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Multiplayer

65Average

HOMM has always been a good series for multiplayer and I’m stunned that this sixth version still has the almighty hotseat.  As the series that introduced me to hotseat multiplayer marathons, I’m proud to say nothing has really changed here.  Make sure you find people that play fair or by your own personal rules though, as games can end awfully quickly if you get blindsided by someone not going for a mighty army battle, but a quick creature rush.

When armies start getting massive and the whole game rides on one clash or fort, you know you're playing a Heroes of Might and Magic game.

However, I’m going to use this section to note Ubisoft’s silly connection/legacy system.  You must be connected to the internet to use various… screw it, they’re Call of Duty perks.    You level a Dynasty and acquire items that level up as you do for various effects.    This is one genre that doesn’t need that crap.

Value

65AverageThe campaigns are long and the replay fairly high, but for a full retail game… it’s a hard sell. The variety in the campaigns isn’t all that great, and the story is nothing to brag about. If you’re the type like me that will go gung ho for slinging around stacks of thousands of pikemen and skeletons , get it, if not, you should hotseat a game or two with a friend while you wait for it to go down in price.

Lasting Appeal

70OkayHonestly, this generation has let me down in many ways, but I’m very surprised to see a solid entry in a legendary series come out without completely ruining the formula in the process. Hell, they improved on it in a few ways! The downside is that the other games in the series are all incredibly similar, and depending on whom you ask, better. This game isn’t so godly that it’s going to replace 2, 3, or 5.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Lots of little nifty fixes to reduce hero caravans/micromanagement
• Some awesome combat animation
• Really nailed the setting for most of the factions, especially Sanctuary

Cons

• Auto battle is good, but where’s my straight up auto-calc/end combat?
• Some interface/tooltip issues—this game had a long beta, why are these still in?
• Just doesn’t go far enough with the new stuff.

Conclusion

Heroes of Might and Magic VI isn’t a bad game, per se; it’s just that it it’s too safe. Too little has changed between the combat and overworld map, and that which was changed was merely changed for convenience rather than mixing things up. All of the pieces of a good game in the series are here, but to be blunt… this could and SHOULD just be an expansion or mod for HoMM V that adds the new campaign and Sanctuary race.