14 DAY TRIAL // When I was a very young gamer, one of the first titles that completely captured my imagination was Heroes of Might & Magic II, the first true turn-based strategy that I played which took place in a fantasy world and gave players freedom to customize armies, tackle enemies in tactical battles, upgrade their heroes and manage an empire while trying to reach certain objectives.
These elements are still part of Might & Magic: Heroes Online, which is a free-to-play and browser-based experience created by Blue Byte, designed to offer long-term fans of the series a new perspective on their favorite universe.
The tactical combat is solid, although it’s hard to get access to high level units quickly, and the company allows heroes to basically carry reinforcements with them in order to spend more time adventuring and less time going back to their town.
The involvement of the hero in combat seems limited and his magic and ability choices have too small an impact, especially during powerful enemy stacks.
Graphics and storytelling
The game looks very good for a browser-based experience and runs smoothly, but the quest design, especially during the first few hours, is mediocre and does not do a good job of talking about the lore of the universe.
Castle development also seems very limited, and at the moment, the game only offers access to two factions and two hero choices for each, although that might change in the coming weeks.
Might & Magic: Heroes Online also offers an Arena mode which allows gamers to battle each other, but I suspect that most fans will stick with the single-player adventures for the moment.
Real world money is not essential for Might & Magic: Heroes Online
Might & Magic: Heroes Online uses a Hero Seals special currency for some aspects of the game, and those who lack the time to stay engaged with the title at all times or want to speed up their experience will have to buy it using real world money.
The resource can be used to play battles again if the result is poor, to get more information about the enemy armies faced or to auto-fight those stacks that seem too weak or too similar to those one has faced before.
It can also be used to speed up action in town, but so far it does not feel like it’s essential to the enjoyment of Might & Magic: Heroes Online, although those who want to fight more than two battles in one day will probably have to resort to it.
Take a look at the screenshot gallery in order to see how Might & Magic: Heroes Online plays.
Ubisoft is also working on a new full PC-based title in the franchise, which will be launched in 2015.
