Might & Magic Heroes VI Reviews
-
Category: News ArchiveHits: 1939
IGN clearly fits the first category with an 8.0/10.
Might and Magic Heroes VI may have some issues with battlefield tactics in the late game and its story, but the strategy remains a blast nonetheless. Near infinite hours of gameplay await, and anyone looking for a well-made and addictive turn-based strategy game need go no further than this.
Blistered Thumbs falls somewhere in between, noting that the developers clearly understand the franchise but they don't offer any compelling reason to play the title if you already possess Heroes of Might & Magic III, 6/10.
Might & Magic® Heroes® VI (sorry, I just cannot get over the pointless name change, and the fact that they needed to trademark both the H and the M&M in the Steam list) isn't exactly the last vestige of a dying genre, as Stardock Games released the notable and similar Elemental: War of Magic last August, but it finds its staunchest competitors in the unlikeliest of places: its predecessors. Veterans of the Heroes of Might & Magic franchise will find nothing groundbreaking or new here, with good looking but hardly inspiring graphics (those capes! Those capes never stop blowing in the wind! Even inside! It's creepy!), slightly cut down gameplay, poor writing, prequel based plot, sometimes laughable voice acting, all within the confines of a gussied up stranglehold of a DRM arrangement. What absolutely kicks the door shut on the desire to spend $49.99 on this game is that Heroes of Might & Magic V is available for purchase at $9.99 $19.99 if you want the two expansion packs with Dark Messiah of Might & Magic thrown in as well.
People looking to get into Heroes of Might & Magic would do well to look to one of its earlier iterations, either through Steam or the brilliant Good Old Games service for my personal favorite, Heroes of Might & Magic III. If you're already a hardcore fan though, you'll be reasonably pleased by the qualities of Heroes VI, though not blown away. The best reasons to invest in a sequel are absent here, with a tenuously related storyline, minimal technical upgrades, and gameplay that fails to distinguish itself from its progenitors. Black Hole Entertainment have done a great job of displaying their understanding of what makes the Heroes of Might & Magic games work, but there's very little here to compel me to exchange III out for VI.
While IncGamers falls in the latter category, 5/10.
Might & Magic: Heroes VI can still be fixed with adequate patching, because the bugs really are its biggest problem. If it's patched to the point where most of the biggies are removed, it will likely deserve at least another point added to this score. If it's somehow patched further than that if it's brought up to the level of polish I'd expect then I'd be happy to take a second look. If, however, it's left in this frankly shocking state, then I honestly can't recommend it at its current price. You'd be far better served by digging out your old copy of HoMM3 once again.
