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Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition

Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition

A classic returns, but this remaster isn't all we hoped it would be.

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Heroes of Might and Magic III was a real event in the gaming world when it was originally published back in 1999. Many fans still regard it as the pinnacle of the series, so a HD version of this classic created quite a bit of excitement amongst them. Unfortunately they should prepare to be a bit disappointed, as the remastered version is not quite as supreme as one would have wished for.

Heroes III HD Edition is meant to be an upgrade of the 16-year old game, at least in the graphical department. This shouldn't be too difficult, as even the original version looks quite decent today. Of course the resolution is quite low by today's standards. The remastered version does look quite crisp, but I'm having a hard time seeing if there really is such a big difference compared to the old version. Maybe there's only a slight difference, or I'm in need of new glasses. Although this isn't as big a deal as it could have been, since the old version could be updated to support higher resolutions with an unofficial patch.

Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD EditionHeroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition

But there is a one really big minus in the remastered version's graphics, and that is the cutscenes. They are precisely the same as 16 years ago, and even the sounds are a voice from the past. As a result the animations and characters look horrible. I didn't even realise how many great advances have been made in this department during the last two decades. They should have spent some time remastering or even replacing these with new videos. Right now I'm inclined to think that they just kept them to keep costs down.

I could forgive graphical mistakes, but there is also a huge hole when it comes to the content included. At first I couldn't believe it: the game is missing the excellent add-ons Armageddon's Blade and Shadow of Death. They're nowhere to be seen, and this is a huge deal. They expanded the vanilla version in so many ways, that playing just the original game feels watered down. The remastered edition is missing many heroes, units and even those artefacts divided into several pieces. Not to mention all the missing campaigns and scenarios. Ubisoft gave an explanation to the missing contents in their blog. It seems that New World Computing has managed to lose all the original source codes from the add-ons. Therefore remastering could only be done with the vanilla version.

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Even though there is much to be missed in the way of content, the core gameplay is still rock solid. Everything is based on cities, where you build different buildings in order to recruit more troops. This is done by spending resources, which are produced by mines in the campaign map. Recruiting different creatures is mainly done by spending money, but some of the tougher ones require some special resources such as jewels. Filling your purse and conquering is done by using heroes, who travel the wilderness with their armies. There lurks many adversaries, who you can challenge to a battle or maybe can be bribed to join your cause. Heroes gain experience points in the process, which they need for levelling up. This gives you access to new skills or you can upgrade an existing one, giving you some sort of edge in the coming battles. There are two different kinds of heroes for each of the factions in the game, one is more inclined to use magic and the other prefers more straightforward combat. You should always have both on your ranks, so you're not outnumbered in either.

Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD EditionHeroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition

The true meat of this game lies in the tactical battles. The turn-based battles are fought on an area divided to hexagons. There might be some random terrain features blocking parts of the map, so there's always a bit of room for variation on how you must move and position your troops. And you should pay special attention to your forces, as every troop or creature has their own specialities. For example Cavaliers do more damage by moving before attacking, while fire efreets cause damage to all who hit them in close-combat. By utilising the strengths of your own troops and exploiting the weaknesses of your enemies, you stand a good chance of vanquishing your foes.

The AI is not so tough in this game, and it can be tricked from time to time into making some stupid moves during combat. But it still offers a decent and entertaining challenge. Those who want a tougher challenge should try playing against another human opponent. You can do this on the same computer or using the new option to play online. This is a welcome addition, if it works properly. I tried to test it out, but there was no-one to play against just yet.

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There's no denying that Heroes of Might & Magic III - HD Edition was a disappointment to me. The price and content doesn't match, and paying 12 quid for the vanilla version is simply too much. Especially as there is a certain website selling old games that works with new versions of Windows, who happen to have the full edition on sale for much less. But, the ability to play and share your creations online could be the thing to keep this new version relevant. It just requires a vibrant community to keep it afloat. But right now I'd still recommend getting the old version with both the add-ons and to leave this "remastered" version well alone.

HQ
05 Gamereactor UK
5 / 10
+
Very addictive after all these years.
-
The cutscenes are truly awful, There is not enough content to justify the price.
overall score
is our network score. What's yours? The network score is the average of every country's score

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