Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
Ashan is a world of legendary peoples. Proud Elves guard the emerald forests of Irollan… Mighty Knights rule the fiefs of the Griffin Empire… Studious Wizards survey the oasis-strewn deserts of the Silver Cities… The grim Necromancers worship in the wastelands of Heresh…and the ravenous demons are immured in Sheogh, their prison world. During certain lunar eclipses the walls of Sheogh weaken and demons burst forth, plunging Ashan into war. And since the dawn of times, the demon legions have been repelled by the allies thanks to a powerful artifact known as the Blade of Binding. Once again the armies of Sheogh are coming and the Blade will be wielded… Your journey in the world of Might and Magic will be punctuated with riddles, extraordinary encounters and epic battles against creatures searching for some fresh hero blood. Your hero will travel thanks to a node system, so watch your step as some of these nodes might trigger special actions, hide terrifying traps or even legendary treasures such as forgotten artifacts or secret units. To stand a chance against your enemies, your hero will have to equip magical artifacts and build up the most powerful army. Your army will be composed of Core, Elite and Champion units, each of them having specific sizes, strengths and abilities. It’s up to you to choose wisely each of these units combined to the appropriate artifact and work out the best strategy to wipe out your enemies. While roaming around Ashan or winning battles, you will discover new artifacts and gather different types of resources such as Ore, Gold and Blood Crystals. These earnings can be used to buy new Elite or Champion units for your army through specific Creature Dwelling buildings. Make sure to look everywhere as you will be able to unlock and collect powerful hidden units and artifacts! You will be confronted with many challenges such as defeating the enemy heroes by crossing their armies in standard battles or launching into special challenges and Boss fights where your strategic skills will be put to a severe test. Finally, you can solve puzzle battles and get powerful rewards by finding the right combination and wipe-out the enemy in a limited number of turns.
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(out of 38 reviews)
List Price: $ 29.99
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Review by Bret for Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
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I just completed this game after about 25 hours of playing and, as the title of this review indicates, I’m impressed. This is a solid game through and through- the graphics are excellent, the music is some of the best on the DS (I usually listen to my own music while playing, yet I actually hooked my DS up to my stereo for this one), the dialogue and story are well done, and the battle system is VERY addicting. Battles in MoM aren’t your typical RPG turn-based fare, there’s a lot of thought and planning that goes into every enemy encounter here. Instead of choosing commands from a menu, players are rewarded for being creative and using their wits. It’s more puzzler than an RPG as far as the battles are concerned and it can be a lot of fun. Also, this is the first DS game I’ve actually felt compelled to complete in months… and that speaks volumes for the quality as I unfortunately do not have much time to dedicate to gaming anymore.
As for the bad, it would have been nice to allow some sort of indication the level of your enemy BEFORE you are locked into battle with them. A majority of the battles in MoM are not random encounters, players have to actually engage the enemy yet what is the point if they are just going to completely destroy you? At the very least make the player aware of the opponent’s level so they could avoid pointless battles and wasted time. This is a minor complaint and if they make a sequel (which I wouldn’t be surprised if they did) I’d assume they’d implement this.
Second, while the graphics look fantastic there is a strange design choice the developers choose in which the characters are always facing the player. At times it can look absolutely ridiculous when there’s a bunch of little characters running around on screen, walking backwards all over the place. This is yet another minor flaw but it was on my mind through the entirety of the game.
Lastly, this game can be VERY frustratingly difficult at times. While that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, depending on the player, I thought it prudent to mention that the difficulty can be outrageous. There were more than a few occasions where I’d of liked to rip my DS in half; a majority of the frustration stemming from the optional puzzle battles to be found throughout the game. Think of the puzzle portion of Tetris Attack and you have a pretty good idea what to expect. Also, the boss battles can be difficult and drawn out, most players may have to fight a certain boss multiple times before winning through sheer luck. You’ve been warned.
Overall I’d give this one a solid four stars. It’s one of the better games I’ve played in a long time, and I should also note that I’ve been playing this and Zelda: Spirit Tracks simultaneously and so far this is the better game. It’s probably going to lose out on some major sales this Christmas by going head-to-head with a new Zelda game, though I hope they do sell enough copies to warrant a sequel. Highly recommended for fans of RPG and strategy games.
Review by Nancy J. Melito for Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
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Challenging and fun. While game play is unlike any of the previous Heroes of Might and Magic titles, the races and units will be somewhat familiar to experienced Heroes players. The battle system is both innovative and complex. The RPG elements are fairly simple, but add to the overall experience. Highly recommended.
Review by AlexJouJou for Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
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I’ve been playing Puzzle Quest now for quite some time (8 months or so). I have no idea how many hours I have into it–easily hundreds. When I complete I just start over as another type of character (warrior, wizard, knight, etc). It is that addicting!
Although I’ve enjoyed other puzzle/seek and find games like Professor Layton, Touchmaster, or Millionheir nothing has come close to knocking out PQ as my main game. Until now that is. Might & Magic has replaced PQ as my favorite puzzle game. It is new, fresh, and clever. A mix of luck and strategy Might & Magic grips you from the beginning. The story is interesting if a bit LOTR inspired (an elf named Anwen?). The graphics are outstanding–not 3D but that’s perfect for me..I love me some sprites..the 3D graphic Chibi characters just look funny to me. About the only game I loved them in was Suikoden Tierkreis (another excellent game if you like RPG).
Although this is a “sort of” match 3 title it is so much more. Each type of unit has different strengths and weaknesses. Quite often your goal is not to just destroy the enemy but to accomplish a specific task–that keeps it varied and interesting. The puzzle’s are really intriguing and I’ve spent many an hour trying to figure them out. Unlike something like Professor Layton I was driven to figure it out myself without help. Is it frustrating? Undoubtedly–especially since luck does play a part. But after each defeat I found myself more determined to win the next time by using a different strategy.
Getting around works fine with the Dpad or the stylus (I always prefer D pad). The main story has 5 characters and you play one at a time–in this respect this is similar to Dragon Quest IV. The items you get always help you and you’ve got to decide which one to go with. It is a very nice balance between items you buy and items you get. I did not have a problem having enough funds to buy what I wanted most of the time.
I’ll agree with the other gripe that it would be nice to see level of the person you are battling with before the battle starts because once it starts you’re in it to win it. Occasionally when you are a level 2 and the other a level 5 it can be a bit of a massacre but I just move on and come back later. I love that it is not just a simple match 3 but has so many other elements.
Overall Ubisoft has done a remarkable job on this title. I wish it had not come out so close to Zelda as I think it won’t be able to compete but, honestly, I’ve got both games and I prefer this one. Nothing wrong with Zelda but this title just feels really fresh to me and it is way more addicting!
If you can find it purchase it. If this thing takes off it will be hard to find a copy. I had to wait for a copy to show up on the shelves. I should have ordered from amazon. It is very worth your dollars!
Review by ectosport for Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
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I hope they come out with sequels to this game. I played my son’s DS for the past week, every night for 3-4 hours. Finally completed the game this morning! Not much to add that the previous reviewers haven’t said… great story, strategic battle system, not monotonous. You look forward to leveling up your main characters as well as the battle units.
The game has now hooked my 8 year old daughter, so it’s suitable for the younger crowd as well.
Review by R. BOGLE for Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
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For folks that like a good strategy game, you’ll want to check this one out. Way more than a “match 3″ game. Light RPG with excellent turn-based strategic battles that are NEVER the same. The strategy options are almost endless and allow for thoughtful gameplay. I really enjoyed the original PuzzleQuest and although this has some of the same concepts, I like this game better.