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Pretty good, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 16 / 18
Date: December 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I don't have high demands from a game, but it would be nice if there weren't so many easily fixed bugs. For example, when one looks at a spell in the spellbook, it reads %heroknows%spellname or something to that effect underneath a quote that doesn't tell much about the spell. Furthermore, some of these quotes read "Removed" or "Deleted".

The game itself, however, is plenty of fun as turn-based fantasy strategy games go. For $10.00 (now $8.50), I'm satisfied. If Ubisoft is reading this, please release a patch for the game that will update it from v. 2.2 to v. 3.0, as the Ubi.com site only has patches up to v. 2.1. Why the company would release a game in Fall 2005 without incorporating the v. 3.0 patch that is out now is beyond me, but I would appreciate some Ubisoft patch because the 3DO v. 3.0 patch does not work for the Ubisoft release.

More fun than you might think

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: February 23, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've recently returned to computer games after a hiatus of nearly fifteen years. This game is not quite what I wanted but it is still proving to be enjoyable. It is a mix of about 50%rpg and 50% strategy -- that is, if you're looking for dungeons and dragons style rpg, this only takes you about halfway there, and if you're looking for strategy a la age of empires, this only takes you halfway there (or so I assume, having never played age of empires). But if you're looking for a mix of both, this may just be the game for you.

The interface -- mostly you're looking at a top-down view of a map/dungeon, with your groups represented as figurines on the map (it's not a 3-D forward looking view). Each turn you move your figurine about the map. In combat, you can choose to let the cmoputer auto-calculate the outcome, or you can control the action yourself (becomes a bird's eye view of the battle where you move each of your party around the map).

FYI. I also bought Age of Wonders Shadow Magic. Heroes of M&M 4 is almost an identical game to AOWSM. AOWSM seems to be a bit more complicated strategy-wise, but Heroes may be slightly more enjoyable...

More of the same

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is so similar to HMM3, that at almost every turn, I feel a feeling of deja-vu. The combat is actually worse, as movement is imprecise, and animation can be laughable at times. Furthermore, the interface is horrific- especially city management and spellbook screens. However, when it comes to HMM, deja-vu isn't all bad, as the gameplay concept is solid. I just wish combat, animations, and the interface were better.

Graphics: 2/5
Sound: 2/5
Gameplay: 3/5
Interface: 1/5

Hmmmm.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: March 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I must say that the game is not as good as the third, but still alot of fun.
I prefer the campains, and the stories, the fighting will eventually get boring, I try to make a different rute, wich is dificult.
The game gives you many houers of gaming, and you will continu playing just because of the story(if you are like me) because it is really exiting and interesting.

A fun turn-based/role-playing/empire building/third-person/group combat game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: January 17, 2008
Author: Amazon User

As a huge fan of Heroes III and its two expansions, I happily bought a copy of Heroes IV from the bargain rack at Best Buy last fall. Since then, I have played the game about halfway through, completing the Life, Nature, and Order campaigns, and progressing about halfway through the Death campaign. Seeing only a few reviews here, I thought I'd weigh in and give an enthusiastic recommendation. Although the general concept is the same as in Heroes III, this game is very different in the details. Still, if you liked Heroes III, then I believe you will like Heroes IV, and I would recommend buying it for anything less than $20.00.
There are longer two types of a troop, like the base elf and the upgraded grand elf; now, there are just elves. You would think this would simplify the game, and it does somewhat, but now you have to choose between multiple troop types of a given level. For example, you can generate elves or white tigers, but not both. So, do you prefer ranged attacks or melee charges? In other situations, you may be choosing between special abilities and hit points like with griffins and unicorns. Oh, and have you noticed that the various creatures have different alignments than in Heroes III?
This is another key difference: the town and magical alignments have changed a great deal. I think the new scheme is more interesting and coherent, but it takes some getting used to. For example, no more Earth magic giving you the resurrection and town portal spells. Resurrection now comes from Life magic, and town gate is learned from Order magic. These and other changes forced me to develop entirely new strategies in hero advancement.
Which leads to arguably the biggest change in the game: the system under which heroes gain specialties is totally new. It's far to complicated to try and explain in this type of review. There are some great websites that explain the basics if you have to know before buying. Suffice it to say, you will have to develop entirely new gameplay strategies. In many ways, players new to the Heroes games will be on an equal footing with veteran Heroes players. It is now harder to have, for example, a might hero with just one complete magic specialization, as you could easily do in Heroes III with say Earth magic. To learn all of a magic school's spells, you have to also specialize in several related sub-specialties. So, unlike in Heroes III, you will still be developing your hero in the last scenario of a campaign. One benefit of this added complexity is that is adds even more variability to the campaigns. Although, the designers seem to have written the campaigns around a few primary paths; in the Nature campaign, for example, Elwin is going to be a summoner. What else he does, though, could change your gameplay experience significantly.
The visuals of Heroes IV are more modern, and in my opinion, nicely done. I enjoy looking at the new artwork throughout the game. There are no movies throughout, which may bother some players. There is a lot of text to read, and that, too may put off some players. I found the plots well conceived and highly engaging. The sound effects are fine, but the music seems simpler than in Heroes III. There seems to be less themes. How a player interacts with the game controls is fairly similar, though there are a few related changes in gameplay that are worth mentioning. For one, you can now recruit all creatures from external dwellings inside your town, rather than designate a rookie hero as your servant. This makes the game faster and more enjoyable. Also, when you vastly outnumber an enemy, you have the added option of a quick combat. So, unlike in Heroes III when you had to fight the battle in order to get the experience points, you can just select quick combat, and the results are instantly calculated. This again saves a lot of your time and makes the game less tedious.
Despite the complexity of Heroes IV and its apparent increased strategic opportunities, I think it is a fairly easy game. Through three campaigns, I have rarely had any difficulty with an enemy or even what I initially thought would be difficult battles. I have heard that the Chaos campaign is much harder than the others, so maybe that is what is going on. Maybe completing Heroes III develops a lot of experience. I still remember how hard the Shadow of Death expansion was. Some of those maps were really tough. The difficulty of most of the maps in Heroes IV, so far, seems to lie in the enemy having easy access to your towns, while being protected from you with colored border guards and garrisons. And, without expert town portal, you can't build one massive army and wander the map freely and then portal before an attack. The new town gate spell only sends you back to the closest town, and again, you've got to get fairly advanced in Order magic just to learn it. It's a nuisance, but I doubt you're going to run into a massive enemy force like some of the Crag Hack scenarios in Shadow of Death. How did I ever beat those maps?! Anyway, if you leave a force in the town with even a low level hero, I have found the enemy will not often attack you. So far, I'd equate the difficulty with the Heroes Chronicles series. The enemy tends to be easily frightened. And, even if you take a really long time in a scenario, you'll be able to defeat the enemy as long as you gain levels. Later in a campaign, you're hero will be so powerful that you will not need a large army. Fortunately, you can alter the difficulty level up or down in most instances to your own tastes. Another note about difficulty: when I first started, I did not fight many battles, but instead used auto-combat and studied how the computer played. Town sieges, for example, are very different, and you have to adjust new strategies. This is a great learning tool, and before long, you'll be fighting much more efficiently than the computer does (tip: if you have a lot of dragon golems or devils, don't use auto-combat; the computer will butcher them).
All in all, Heroes IV is a very enjoyable turn-based role-playing/empire building/third-person group combat game. I rate it slightly below Heroes III, but that may change as I complete the game and get my hands on any expansions. It should appeal to both experienced Heroes players as well as new-comers to the franchise, though the later are facing a steeper learning curve. Those players preferring first person shooters or pure adventure games, should look elsewhere. Often the best measure of a recommendation is what other games a person likes. My all-time favorite games are an endangered species--Fallout, Arcanum, Alpha Centauri. If you like any of these, or if you just like a game balanced with story, role-playing, quests, and combat, while rewarding patience and deliberation, then I bet you will like Heroes III.

Book worm

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 13
Date: July 17, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I guess I need to consider my moves very carefully and leave a Hero or 2 in my home town as well as take one out and give them some experience.

Heros of Might and Magic IV

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 15
Date: July 31, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Haven't had much time do to other obligations, but will play through in next month

A good Game for one-six players

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

this game is a fun game that once you get to know how to play and see what stuff is it gets more fun everyday. If you want your friends to be able to play just change the options to multiplayer and its so much fun. i have played everyone of the Heroes of might and Magic games and they keep getting better and beter. Although you need a nice system to run the latest Heroes of Might and Magic V. Hope you enjoy the game!

Im just not a little kid anymore

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 19, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Heroes of might and magic 3 was one of my favorite games when I was twelve. I just recently remembered about it and bought the sequel... I assume it would still be fun if I was still little but its not.

Not great, but good

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 11, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I finally purchased this game after reading many reviews; and it occurs to me that everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I will agree that Heroes III is really good, probably the best one of the series. But IV is not all that bad. It does run a little slow for my taste. If you have lots of heroes, it takes forever and a day to complete your turn. A little disappointing in some of the creatures. They brought back the wolf. Ugh. They couldn't think of something else? But some of the creatures in III were lame also. Like the whole Fortress town creatures, and the Phoenix. Some people like to play the campaigns, but I could care less about that. I played III and IV the same way. Create a map from scratch and stack the deck in your favor. I also provide the enemy towns with lots of stuff as well. Then I just explore and conquer. Everybody has a different way to play. I will agree with most reviews, III is also my favorite. But this game is just different enough to take hours away from my life. I do like the combat format in the first three heroes games. You can see all the heroes. My hero and their army have their backs to you. No improvement there. Again, a good game, but I still think Heroes III is a step above every other.

RC

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