" to play against the AI - because I know I can take what I learn from that, and apply to what I really want - to compete against (or cooperate with) other human beings.

Overcoming AI in strategy games is too much like a single puzzle to me. Once you figure it out, there's zero challenge left. Too artifical for me. Winning the game becomes a very predictable and samey thing.

For that same reason, I can't enjoy the lastest Civilization games. Their multiplayer mode sucks big time.

I don't remember when I stopped enjoying singleplayer strategy games - but it's been years. I miss it, actually, but I can't get excited about yet another stupid AI.
Well, I guess we all know you are more of a 'confrontational' type so you probably like multiplayer in games, and probably do a lot of PvP in MMOs :) But I'm quite the contrary, I couldn't care less about multiplayer in my single player games, and in MMOs I never PvP, I do group with others but only to achieve something or help someone else achieve something. So, HoMM 3 was perfect.
Now, on KB it's a funny thing. I absolutely loved KB1, but never finished KB2, too much of the same thing (maybe it just came too soon after KB1? dunno)
 
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Well, I guess we all know you are more of a 'confrontational' type so you probably like multiplayer in games, and probably do a lot of PvP in MMOs :) But I'm quite the contrary, I couldn't care less about multiplayer in my single player games, and in MMOs I never PvP, I do group with others but only to achieve something or help someone else achieve something. So, HoMM 3 was perfect.
Now, on KB it's a funny thing. I absolutely loved KB1, but never finished KB2, too much of the same thing (maybe it just came too soon after KB1? dunno)

While I'm a confrontational type in some ways, this isn't really about wanting a confrontation from a game. I'm "confrontational" in debates - because I want to be understood - and I absolutely despise when people lie or can't be upfront about what they REALLY feel. Sadly, I've found that ~99 out of 100 people aren't accountable when debating online - so it's pretty stupid of me to engage in these exchanges. Basically, people will do ANYTHING to avoid looking silly or - heaven forbid - appear to have made a mistake in public. Sigh ;)

As for my games, I just want a meaningful experience.

That's highly subjective, obviously, but there is a KIND of game that I largely find uninteresting without multiplayer to support it. Not just COMPETITIVE multiplayer mind you - but just the addition of the human element. I actually prefer cooperative multiplayer if I can have it - but I'll take all kinds.

Games like King's Bounty, Civilization, or Heroes of Might and Magic don't really offer much beyond the "core gameplay". Meaning, they don't have much in the way of story/immersion/exploration - at least not enough to meet my demands.

So, if one doesn't enjoy the core challenge of defeating the AI using a variety of tactics/strategies - the game isn't quite meaningful enough.

When I was younger, I loved Civilization and Master of Orion 2. Games like that.

But at one point, I simply decided that playing them alone was rather pointless. Again, because AIs are boring to me - and not just in terms of challenge. It feels too hollow to "compete/cooperative" with a set of scripts. If there's no story/immersion/exploration - then it can't hold my attention for long.

Just wanted to make myself clear.
 
HoMM6 looks interesting, no doubt about that. I will probably buy it, despite not being a huge fan of 5 - it felt like a poor version of HoMM3. I'd rate them roughly like this:
3 > 4 + 2 > 1 + 5

I find it hard to pick a favourite among 2 + 4 and 1 + 5.

Speaking of which, I replayed HoMM3 and 4 a while back, but I haven't played 2 in ages. Definitely something I should consider doing soon.
 
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Probably not to you :)

King's Bounty is very much a game that would have been perfect (for what it is) - to me - with some kind of multiplayer mode. I just can't play games with endless combat against an AI - unless there's something more to it.

Simplistic text-based quests just don't do it for me.

HoMM series only works for me because of multiplayer. It makes it "worthwhile" to play against the AI - because I know I can take what I learn from that, and apply to what I really want - to compete against (or cooperate with) other human beings.

Overcoming AI in strategy games is too much like a single puzzle to me. Once you figure it out, there's zero challenge left. Too artifical for me. Winning the game becomes a very predictable and samey thing.

For that same reason, I can't enjoy the lastest Civilization games. Their multiplayer mode sucks big time.

I don't remember when I stopped enjoying singleplayer strategy games - but it's been years. I miss it, actually, but I can't get excited about yet another stupid AI.

Have you tried the Fantasy Wars/Elven Legacy series? I crank the difficulty to max and play and I have to say, it's the hardest AI I've ever played against (especially the newer expansions)...far surpassing Panzer General's AI. I always play iron man as well, meaning that if I lose I start the whole mission over and never replay a turn. Maybe it would be a cakewalk to you, but it definitely challenges me.
 
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