Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes
European Box Art
Developer(s)	Capybara Games
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft Entertainment
Writer(s)	Jeff Spock[1] Dan Vader
Series	Might and Magic
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3 (PSN), Xbox 360 (XBLA), Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	Nintendo DS NA December 1, 2009 EU February 26, 2010 XBLA NA April 13, 2011[2] PSN NA April 12, 2011[2] Microsoft Windows NA September 22, 2011[3]
Genre(s)	Puzzle, Adventure, RPG
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: 10+ PEGI: 7+

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes is a puzzle role-playing adventure video game in the Might and Magic franchise, developed for the Nintendo DS by Capybara Games and published by Ubisoft Entertainment. It was first announced in May 2009, and released on December 1, 2009. A downloadable high definition version was developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

Gameplay

Previews of the title likened its gameplay model to those of Puzzle Quest and Critter Crunch.^[4] Borrowing elements from the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise, it combines elements of the role-playing, turn-based strategy and puzzle video game genres, allowing players to embark on story-based and optional quests while employing army recruitment and resource management.^[5][6] Five of the eight playable factions featured in Heroes of Might and Magic V - the Haven, Inferno, Sylvan, Academy and Necropolis - comprise the game's forces, though their troop lineups are not replicated from Heroes V.^[7] Instead, armies are made up of an unlimited number of faction-specific basic troops, as well as a finite number of larger "elite" units. Each faction has three types of basic troops, and five types of more advanced troops, with players selecting from these to form their individual army compositions.

The player controls individual heroes representative of each faction, each of whom act as avatars in alternating exploration and battle phases, growing in experience and obtaining new abilities as the game progresses.^[4] The game's producers described battles as the center of the game, and these battles are turn-based.^[8] Battles take place using two separate grids of troops, with enemy troops being shown on the top screen, while friendly troops are shown on the bottom screen. Each turn, players have a number of moves (generally three) with which to move individual units around on the grid (battlefield) in an effort to stack similarly colored units vertically. When the correct number of units of the same color are stacked, the units begin charging for an attack which will execute some number of turns later. If the charging units are not destroyed prior to the beginning of their attack, the attack launches vertically towards the opponent's army, interacting with any enemy units which are in the way, and possibly striking the enemy leader or hero as well.

Equippable artifacts, some returning from Heroes V, are also involved in gameplay; these modify troop or hero abilities during combat.^[9] Lastly, a multiplayer mode is also included, featuring two playable heroes in DS Download Play mode, and all ten heroes in DS Wireless Play mode.^[10]

Plot overview

The game is the third title set in the series' Ubisoft continuity, and acts as a prequel to Heroes of Might and Magic V, taking place in the fictional world of Ashan at an undetermined point in time prior to the events of the game (producers Erwan Le Breton and Romain de Waubert have noted it as 40 years before the cycle of Heroes V and Dark Messiah of Might and Magic,^[10][11] averaging at 946 YSD in the timeline).

The game's story mode centers on its five main protagonists - Godric, Aidan, Anwen, Nadia and Fiona, each of whom command knights, demons, elves, wizards and necromancers respectively.^[9] Godric and Anwen previously appeared as playable characters in Heroes V, while further returning characters shown in screenshots include Cyrus, Findan and Markal. The protagonists have been described as five lost children whose lives are shattered by "a mysterious Demon Lord with very sinister motives".^[11]

As in the previous Ubisoft continuity titles, the Demons are the game's primary antagonists.^[9] GameSpot has reported that Anwen will be the primary character in the game's tutorial, and the story arc is to revolve around an artifact named the Blade of Binding.^[5]

Critical reception

Previews have been generally positive^[12], with IGN awarding the game a Best of E3 2009 nomination for Best DS Strategy Game. ^[13] They would later go on to give it an impressive 8.9 out of 10 score. It was also ranked as the fourth best Nintendo DS game released in 2009 by Metacritic.^[14] The Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game a score of 90% praising its tactical play and reward system however, criticizing it for being too generic.^[15]

Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes HD

A high definition remake was developed for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released via PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade on April 12-13, 2011.^[2] The PC version which notably uses Steamworks rather than U-Play was released on September 22, 2011.

References

1. ^ "Jeffrey Spock's Website". http://www.jeffspock.com/21-0-Casual.html. Retrieved 2009-07-18. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} http://electronictheatre.co.uk/index.php/industry-news/7624-new-might-a-magic-clash-of-heroes-hd-gameplay-trailer-revealed
3. ^ http://store.steampowered.com/app/61700/
4. ^ ^{a b} Bozon, Mark (2009-07-15). "Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes Hands-on". IGN. http://ie.ds.ign.com/articles/100/1004030p1.html. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
5. ^ ^{a b} Anderson, Luke (8 July, 2009). "Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes preview". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/mightandmagicclashofheroes/news.html?sid=6213087&mode=previews. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
6. ^ Amer, N (2009-07-04). "Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes preview". GameZone. http://nds.gamezone.com/gzreviews/p38149.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
7. ^ Magrino, Tom (2009-05-13). "Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes Announcement". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/mightandmagicclashofheroes/news.html?sid=6209603&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title;2. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
8. ^ "Clash of Heroes - Dev Diary 2". Ubisoft. 4 June, 2009. http://videos.uk.ubi.com/videos/8aocfhkz-Clash-of-Heroes---Dev-Diary-2.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
9. ^ ^{a b c} "Clash of Heroes Trailer". Ubisoft. 7 July, 2009. http://videos.uk.ubi.com/videos/8u2aixaa-might-magic-clash-of-heroes-.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Hatfield, Daemon (2009-05-22). "Pre-E3 2009: Might and Magic preview". IGN. http://ie.ds.ign.com/articles/985/985797p1.html. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
11. ^ ^{a b} "Clash of Heroes - Dev Diary 3". Ubisoft. 6 July, 2009. http://videos.uk.ubi.com/videos/gvd8mn55-clash-of-heroes-dev-diary-3.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
12. ^ "Gamertell Review: Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes for DS". Gamertell. http://www.gamertell.com/gaming/comment/gamertell-review-might-and-magic-clash-of-heroes-for-ds/. Retrieved 2010-02-05. 
13. ^ "Nintendo DS Best of E3 2009". IGN. http://ie.ds.ign.com/articles/992/992668p2.html. Retrieved 2009-07-20. 
14. ^ http://features.metacritic.com/features/2009/the-best-games-of-2009/4/
15. ^ http://www.officialnintendomagazine.co.uk/article.php?id=15551/

External links

• Official website
• Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes HD | Capybara Games
• Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes at MobyGames