Heroes of Might and Magic

Heroes of Might and Magic is a series of turn-based computer games by New World Computing , a division of The 3DO Company. The games are fantasy-themed strategy conflicts that have characters called heroes in pivotal roles, as leaders of armies of mythical creatures. There are four games in the series.

Contents

1 The series 2 Platforms 3 Heroes of Might and Magic V 4 Heroes Chronicles 5 See also 6 External links

The series

King's Bounty was the first of this type. After its success, the Heroes series was formed. The story of each installment in the series is different and they take place one after another chronologically.

Only heroes can cast spells and gather armies. Through conquest, visitation to special areas or gathering magical artifacts, heroes gain experience and, in turn, become more powerful and useful to the controlling player.

Fans of the series cite the games as some of the finest strategy games ever developed. They note the game's carefully balanced units and combat system as some of the game's strongest points. Additionally, fans specify the game's spell system as one of the strongest of any fantasy genre game.

Each successive game featured improved graphics in higher resolutions than the previous version. The series seemed to lose focus after Heroes of Might and Magic III, however, and the fourth installment in the series showed a lack of coherency and garnered poor reviews and weak sales.

Platforms

All games in the series are available for Windows, version 4 for Mac OS X and one version, Heroes of Might and Magic III, for Linux. The first installment of the series was for DOS but later ported to Windows.

Heroes of Might and Magic V

In August of 2003, Ubisoft acquired the rights to the Might and Magic franchise for $1.3 million after 3DO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. UbiSoft announced their plan on developing the fifth game in the series under the direction of producer Fabrice Cambounet . This news bred controversy as New World Computing under 3DO had already started making the fifth Heroes game.

On March 30, 2005, Ubisoft launched a new Heroes of Might and Magic V website [1], stating that an early 2006 release for Windows is scheduled. Though not much information about the game has been disclosed, screenshots indicate a move to a completely 3D environment, a first for the Heroes series.

Heroes Chronicles

A spinoff series, Heroes Chronicles, was released for Microsoft Windows, featuring the same world and gameplay as Heroes of Might and Magic. The story centers around a hero named Tarnum. Games in the Heroes Chronicles include:

• Heroes Chronicles: Clash of the Dragons (2000)
• Heroes Chronicles: Masters of the Elements (2000)
• Heroes Chronicles: Conquest of the Underworld (2000)
• Heroes Chronicles: Warlords of the Wastelands (2000)

See also

• Might and Magic

External links

• Official Heroes of Might and Magic V website
• MobyGame's entry on the Heroes series
• MobyGame's entry on the Heroes Chronicles series