It's unlikely that there is another Russian project as highly anticipated as Heroes of Might and Magic V. Ever since Ubisoft bought the rights to the series and the first vague rumors about development in Russia began to circulate, fans have been on standby. And they finally got it — an official announcement, a top-secret showing at KRI 2005, guesses regarding towns and schools of magic, heated discussions over screenshots and alpha versions "leaked" onto the Web, and deciphering the meaning of icons on the game's official forum.
There is no reason to be surprised: unlike fans of, say, Fallout, the series' followers are far more numerous, organized, and multinational. Tournaments and map contests are still being held, and the number of websites is simply beyond counting. Both French and Russian PR managers have gladly taken advantage of this circumstance. Polls, regular series of "developer answers," hype surrounding a "new race," and covers of almost every major print publication prepared players for the arrival of the messiah.
Now, as the release draws closer, the cunning developers are delivering the final blow — showing the nearly finished game. Despite the freezing cold, we made our way to the hospitable office of Nival Interactive to touch greatness. And to tell you what these new "Heroes" are like.
GO LEFT AND YOU'LL FIND A CHEST OF GOLD
After the first screenshots, many feared that by getting such a famous name, Nival would make another same-old "Demiurges". A game that might be worthy, but have nothing in common with its predecessors. But the anxiety proved groundless — the very first glance triggers a flood of cherished memories. As 11 years ago, we are greeted by a pastoral landscape, sparkling chests of gold and resources, and a knight on a mighty horse in the center (oh, this map and hero were chosen for demonstration for a reason). True, the interface has stopped covering a third of the screen and is presented as small groups of buttons at the bottom. And if desired, it can be removed entirely, since all "hotkeys" work just like old times.
Veterans of the series will find it easy to get used to the objects on the map: a mine, an attack upgrade, a magic well, a monster dwelling, and here lies an artifact. True, they look such that sometimes without hovering the cursor you won't understand what kind of structure is before you. But it is pleasing to the eye — peasant houses stand next to a mill, rye flourishes around, and all this is enclosed by a fence. After capturing a building, it "comes alive": a sawmill begins to produce sawn logs, and at the farm — roosters fight. But more importantly, a player symbol appears over the object, which shows not only their color but also race. A very important innovation for Multiplayer.
Does it even need to be said how beautiful everything is? Bright, lush colors, almost real fir trees sway in the wind, shadows of clouds drift across the ground, and if desired, you can tilt the camera and admire the view that opens up. True, increasing the field of view sharply reduces performance. But you will have to rotate and scale the image anyway — 3D beauty comes at a price: it's easy to miss resources hidden behind hills or get lost — you won't immediately realize where to go or where you've already been. However, this is a matter of habit.
I KNOW THE GARDEN WILL BLOOM!
As the hero moves, they leave a bright trail that disappears instantly: the idea of determining the strength of the passing army by it was abandoned long ago. As were many innovations from Heroes of Might and Magic IV: the hero and army are one and cannot travel separately; daily unit growth and caravans are forgotten, and in general, one gets the impression that they are renouncing the "unsuccessful" part as much as possible, as if it never existed.
Take city construction, for example: everything is old-school, no "development forks". If you have resources — you build, and there's no need to choose between angels and cavalrymen. A nuance was added, however: the number of buildings affects the town level, and if it is insufficient, you still cannot build an important building. The Mages' Guild and Smithy give, for example, level 20, while a Djinn dwelling requires level 25. And until there is a fortress that raises the town level to 30, or some other buildings providing those same 5 levels, high-level monsters can be forgotten. This is aimed primarily at network play — excluding cases where someone got lucky with resources at the start and is already exterminating neutral monsters with titans in the first week. It's nice that every innovation is carefully weighed for its impact on balance.
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Magic
Now, the magic system is something that never adhered to traditions. From series to series, we were offered same-level divisions, then by elements, or even order and chaos. Even though the spells remained the same. In the fifth part, after some thought, they decided to create their own system. So, meet: Destructive Magic, Summoning Magic, Light Magic, and Dark Magic. There are 45 spells in total in the game, evenly distributed among schools. Of these, 40 are "combat" plus a few for the global map: old acquaintances like Town Portal, Summon Boat, etc. There are interesting features — for example, Magic Fist belongs to Summoning Magic and, since it is a huge fist, deals purely physical damage. Consequently, resistance to fire, cold, or magic in general, inherent to some monsters, does not save against it.
Seas and Cities
But don't expect surprises from sieges. Defenders sit behind the wall, attackers wait for the catapult to destroy the wall or gates. Towers fire, the space under the wall is littered with traps, only the battlefield is larger than in a normal battle. According to the developers, cities are now much harder to take, and it's only worth trying with far superior forces. When you board an enemy ship, two narrow bridges are thrown between decks, where the slaughter unfolds. This is where "four-cell" squads come in handy, which can block the passage.
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