The OFFICIAL Heroes 4 Thread!!!!!!

[NoReMoRsE]

As I could not find a previous Heroes 4 thread in my search, I decided to create this one. I just got Heroes 4 a few days ago and it's AMAZING. The gameplay, as expected, is top notch. The graphics are very good. The sound is INCREDIBLE; NWC decided to bring back the epic operatic score that made Heroes 2 enjoyable.

Some qualms:
- You can no longer choose your starting hero. It's always random. But you can purchase another hero at the tavern to use as your "main" hero.
- The "improved" battle system. It seems as if the battle field has actually shrunk, and you're also not given the option to turn on the shadow that was present in HOMM2 and HOMM3 to see the maximum walking range of your units.
- The music tends to skip in Windows XP. This is a known bug and will hopefully be corrected in a future patch.
- Although it doesn't apply to me as much (since I'm more of a single-player kind of guy), multiplayer other than Hot Seat (where everyone takes turns on a single machine) is not present, but will be implemented in a future patch.

Heroes 4 also does have a HUGE learning curve, even for those who consider themselves HOMM veterans like myself. The new skill system, new units and new gameplay tweaks will take a while to get used to. On the whole, though, Heroes 4 can be considered a giant leap forward for New World Computing, and indeed for the turn-based strategy community as a whole.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

 

[JellyBaby]

I'm holding out for Age of Wonders II which ought to kick some giant ass. I'm more into the tactical combat...which I hear is better in Heroes IV...and that's where AoW excells as did Master of Magic before it.

 

[NoReMoRsE]

Tactical combat is extremely good in Heroes IV, but, as I said, more complicated than the combat of Heroes III. NWC doesn't give you the option to turn on shadows to tell you the maximum range of your troops, so combat preparation is more complicated than it used to be.

Also, the added bonus of having the hero actually participate in combat brings an entirely new dimension to tactical combat. At early stages of the game, the hero is relatively weak, and can be "killed" (actually, the hero is rendered unconscious and can be revived at your town). At later stages (which I haven't reached yet), the hero should become on par with several high-level creatures. In addition, the ability to include as many heroes as you want in your army (from zero - yes, zero - to seven), with each hero taking up the space of a creature stack, the tactical combinations are innumerable.

My $0.02.

 

[datalink7]

Keep with the updates. I loved I, II & III an might pick this one up if it roxors.