Posted July 06, 2010
I really, really like this game. I played it years ago at a friend's house and loved it, but somehow never ended up actually buying it. This is one of the reasons I joined this site.
HoMM 3 is an amazingly complex and addictive game. Building up your town--and any you conquer!--adventuring through the landscape, and battling it out with opposing armies are all equally fun. Scenarios can last incredibly long times, if you have multiple players of even mediocre skill; the maps can be quite large, and it can be a bit difficult to finally pin down an opponent and completely eradicate him.
The campaign itself is engaging enough, but the real awesomeness comes from the multplayer. Levels can be handcrafted using the editor, you can pick one of the pre-built ones, or--because of the inclusion of the expansions--you can have the game randomly generate a map based on a set of criteria such as size, underworld inclusion, water, etc. This literally allows for near-infinite matches that will never be the same. This holds doubly true because of the massive diversity between the various factions; each favors different kinds of fighting and different tactics, and each has a completely unique set of units to offer. The heroes, too, add yet another layer, with each faction being able to choose from between two kinds of hero: one more physical, who boosts his soldiers attack and defense ratings, and one more magical, who instantly has access to potent spells to aid in combat. On top of that, however, there are multiple variations of each of these two hereoes for each faction, with each specific character having a focus in a certain unit or spell to further boost its effectiveness, as well as their own set of starting secondary skills.
I really can't say enough about it. The statements from other reviews about how you just want to do one more turn, just get that next building, get into next week so you can restock your army . . . they're all true. The game is addicting and immensely fun. Buy it.
HoMM 3 is an amazingly complex and addictive game. Building up your town--and any you conquer!--adventuring through the landscape, and battling it out with opposing armies are all equally fun. Scenarios can last incredibly long times, if you have multiple players of even mediocre skill; the maps can be quite large, and it can be a bit difficult to finally pin down an opponent and completely eradicate him.
The campaign itself is engaging enough, but the real awesomeness comes from the multplayer. Levels can be handcrafted using the editor, you can pick one of the pre-built ones, or--because of the inclusion of the expansions--you can have the game randomly generate a map based on a set of criteria such as size, underworld inclusion, water, etc. This literally allows for near-infinite matches that will never be the same. This holds doubly true because of the massive diversity between the various factions; each favors different kinds of fighting and different tactics, and each has a completely unique set of units to offer. The heroes, too, add yet another layer, with each faction being able to choose from between two kinds of hero: one more physical, who boosts his soldiers attack and defense ratings, and one more magical, who instantly has access to potent spells to aid in combat. On top of that, however, there are multiple variations of each of these two hereoes for each faction, with each specific character having a focus in a certain unit or spell to further boost its effectiveness, as well as their own set of starting secondary skills.
I really can't say enough about it. The statements from other reviews about how you just want to do one more turn, just get that next building, get into next week so you can restock your army . . . they're all true. The game is addicting and immensely fun. Buy it.