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Presented as a trial!
My respects to the high court and to you, honorable judge. Prepare yourselves — my presentation will not be short, for the list of sins weighing on the defendant's conscience is beyond enumeration. Let us start with this: it is not a game. Yes, yes, exactly so, I did not misspeak: it is not a game, but a raw beta version that belongs in the testing department or, if the project manager has any shred of shame left, at a presentation. But no amount of shamelessness can justify the appearance of a debug version of a software product on discs released for sale. The height of hypocrisy and lies is to call a raw set of drafts — from which a game could have resulted given a lucky turn of events, but alas, did not — a release.
Why am I so categorical? Well, let us examine it. What does the defendant have? Beautiful graphics. Yes, undoubtedly, they do. Even if they were traced from "Demiurges", that is precisely same thing that is not punishable — as Vladimir Vysotsky used to say: "I steal from myself — I have the right." The graphics are excellent. Next? Of course, the music. The music is also, without a doubt, good. And what else? What else can the defendant boast of? Perhaps the plot? Doesn't seem so. Or the Gameplay? Also no... What is there to actually play?
Let us approach it from another angle. What do people even play in "Heroes"? Fortunately, enough of them have been released for this question to be completely unambiguous. So, there are effectively three types of gameplay: a campaign, separate scenarios (maps), and multiplayer mode. Did I miss something? Doesn't seem so. Then let us break it down point by point.
The hero participates in battle and can attack personally, but cannot be attacked himself. This is how they reconciled the third and fourth "Heroes".
Campaign. As wretched as a church beggar, and what's worse, it considers the player to be its equal — that is, just as wretched and underdeveloped. "The demons are attacking!" inform us the ventriloquists from a scripted scene (by the way, who thought of showing close-ups of heroes without facial animation?). "This is serious; we will need at least a hundred valiant peasants!" Walk along the winding path, dear player, collect gold, recruit militia and... you have captured a strategic tower. Victory! The tower is in safe hands. Now the task is not even slightly more difficult — recruit archers. Here and there are mines, minerals lie everywhere, but — don't panic! — we will not need them. They are just decorations, because no one will let us develop the city, and at the end of the mission, all the wealth will be taken away anyway. Perhaps a rebellious city will add some interest? Oh, come now! No, of course not. Time is unlimited, archers breed like rabbits, and once your patience expires, a legion of shooters will take the city without losses. Do you think the situation changes further? Not in the least! Skip turns for ten weeks straight, gather all the fighters that have spawned across the map, kill the demons and — the hardest part — build the order of paladins required by the scenario. Every mission follows a flawless recipe: skip about ten to twenty weeks, use the accumulated money to buy resources without even worrying about mines, build everything necessary, and clear the map: fortunately, the hero is already some absurd level and easily levels same-day demoness squads with a crowd of peasants... Game balance? Please, what kind of words are those?
So that the player doesn't get bored, the helpful developers entertain them with conversation. Do you think they reveal any features of the scenario? Not at all. They teach you how to play. "You know, dear player," the game informs us in the middle of the third mission, "if you upgrade a building, stronger creatures can breed there." Well, imagine that! "And also," the talkative advisor continues, "there are these little things called artifacts... they lie here and there. Whoever takes them is lucky." Jokes aside, within the first twenty seconds of the campaign, the game gives about a dozen such tips. And in battle, before you are allowed to touch your first fighter — four. "And look over there behind the hill, a well! You won't believe it, it restores mana... And also there is magic here, which heroes cast." No, the player is definitely being treated as an idiot, even though the default tutorial mode can be found in the depths of the settings and cynically strangled. Playing is easy, boring, but at least short. That is the campaign.
By the way, the hero's experience and skills are, as expected, transferred between missions. So if you aren't too lazy and skip even more time, the hordes of troops on both sides will bring levels that you wouldn't even dream of.
Scenarios. Originally, there are a full nine of them in the game. Naturally, with a plot. That is — with a certain set of hard-coded scripted events and some meanings implemented by them. All races are tied dead to cities, and cities to players: the choice comes down to whether to start playing the scenario or... not to start. There is one, at best two maps per race. The variety, I must admit, is mesmerizing.
No, of course, you can count on fan additions — there is nothing criminal about a game offering effectively only a good engine, while the main content is provided by home-made scenarios. Except that the map editor wasn't delivered either. Nine — and that's it. You play them once and that's enough.
Multiplayer mode. Here, of course, there are more maps. For one. Exactly ten pieces. And to hell with them, with the minor flaws in the design of those very maps! Who cares if the nearest mine or sawmill often has to be searched for using powerful optics. To the devil with the details of how these mines are guarded and what the hero should do in the first week! It is not even that important that players often develop each in their own reservation almost until the end, only to meet once, determine a winner in battle, and start a new game.
Yes, I insist: these are trifles. Trifles. Compared to how the multiplayer mode itself works. And it — glitches. For some unknown reason, specifically in this mode, the game starts eating memory like a little horse.
The hero can only cast spells on their turn.
One gigabyte of RAM lasts her for half an hour, two — about an hour, sometimes less. Once the space suitable for devouring is exhausted, she begins to creak, lag and soon freezes. Forgot to enable autosave? Disaster. Didn't forget? That's a plus for you, but still a disaster: after a reboot, such a Savegame will not open, and the game will crash to the desktop. Look for another save.
Despite everything, the multiplayer mode is the most successful thing in the game. At least it can be played. Yes, by saving regularly and rebooting the machine. Yes, sometimes playing the same sections several times. Yes, obtaining three pairs of identical artifact boots in "Dragon's Utopia". Yes, through gritted teeth, cursing and tears. But still, playing. Other modes do not allow such a luxury.
I consciously leave aside many trifles which, although they spoil the picture, are not fatal. These include numerous superficial bugs that would have been discovered in the fifth minute of testing if, of course, someone had properly attended to them. This also includes the most shameful translation (note — the game was indeed first made in English and then localized: many do this now, but some do it well, and others — like Nival). One cannot watch such examples of global stupidity without shuddering, such as "rangers" instead of "trackers". To the uninitiated, the number of fighters like "olko" or "ruppa"... is staggering. Such blunders would bring shame even to a pirate localization outfit from the mid-nineties. But, I repeat, all this could be forgiven if the game had the most important thing — the ability to play. And it doesn't. There is only the famous name, beautiful graphics and music. Before us is not a game, but unfinished junk. I have finished, Your Honor.
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The Word of the Defense!
With Your Honor's permission, I would like to begin my speech with such a question: what exactly did we and all gaming humanity expect from Heroes of Might & Magic V? Certainly not a brilliant plot: we would have been extremely happy to see one, but in neither the fourth nor the third part can it be found even with a microscope. Which in no way stopped thousands of people from playing "Heroes" with delight. "Heroes" is first and foremost a strategy, and it should be evaluated primarily by its strategic (and tactical) capabilities. My esteemed colleague, as often happens in our profession, failed to see the forest for the trees.
The city is luxurious but decorative: there is no need to click on its image; everything is located in interface screens.
What then do we see regarding tactics and strategy? Firstly, we see a quite traditional "Heroes" battle scheme, which has added maneuver compared to previous parts. We see an economy that has become deeper since the rigid "construction tree" was removed and replaced by reliance on city level — it is no longer necessary to erect useless buildings; one can flexibly plan the growth of the settlement. We see a quite traditional map, which, although it has become three-dimensional, looks very bright and attractive, saturated with prizes and various inhabitants.
Finally, we see six races, each maintained in a single style and, more importantly, possessing its own special type of gameplay. It may not be as unique as playing different races in the fourth "Heroes", but it still far surpasses the third part in this regard, which received widespread popular acclaim (unlike the fourth, by the way). The characters themselves are endowed with unique skills, excellently drawn, and — perhaps most importantly — the Nival developers found a way to combine the incompatible: to let heroes personally participate in battle so that unpleasant effects from Heroes of Might & Magic IV do not arise. I believe even my esteemed colleague cannot dispute that such a scheme is much deeper than the one that existed in Heroes I-III.
Now — about the campaigns. The esteemed colleague based his speech only on one campaign — the very first one. It indeed represents a prolonged tutorial mode; and although I also do not quite understand why the player is forced (without this, you cannot reach subsequent campaigns) to go through a five-mission tutorial, what follows is not so sad — the second campaign already assumes the ability to play.
As for the single-player mode — no one canceled the simplest game of "defeat everyone". Enable the possibility to play on network maps — and you get ordinary Heroes gameplay. And we will consider the nine single-player maps as a kind of mini-campaigns and count them as a plus for the game — a curious innovation. Of course, there are dreadfully few network maps, but surely in the near future we will see new ones.
Further — about the translation. On one hand, it has enough blunders like "ranger" and, worse, bugs (text that doesn't fit, desynchronization of voice and animation in videos); on the other — there are many genuine finds. Translating Blood Maiden and Blood Fury as bestia and furia is an elegant move, and some names even look better in Russian than in English. Chernoknizhnik is usually a bad translation for Warlock, but... not in this case.
Map at maximum zoom out.
Game bugs indeed exist in nature; however, there are no grounds to believe that a patch from "Nival" will not close them in a month or two. And most importantly, these bugs are merely glitches, lags and freezes, and not — which would be a hundred times worse — violations of gameplay. Certainly, the high court will not place these software flaws in the same row as the infamous boarding from "Corsairs III", where our own ship took us by storm right in the harbor, or with the scraps of quests and dialogues in SW KoTOR 2.
And finally, the esteemed colleague tried to quickly bypass the topic of graphics. And in vain — for graphics were not least the basis of the success of "Heroes", and they were also the main reason for the failure of the fourth part of the game. So, despite the lack of facial animation, the graphics capture the imagination and have taken a huge step forward compared to "Demiurges". The rendering of monsters, heroes, landscapes is beyond all praise, and even in the tense combat environment of the "Duel Club", one wants to bring the camera closer to the ground to admire the excellent work of the artists.
So, before us is a game that inherited and creatively developed the gameplay of "Heroes", moved the action into beautiful settings, and introduced many interesting ideas. Yes, there is no doubt that if "Nival" had 3-6 more months, we would have seen a significantly better game. And nevertheless, I believe that the game fully deserves the "Crown". No less than that.
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Prosecution's Objections
Your Honor, as strange as it may be, I completely agree with the defense. I agree that this game — or rather, not a game, but a beta version — could have become truly outstanding. It could have become not just a hit, but an event like no other in recent years. All this could have been... theoretically.
Everything is visible except for the improvements of buildings not yet constructed. But such a mode is not enabled by default.
You know, there is a common joke that you cannot finish a renovation, you can only stop it. This is exactly what happened, in my humble opinion, with "Heroes". On one hand — yes, it's beautiful. There are valuable finds, the three-dimensional cities impress with their scale, lush grass turns green and everything looks real at first glance. But as soon as you dig deeper, we inevitably realize that playing is not working. The engine is frankly raw, and to recognize memory leaks that force reboots with frightening frequency, one does not need to be a programmer. Moreover, the amount of memory only prolongs life but in no way fixes the situation.
To hell with the engine! For there are few maps offered as an arena for entertainment — you can count them on one hand. But perhaps quality won over quantity? Perhaps these maps are the pinnacle of design thought? Few, but such that one could play them with passion for months? Well, no! In the struggle, some third force clearly won, and the game space cannot boast either in quantity or quality.
Let us dream a little... Imagine that in six months Nival Interactive releases a patch fixing countless bugs. Makes it so that saved games load, the program doesn't freeze or crash, and Russian inscriptions fit into the space allocated to them by the same Russian developer...
Can you imagine it? Wonderful! Long live the flight of fancy—let's take it even further. Suppose that one day, along with a patch, an expansion (and a free one at that!) is released, bringing not nine, but thirty-nine maps to the game. And such maps where forest plants like stumps are found near logging camps, rather than wherever they feel like growing, and finding mines would require no effort at all. Of course, the domestic developer—who is known for generally providing careful support for their projects, and especially Nival, world-famous for its impeccable support of the "Demiurges" server—would not stop there. Naturally, the patch would allow campaigns to be played individually! Without five deb... didactic missions explaining where the hero's horse is. Balance issues that made skipping a turn one of the most powerful stratagems would vanish of their own accord. And for dessert—a map editor would announce itself with great fanfare, and thousands of talented enthusiasts would fill in the "rough edges" that the developers "perhaps didn't notice" within a matter of months...
Enough fantasies. Or do you, esteemed defender, believe it is possible to evaluate a game as one buys clothes for children—"to grow into"? Well then, let's award "Heroes" the "Crown" in the hope that everything preventing them from receiving it will someday be fixed! Then we can give it to the aforementioned third "Corsairs"—look how many patches have been released by this moment, and (oh wonder!) the latest ones no longer add bugs, but even fix some of them... Flawed logic, isn't it?
The plot in the campaign takes sharp turns, but not very convincingly.
You might argue that in the case of "Heroes," the gameplay saves the situation, and bugs only prevent one from fully appreciating it... But is the ability to complete missions and over-level a hero by skipping turns and hoarding an army an acceptable level of game balance? Can we really recommend a campaign to players solely because its twenty-seventh mission is generally pleasant, doing so regardless of the wretchedness of all previous ones? Can there be any justification for a ten-fold overextended (and mandatory!) tutorial when its core essence is simply to reveal basic mechanics common to any part of the series? Or is there a player who until now suspected neither that archers shoot nor that horses gallop?
Away with details! In my view, almost any game that showed even a spark of hope is a potential "Crown." However, some grow into hits during development, while others remain merely "promising." I don't deny that Heroes of Might & Magic V was a strong bid for victory. It could have, and very much could have, but alas, in the end, it failed. It is—regardless of the reasons—simply unfinished. Separate, beautifully executed pieces hang in the air, lonely and incomplete. And—let's be realists—I don't believe that all this will ever be finished, polished, and brought to a human state. I believe that an award, unlike a rating of hope, must reflect the current state of affairs, not those very hopes. Your Honor, I have nothing further.
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Defense Objections
The Defense asks the highly esteemed court to imagine the following hypothetical case. Suppose we are considering a case of a game that everyone initially considered a masterpiece... until they discovered it had twelve more maps made by the left foot of a pet hippopotamus belonging to the lead designer. No matter how terrible these maps were—could such a fact be cause for a guilty verdict?
Obviously not. And I assert that if a masterpiece can be made from a game simply by cutting away some levels and maps (which are not necessarily mandatory), then the high court must recognize the game as a masterpiece, in accordance with the presumption of innocence.
Therefore, I propose to disregard the campaigns entirely. Although I disagree with the esteemed colleague's claims that the first five missions completely kill it—but so be it. By leaving only 19 separate maps—9 single-player and 10 network maps available for single-player—we get... an excellent strategy game, albeit far too short. Well, that is a flaw the defense is ready to admit. But the very fact that we would all like to see more maps in this game shows that the game itself is worthy of the highest awards.
As for software errors, the defense insists on remembering the fundamental difference between bugs that create slight inconveniences and bugs that prevent one from enjoying the game. The first, according to our code, lower the convenience rating, while the second affect engagement to the same extent and are a much more serious crime.
Are crowned games always devoid of flaws?
Creature recruitment is luxuriously presented; it's just a pity there's nowhere to see the stats of fighters not yet available.
Not at all. On this point, the law has a special proviso: "If the foundation of the game knows no equal...". It is thanks to this legal provision that "Mor. Utopia," for example, was awarded the "Crown"—an excellent game, yet not devoid of bugs and serious graphical flaws.
Thus, while recognizing the fairness of several prosecution arguments, the defense asserts that they were incorrectly classified by the prosecutor. We already have an excellent game before us, with which one can spend many great evenings starting today, without waiting for patches, maps, or expansions. Our hopes relate only to the fact that additional maps would extend the pleasure for many more months. Therefore, the prosecution's claim that there is no game before us is legally unfounded.
On the contrary: I assert that as of today, there is no more or less modern game of the same genre (local turn-based strategy) with gameplay and graphics of comparable quality. May such a bold statement be forgiven, but they haven't made any in the 21st century yet. The closest competitors lag far behind. Therefore, I ask the high court to apply the legal provision "If the foundation of the game knows no equal" to this game and on that basis award "Heroes of Might and Magic V" its deserved "Crown."
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The Judge's Word!
Thus, the parties have spoken. According to established procedure, I proceed to announce the verdict.
The first charge—the presence of fatal bugs that essentially make the game a beta version. Having comprehensively reviewed the arguments of the prosecution and defense, the court declares that errors in the code do indeed exist, but they relate not to gameplay, but only and exclusively to the convenience of the game. However, they interfere with the game quite significantly; the prosecution did not even list all problems of this kind, leaving aside, for example, the camera catching on invisible stalactites in the dungeon, or the cursor which some unknown forces occasionally prevent from becoming active. Nor can we ignore the lack of summary information for the kingdom and other necessary data. Therefore, the court rules: the engagement rating shall not be lowered, but the convenience rating is reduced to 5 points out of 10.
The second charge—the absence of a coherent campaign. The court has concluded that campaigns cannot be considered an asset of the game, but one can certainly derive sufficient pleasure from it even on the existing 19 single-player maps. Therefore, for the small number of maps and the lack of an editor, we reduce the engagement rating by 1 point.
The court issues a reprimand to the defense for an incorrect argument: from their words, one could conclude that if only one quest were released over several years, it would automatically receive the "Crown." This is certainly not the case. Nevertheless, in this instance, the defense's request is legal and appropriate: the gameplay of Heroes of Might & Magic V stands out significantly across the entire strategy genre.
Therefore, the court decides to award the game the "Crown," but accepts the prosecution's requests for a rating reduction. You may read the full verdict in the official court conclusion. The session is adjourned.
My respects to the high court and to you, honorable judge. Prepare yourselves — my presentation will not be short, for the list of sins weighing on the defendant's conscience is beyond enumeration. Let us start with this: it is not a game. Yes, yes, exactly so, I did not misspeak: it is not a game, but a raw beta version that belongs in the testing department or, if the project manager has any shred of shame left, at a presentation. But no amount of shamelessness can justify the appearance of a debug version of a software product on discs released for sale. The height of hypocrisy and lies is to call a raw set of drafts — from which a game could have resulted given a lucky turn of events, but alas, did not — a release.
Why am I so categorical? Well, let us examine it. What does the defendant have? Beautiful graphics. Yes, undoubtedly, they do. Even if they were traced from "Demiurges", that is precisely same thing that is not punishable — as Vladimir Vysotsky used to say: "I steal from myself — I have the right." The graphics are excellent. Next? Of course, the music. The music is also, without a doubt, good. And what else? What else can the defendant boast of? Perhaps the plot? Doesn't seem so. Or the Gameplay? Also no... What is there to actually play?
Let us approach it from another angle. What do people even play in "Heroes"? Fortunately, enough of them have been released for this question to be completely unambiguous. So, there are effectively three types of gameplay: a campaign, separate scenarios (maps), and multiplayer mode. Did I miss something? Doesn't seem so. Then let us break it down point by point.
The hero participates in battle and can attack personally, but cannot be attacked himself. This is how they reconciled the third and fourth "Heroes".
Campaign. As wretched as a church beggar, and what's worse, it considers the player to be its equal — that is, just as wretched and underdeveloped. "The demons are attacking!" inform us the ventriloquists from a scripted scene (by the way, who thought of showing close-ups of heroes without facial animation?). "This is serious; we will need at least a hundred valiant peasants!" Walk along the winding path, dear player, collect gold, recruit militia and... you have captured a strategic tower. Victory! The tower is in safe hands. Now the task is not even slightly more difficult — recruit archers. Here and there are mines, minerals lie everywhere, but — don't panic! — we will not need them. They are just decorations, because no one will let us develop the city, and at the end of the mission, all the wealth will be taken away anyway. Perhaps a rebellious city will add some interest? Oh, come now! No, of course not. Time is unlimited, archers breed like rabbits, and once your patience expires, a legion of shooters will take the city without losses. Do you think the situation changes further? Not in the least! Skip turns for ten weeks straight, gather all the fighters that have spawned across the map, kill the demons and — the hardest part — build the order of paladins required by the scenario. Every mission follows a flawless recipe: skip about ten to twenty weeks, use the accumulated money to buy resources without even worrying about mines, build everything necessary, and clear the map: fortunately, the hero is already some absurd level and easily levels same-day demoness squads with a crowd of peasants... Game balance? Please, what kind of words are those?
So that the player doesn't get bored, the helpful developers entertain them with conversation. Do you think they reveal any features of the scenario? Not at all. They teach you how to play. "You know, dear player," the game informs us in the middle of the third mission, "if you upgrade a building, stronger creatures can breed there." Well, imagine that! "And also," the talkative advisor continues, "there are these little things called artifacts... they lie here and there. Whoever takes them is lucky." Jokes aside, within the first twenty seconds of the campaign, the game gives about a dozen such tips. And in battle, before you are allowed to touch your first fighter — four. "And look over there behind the hill, a well! You won't believe it, it restores mana... And also there is magic here, which heroes cast." No, the player is definitely being treated as an idiot, even though the default tutorial mode can be found in the depths of the settings and cynically strangled. Playing is easy, boring, but at least short. That is the campaign.
By the way, the hero's experience and skills are, as expected, transferred between missions. So if you aren't too lazy and skip even more time, the hordes of troops on both sides will bring levels that you wouldn't even dream of.
Scenarios. Originally, there are a full nine of them in the game. Naturally, with a plot. That is — with a certain set of hard-coded scripted events and some meanings implemented by them. All races are tied dead to cities, and cities to players: the choice comes down to whether to start playing the scenario or... not to start. There is one, at best two maps per race. The variety, I must admit, is mesmerizing.
No, of course, you can count on fan additions — there is nothing criminal about a game offering effectively only a good engine, while the main content is provided by home-made scenarios. Except that the map editor wasn't delivered either. Nine — and that's it. You play them once and that's enough.
Multiplayer mode. Here, of course, there are more maps. For one. Exactly ten pieces. And to hell with them, with the minor flaws in the design of those very maps! Who cares if the nearest mine or sawmill often has to be searched for using powerful optics. To the devil with the details of how these mines are guarded and what the hero should do in the first week! It is not even that important that players often develop each in their own reservation almost until the end, only to meet once, determine a winner in battle, and start a new game.
Yes, I insist: these are trifles. Trifles. Compared to how the multiplayer mode itself works. And it — glitches. For some unknown reason, specifically in this mode, the game starts eating memory like a little horse.
The hero can only cast spells on their turn.
One gigabyte of RAM lasts her for half an hour, two — about an hour, sometimes less. Once the space suitable for devouring is exhausted, she begins to creak, lag and soon freezes. Forgot to enable autosave? Disaster. Didn't forget? That's a plus for you, but still a disaster: after a reboot, such a Savegame will not open, and the game will crash to the desktop. Look for another save.
Despite everything, the multiplayer mode is the most successful thing in the game. At least it can be played. Yes, by saving regularly and rebooting the machine. Yes, sometimes playing the same sections several times. Yes, obtaining three pairs of identical artifact boots in "Dragon's Utopia". Yes, through gritted teeth, cursing and tears. But still, playing. Other modes do not allow such a luxury.
I consciously leave aside many trifles which, although they spoil the picture, are not fatal. These include numerous superficial bugs that would have been discovered in the fifth minute of testing if, of course, someone had properly attended to them. This also includes the most shameful translation (note — the game was indeed first made in English and then localized: many do this now, but some do it well, and others — like Nival). One cannot watch such examples of global stupidity without shuddering, such as "rangers" instead of "trackers". To the uninitiated, the number of fighters like "olko" or "ruppa"... is staggering. Such blunders would bring shame even to a pirate localization outfit from the mid-nineties. But, I repeat, all this could be forgiven if the game had the most important thing — the ability to play. And it doesn't. There is only the famous name, beautiful graphics and music. Before us is not a game, but unfinished junk. I have finished, Your Honor.
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The Word of the Defense!
With Your Honor's permission, I would like to begin my speech with such a question: what exactly did we and all gaming humanity expect from Heroes of Might & Magic V? Certainly not a brilliant plot: we would have been extremely happy to see one, but in neither the fourth nor the third part can it be found even with a microscope. Which in no way stopped thousands of people from playing "Heroes" with delight. "Heroes" is first and foremost a strategy, and it should be evaluated primarily by its strategic (and tactical) capabilities. My esteemed colleague, as often happens in our profession, failed to see the forest for the trees.
The city is luxurious but decorative: there is no need to click on its image; everything is located in interface screens.
What then do we see regarding tactics and strategy? Firstly, we see a quite traditional "Heroes" battle scheme, which has added maneuver compared to previous parts. We see an economy that has become deeper since the rigid "construction tree" was removed and replaced by reliance on city level — it is no longer necessary to erect useless buildings; one can flexibly plan the growth of the settlement. We see a quite traditional map, which, although it has become three-dimensional, looks very bright and attractive, saturated with prizes and various inhabitants.
Finally, we see six races, each maintained in a single style and, more importantly, possessing its own special type of gameplay. It may not be as unique as playing different races in the fourth "Heroes", but it still far surpasses the third part in this regard, which received widespread popular acclaim (unlike the fourth, by the way). The characters themselves are endowed with unique skills, excellently drawn, and — perhaps most importantly — the Nival developers found a way to combine the incompatible: to let heroes personally participate in battle so that unpleasant effects from Heroes of Might & Magic IV do not arise. I believe even my esteemed colleague cannot dispute that such a scheme is much deeper than the one that existed in Heroes I-III.
Now — about the campaigns. The esteemed colleague based his speech only on one campaign — the very first one. It indeed represents a prolonged tutorial mode; and although I also do not quite understand why the player is forced (without this, you cannot reach subsequent campaigns) to go through a five-mission tutorial, what follows is not so sad — the second campaign already assumes the ability to play.
As for the single-player mode — no one canceled the simplest game of "defeat everyone". Enable the possibility to play on network maps — and you get ordinary Heroes gameplay. And we will consider the nine single-player maps as a kind of mini-campaigns and count them as a plus for the game — a curious innovation. Of course, there are dreadfully few network maps, but surely in the near future we will see new ones.
Further — about the translation. On one hand, it has enough blunders like "ranger" and, worse, bugs (text that doesn't fit, desynchronization of voice and animation in videos); on the other — there are many genuine finds. Translating Blood Maiden and Blood Fury as bestia and furia is an elegant move, and some names even look better in Russian than in English. Chernoknizhnik is usually a bad translation for Warlock, but... not in this case.
Map at maximum zoom out.
Game bugs indeed exist in nature; however, there are no grounds to believe that a patch from "Nival" will not close them in a month or two. And most importantly, these bugs are merely glitches, lags and freezes, and not — which would be a hundred times worse — violations of gameplay. Certainly, the high court will not place these software flaws in the same row as the infamous boarding from "Corsairs III", where our own ship took us by storm right in the harbor, or with the scraps of quests and dialogues in SW KoTOR 2.
And finally, the esteemed colleague tried to quickly bypass the topic of graphics. And in vain — for graphics were not least the basis of the success of "Heroes", and they were also the main reason for the failure of the fourth part of the game. So, despite the lack of facial animation, the graphics capture the imagination and have taken a huge step forward compared to "Demiurges". The rendering of monsters, heroes, landscapes is beyond all praise, and even in the tense combat environment of the "Duel Club", one wants to bring the camera closer to the ground to admire the excellent work of the artists.
So, before us is a game that inherited and creatively developed the gameplay of "Heroes", moved the action into beautiful settings, and introduced many interesting ideas. Yes, there is no doubt that if "Nival" had 3-6 more months, we would have seen a significantly better game. And nevertheless, I believe that the game fully deserves the "Crown". No less than that.
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Prosecution's Objections
Your Honor, as strange as it may be, I completely agree with the defense. I agree that this game — or rather, not a game, but a beta version — could have become truly outstanding. It could have become not just a hit, but an event like no other in recent years. All this could have been... theoretically.
Everything is visible except for the improvements of buildings not yet constructed. But such a mode is not enabled by default.
You know, there is a common joke that you cannot finish a renovation, you can only stop it. This is exactly what happened, in my humble opinion, with "Heroes". On one hand — yes, it's beautiful. There are valuable finds, the three-dimensional cities impress with their scale, lush grass turns green and everything looks real at first glance. But as soon as you dig deeper, we inevitably realize that playing is not working. The engine is frankly raw, and to recognize memory leaks that force reboots with frightening frequency, one does not need to be a programmer. Moreover, the amount of memory only prolongs life but in no way fixes the situation.
To hell with the engine! For there are few maps offered as an arena for entertainment — you can count them on one hand. But perhaps quality won over quantity? Perhaps these maps are the pinnacle of design thought? Few, but such that one could play them with passion for months? Well, no! In the struggle, some third force clearly won, and the game space cannot boast either in quantity or quality.
Let us dream a little... Imagine that in six months Nival Interactive releases a patch fixing countless bugs. Makes it so that saved games load, the program doesn't freeze or crash, and Russian inscriptions fit into the space allocated to them by the same Russian developer...
Can you imagine it? Wonderful! Long live the flight of fancy—let's take it even further. Suppose that one day, along with a patch, an expansion (and a free one at that!) is released, bringing not nine, but thirty-nine maps to the game. And such maps where forest plants like stumps are found near logging camps, rather than wherever they feel like growing, and finding mines would require no effort at all. Of course, the domestic developer—who is known for generally providing careful support for their projects, and especially Nival, world-famous for its impeccable support of the "Demiurges" server—would not stop there. Naturally, the patch would allow campaigns to be played individually! Without five deb... didactic missions explaining where the hero's horse is. Balance issues that made skipping a turn one of the most powerful stratagems would vanish of their own accord. And for dessert—a map editor would announce itself with great fanfare, and thousands of talented enthusiasts would fill in the "rough edges" that the developers "perhaps didn't notice" within a matter of months...
Enough fantasies. Or do you, esteemed defender, believe it is possible to evaluate a game as one buys clothes for children—"to grow into"? Well then, let's award "Heroes" the "Crown" in the hope that everything preventing them from receiving it will someday be fixed! Then we can give it to the aforementioned third "Corsairs"—look how many patches have been released by this moment, and (oh wonder!) the latest ones no longer add bugs, but even fix some of them... Flawed logic, isn't it?
The plot in the campaign takes sharp turns, but not very convincingly.
You might argue that in the case of "Heroes," the gameplay saves the situation, and bugs only prevent one from fully appreciating it... But is the ability to complete missions and over-level a hero by skipping turns and hoarding an army an acceptable level of game balance? Can we really recommend a campaign to players solely because its twenty-seventh mission is generally pleasant, doing so regardless of the wretchedness of all previous ones? Can there be any justification for a ten-fold overextended (and mandatory!) tutorial when its core essence is simply to reveal basic mechanics common to any part of the series? Or is there a player who until now suspected neither that archers shoot nor that horses gallop?
Away with details! In my view, almost any game that showed even a spark of hope is a potential "Crown." However, some grow into hits during development, while others remain merely "promising." I don't deny that Heroes of Might & Magic V was a strong bid for victory. It could have, and very much could have, but alas, in the end, it failed. It is—regardless of the reasons—simply unfinished. Separate, beautifully executed pieces hang in the air, lonely and incomplete. And—let's be realists—I don't believe that all this will ever be finished, polished, and brought to a human state. I believe that an award, unlike a rating of hope, must reflect the current state of affairs, not those very hopes. Your Honor, I have nothing further.
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Defense Objections
The Defense asks the highly esteemed court to imagine the following hypothetical case. Suppose we are considering a case of a game that everyone initially considered a masterpiece... until they discovered it had twelve more maps made by the left foot of a pet hippopotamus belonging to the lead designer. No matter how terrible these maps were—could such a fact be cause for a guilty verdict?
Obviously not. And I assert that if a masterpiece can be made from a game simply by cutting away some levels and maps (which are not necessarily mandatory), then the high court must recognize the game as a masterpiece, in accordance with the presumption of innocence.
Therefore, I propose to disregard the campaigns entirely. Although I disagree with the esteemed colleague's claims that the first five missions completely kill it—but so be it. By leaving only 19 separate maps—9 single-player and 10 network maps available for single-player—we get... an excellent strategy game, albeit far too short. Well, that is a flaw the defense is ready to admit. But the very fact that we would all like to see more maps in this game shows that the game itself is worthy of the highest awards.
As for software errors, the defense insists on remembering the fundamental difference between bugs that create slight inconveniences and bugs that prevent one from enjoying the game. The first, according to our code, lower the convenience rating, while the second affect engagement to the same extent and are a much more serious crime.
Are crowned games always devoid of flaws?
Creature recruitment is luxuriously presented; it's just a pity there's nowhere to see the stats of fighters not yet available.
Not at all. On this point, the law has a special proviso: "If the foundation of the game knows no equal...". It is thanks to this legal provision that "Mor. Utopia," for example, was awarded the "Crown"—an excellent game, yet not devoid of bugs and serious graphical flaws.
Thus, while recognizing the fairness of several prosecution arguments, the defense asserts that they were incorrectly classified by the prosecutor. We already have an excellent game before us, with which one can spend many great evenings starting today, without waiting for patches, maps, or expansions. Our hopes relate only to the fact that additional maps would extend the pleasure for many more months. Therefore, the prosecution's claim that there is no game before us is legally unfounded.
On the contrary: I assert that as of today, there is no more or less modern game of the same genre (local turn-based strategy) with gameplay and graphics of comparable quality. May such a bold statement be forgiven, but they haven't made any in the 21st century yet. The closest competitors lag far behind. Therefore, I ask the high court to apply the legal provision "If the foundation of the game knows no equal" to this game and on that basis award "Heroes of Might and Magic V" its deserved "Crown."
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The Judge's Word!
Thus, the parties have spoken. According to established procedure, I proceed to announce the verdict.
The first charge—the presence of fatal bugs that essentially make the game a beta version. Having comprehensively reviewed the arguments of the prosecution and defense, the court declares that errors in the code do indeed exist, but they relate not to gameplay, but only and exclusively to the convenience of the game. However, they interfere with the game quite significantly; the prosecution did not even list all problems of this kind, leaving aside, for example, the camera catching on invisible stalactites in the dungeon, or the cursor which some unknown forces occasionally prevent from becoming active. Nor can we ignore the lack of summary information for the kingdom and other necessary data. Therefore, the court rules: the engagement rating shall not be lowered, but the convenience rating is reduced to 5 points out of 10.
The second charge—the absence of a coherent campaign. The court has concluded that campaigns cannot be considered an asset of the game, but one can certainly derive sufficient pleasure from it even on the existing 19 single-player maps. Therefore, for the small number of maps and the lack of an editor, we reduce the engagement rating by 1 point.
The court issues a reprimand to the defense for an incorrect argument: from their words, one could conclude that if only one quest were released over several years, it would automatically receive the "Crown." This is certainly not the case. Nevertheless, in this instance, the defense's request is legal and appropriate: the gameplay of Heroes of Might & Magic V stands out significantly across the entire strategy genre.
Therefore, the court decides to award the game the "Crown," but accepts the prosecution's requests for a rating reduction. You may read the full verdict in the official court conclusion. The session is adjourned.
