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Review from a Lifelong Heroes Fan

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 28 / 28
Date: December 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Tribes of East is the final chapter of the Heroes of Might and Magic V trilogy. Even though this expansion was not highly anticipated as its predecessor, Hammers of Fate, it was generally better received by the HMM5 internet community for competency issues. Ubisoft definitely put their best foot forward to ensure that all of the glitches were ironed out before releasing a buggy product (contrary to the original HMM5). ToE's new features do a good job enhancing the gameplay mechanics providing a highly crafted but fluid turn-based strategy experience.

The GOOD!

* TOE IS A STANDALONE PRODUCT - This is a very convenient installation feature that allows you to install the product without owning any of the previous HMM5 products. No annoying prerequisite installations to worry about.

* TOE DOES NOT REQUIRE THE DISC TO RUN - Another convenient installation feature that allows you to launch the game with the DVD absent in your disc drive (Be warned: This feature could be unintended by Ubisoft as it was not advertised on the packaging and could be removed in a future patch).

* A NEW FACTION AND HERO - A strong majority of HMM5 fans were anticipating and begging for the arrival of the nomadic and savage faction known as the Orcs. Their Stronghold hosts a diverse array of units consisting of Goblins, Centaur, Warriors, Shamans, Slayers, Wyverns and Cyclopes. Under the command of an Orcish Hero (The Barbarian) these units can utilize a Bloodrage ability. This ability is accumulated in correlation to the amount of damage that unit inflicts and as a result will give the Orc units access to additional abilities (ie. Cyclops obtains a Fear Aura when obtaining Bloodrage level 3). I feel that this ability makes the Orc units very distinctive but at the sametime balanced with the other 7 factions.

* AN ALTERNATE UPGRADE TO EVERY UNIT - This is a highly celebrated feature of ToE that adds a whole new dimension to the HMM5 gameplay. Whenever a creature dwelling is upgraded in a town, the player can choose between two different upgrades for the creature stack. (For example, after the player upgrades the Lich Dwelling in the Necropolis, he/she now has the choice of upgrading a Lich into an Arch Lich or a Lich Master.) As a result there are essentially 50% more creature types availible vastly opening the strategic possibilities during a battle. In addition, there is also a "regrading" system allowing the player to interchange his/her units from one upgrade to the other. (For example, the player can pay to "regrade" a stack of Arch Liches into a stack of Lich Masters and vise versa so that the player is not forced to dedicate themselves to one upgrade type).

* SOME NEW INTERFACE FEATURES - Ubisoft did a fine job attuning their eyes and ears to consumer feedback by implementing some very convenient modifications to the user interface. The first one is the Kingdom Overview screen. This allows you to view hero and town details all in one screen without having to tediously cycle through all of them in the town view(a nice feature available in HMM3). In fact you can even access the build menus from here greatly speeding the pace for multiple town management. The second is a "Wait" button in battle menu, something that was highly desired since the original since HMM5. The third is a Dark Energy meter suitably placed below the resource bar when the player has Necromancer heroes in his/her control. With the new Necromancy system implemented into the later patches of HMM5 and HoF, it was impossible to determine how many Dark Energy points that player can allocate for the week. There are a couple more minor features in ToE that smooth out the gameplay but I do not wish to go into them all in great detail.

* PLENTY OF NEW ARTIFACTS, AND ARTIFACT SETS - The new artifacts offered by ToE are well balanced and function specific bestowing a very strategic use for each one. Many of the original artifacts along with some new ones are components of artifact sets. For each set artifact that the hero equips, he/she receives additional bonuses. (For Example: if the hero equips 2 artifacts from the Dragon Set he/she receives +1 to all hero parameters in addition to the original artifact bonuses. If the hero equips 4 artifacts from the Dragon Set he/she also receives +5 attack and all tier 7 creatures in the army receive +20 HP).

* THE GRAPHICS - Despite the 18 month disparity between the release dates of HMM5 and ToE, this game is not a hair more graphic intensive. This means that the consumers of HMM5 who met bare minimum specs will not have to purchase a whole new PC or upgrade their hardware just to run this game. However, Ubisoft did include a couple new display settings to tailor to wide screen monitors and laptops.

* GOOD MAP EDITOR CONTENT - ToE has a batch new terrain types along with a slew of new interactive and decorative doodads. This greatly diversifies the amount of creativity involved when creating a new map with the map editor.

* FAN CONTENT MATERIAL - This aspect alone illuminates the high level of respect that Ubisoft has for their online community. ToE comes included with a 300 plus page .pdf manual that breaks down the specifics for every creature statistic, spell formula, artifact bonus, and just about every concept involved with this game. This manual is pretty much the holy bible to the HMM5 series and is compiled by a very credible fan base known as the "Age of Heroes" community.

The BAD!

* NOT SO INTELLEGENT ARTIFICIAL "INTELLEGENCE" - This is the sole reason I gave ToE a 4-star rating in the "Fun" category. I feel that a competent A.I. is an imperative necessity for the turn-based strategy genre and throughout the whole HMM5 trilogy I have been pretty disappointed. I don't think this is the worst A.I. ever coded into a PC game but it is apparent that Ubisoft neglected to invest the proper amount of time in their A.I. so it can adapt, prioritize, and strategize in specific situations. I simply do not feel like the A.I. is a comparable opponent unless it is set on higher difficulties where it will flagrantly "cheat" (by receiving extra resources, experience, etc) to compensate for its incompetent personality.

* NO NEW NEUTRAL CREATURES - With the release of every HMM expansion pack I always look forward to utilizing new mercenary creatures that are not affiliated with the 8 main factions. I was hoping that they'd bring back classics like the Medusas, Efreeti, Beholders, Basilisks, among many others. Don't hold your breath as there is not a single new neutral creature in ToE.

* TOO FEW NUMBER OF NEW MULTIPLAYER MAPS - With the creation of several new terrain types and the numerous addition of interactive doo-dads, I expected Ubisoft to work their creative team to the bone to pump out new maps and scenarios. Unfortunately that was not the case as there were only 4-6 new custom maps with this expansion.

OVERALL: ToE has exceeded my expectations. If Ubisoft spends the proper time to revamp the A.I.(or maybe scrap it completely and start from square one) and release more multiplayer maps in a future patch then this will be a virtually flawless product. It is obvious that the numerous PROS of ToE outweigh the potentially rectifiable CONS. For that reason, this game is worthy of the 5-star rating and is definitely worth buying for any casual or diehard fan of the Heroes of Might and Magic series.

HOMM3 on steroids!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 19
Date: November 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

The last HOMM game I've played was 3 and I loved it. I didn't get 4 due to the bad reviews and I didn't get 5 because I wanted to wait for the bugs to get straightened out. I almost didn't get this game because of the bad Gamespot review. However, since this is a standalone expansion which didn't require the original game, I decided to give it a try. Boy, am I glad I did!

The Gamespot reviewer probably (a) did not like this type of game, or (b) did not play past the prologue. This is an incredibly deep game. The graphics are much improved since HOMM3 although the music is not as good. Then again, it's hard to beat the original soundtrack for HOMM3. I don't play multi-player, so I have no idea how well balanced that is. But in the single-player campaign, each faction has its distinct style which separates it from the other. For example, the Orcs have blood rage which gives it improved stats and also acts as a damage shield. The necromancers have dark magic which allows it to resurrect foes or allies into your armies. Oh yeah, I really like the skills development for heroes! They nailed it right as each skill is powerful in its own ways and almost all the skills are useful. Additionally, some of the upgrades have multiple paths which I believe is a first in the series.

I have no idea how much improvement this game is over the original HOMM5, but coming from someone who has played it for the first time since HOMM3, this is an awesome game. I do noticed that some of the maps had puzzle-like elements which forced me to restart to find a more optimal strategy. However, I have no problem with it since campaigns should be different from stand-alone skirmishes. All in all, I think this is worth 30 bucks.

PROS
- good graphics
- stable, doesn't crash
- skills progression
- different factions that are not clones of each other
- stand-alone expansion
- FUN!

CONS
- music isn't as good as HOMM3
- difficult campaign maps that may require replay
- okay story (perhaps it's because I started with an expansion?)
- waste too much of my time! =)

A Worthy Addition to Heroes V

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Same great gameplay. If you like the Heroes games you will love this expansion. I bought it as a present for my grandchildren and they play it all the time. I too have played the game with them we all enjoy it.

Great game! Worth every penny.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 23, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game still has the same classic feel as the previous games in the series but with a new and improved look. The addition of the random map generator was what drove to buy the game. Make sure you have a very good processor and video card if you want to play the very largest maps (extra large and impossible sized). The AI is very good and will keep you on your toes.

Another chapter!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have been a fan of the whole series and was keen to get this latest installment. It follows the other HoMM 5 titles seamlessly and the storyline continues to be expansive. Graphics are good and the new cratures are interesting.

much improved heroes v

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

I have all the HoMM games. I was very dissapointed with the first Heroes v and had too many problems with it so I rarely play it. But in TOE (Tribes of the East), many of the problems have been fixed.
1. They did away with the timer for turns. You no longer have to wait up to an hour for your turn to come.
2. There is a Map Generator so you can create all the games you want.
3. Caravans are back.
4. Game still tends to crash but not nearly as much as the first Heroes V

They also added a skills improvement so you have two choices when you upgrade your creatures. NICE!!

I enjoy this game A LOT more than the first Heroes V and play it all the time, but I only gave it a four because it does still crash my computer occationaly (but NOT as much as first Heroes V)

DEFINITLY worth $30.

great game for strategy lovers

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: May 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I've played every one of the Heroes of Might and Magic titles including King's Bounty back in the early nineties. While I'm not yet done playing the entire game, this expansion adds enough elements to make it the most fun installment I've played. The addition of a third tier of monster development adds a huge array of stategy decisions to the game. The only downside (as with all the Heroes V games and expansions) is the difficulty with the computer bogging down periodically no matter how great of a system you have. Great game for strategy lovers and newcomers alike.

Heroes of Might and Magic V "Tribes of the East"

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: May 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Very enjoyable game to play. Has everything the newest version has, plus you don't have to put a disk in every time to play. Makes you wonder why they do it in the first place doesn't it? Cool magic. cool artifacts and they list all of the items to get specialty artifacts that get put together like in HOMM 3. Great fun, Great game.

Good game but way too hard.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: March 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by saying that I have never played any of the other HoMM games, I just got into this one after getting hooked on the demo. I really love the game concept and enjoy the addictive chess/fantasy/strategy aspect of the game but so far it is turning out to be way too hard, even on normal difficulty. So far I have only been able to make any progress in the campaign while on easy and that is actually not any fun becasue it is not even close to challenging, but when I go up to normal it suddenly becomes insanely hard. I will give it some more time before giving up on the game in frustration because I think this game has potential, but buyer be warned.

the kids should write the review

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: December 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I bought it for my kids a couple of years ago. I have never played it.

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