Might & Magic Heroes VI

Might & Magic Heroes VI
Developer(s)	Black Hole Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Distributor(s)	Steam (Windows)
Series	Heroes of Might and Magic
Version	1.1.1 (October 13, 2011)[1]
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows[2]
Release date(s)	October 13, 2011[3]
Genre(s)	Turn-based strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T PEGI: 16[4]
System requirements Microsoft Windows 2 GHz Intel CPU or 2.6 GHZ AMD CPU (or higher), 1 GB RAM for WinXP, 1.5 GB RAM for Vista/Windows 7, Nvidia 8600 GTS videocard with 512MB VRAM or ATI Radeon 2600XT videocard with 512MB VRAM (or better) with Shader Model 3.0 or higher 8x DVD-ROM drive, HDD space: 8 GB DirectX 9.0, Windows XP/Vista/7 (all 32-bit/64-bit) DirectX compatible sound card Internet: Broadband connection and service required for multiplayer mode and online features

Might & Magic Heroes VI is a turn-based strategy video game for Microsoft Windows, the sixth installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic series. Released on October 13, 2011,^[3] it was developed by Black Hole Entertainment and published by Ubisoft. It was announced on 17 August 2010 and was featured at Gamescom.^[5] A playable Demo version was released on 18 August 2011, one year after the initial announcement.^[6]

Gameplay

The gameplay of Heroes VI represents a step away from the five original installments. About half of initial schematics, including spells, skills, abilities, heroes, units and buildings will remain present, with the other half being innovative.^[2][5] For example the absence of the magic guild, mandatory building for town updates in the previous games. In Heroes VI, the magic guild leveling is replaced by the hero skill/ability wheel leveling, while new spells are learned only at particular dwellings outside the town. Finally, the game will feature only four collectable resources (instead of the classic seven): gold, wood, ore, and blood crystals.^[7] Multiplayer will be present.^[5]

Plot

Heroes VI is a prequel to the main campaigns of Heroes of Might and Magic V, taking place four centuries earlier in the world of Ashan. A legendary Archangel general, revived hundreds of years after perishing during the Elder Wars, plots to recover his powers and take control of Ashan while battling a supposed Demon invasion, but is impeded by the Griffin dynasty, led by Duke Slava. As a war erupts between them, Slava is assassinated in his throne, leaving behind as heirs his five children — Anton (Haven), Anastasya (Necropolis), Kiril (Inferno), Sandor (Stronghold) and Irina (Sanctuary).^[5][7] The campaigns can be played in any order, and are interconnected.^[2]

Factions

There are five factions in the game: Haven, Sanctuary, Stronghold, Inferno and Necropolis. The first two factions are "good-aligned", Stronghold is neutral and the last two are considered "evil".

Development

Heroes VI was hinted at as early as June 2009, in video developer diaries for Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes: Le Breton and fellow producer Romain de Waubert wore shirts sporting a Might and Magic: Heroes VI logo.^[8] In an interview with PlanetDS.de, the producers dropped further hints relating to the project's existence, with de Waubert stating "I’m such a fan of Might & Magic that I wear its future like a second skin, very close to my heart."^[9]

According to Le Breton, Nival Interactive were considered to reprise their role as series developer, but Ubisoft could not agree on a common vision with the Heroes V team, most of whom had already been transferred to work on Allods Online; Black Hole Entertainment impressed Ubisoft as experienced, talented and passionate people, and were selected to create the sequel. Olivier Ledroit is again collaborating with Ubisoft on the game's art direction, and community suggestions are being heavily incorporated via a private forum.^[2]

Though expected to be first unveiled at Gamescom 2010, numerous screenshots and the teaser trailer prepared for the announcement were leaked and posted early at fansite Heroes Community, several days prior to the official press release.^[10]

Beta

On May 24, 2011, it was announced that the alpha version of the game was complete and that the first public beta testing will start in June. On June 6, the date was confirmed as June 28.

Updates

On October 13th, 2011 Ubisoft released patch 1.1 that brings several AI tweaks, five new multiplayer maps, adds Dynasty Weapons for the Altar of Wishes, as well as balance and general changes.^[1]
On October 18th, 2011 Ubisoft released patch 1.1.1 with hot fix on default setting video option detection at start-up causing possible dead locks on laptops, blinking cursor bug fix and a fix for a version number issue.

Reception

Reception of this title has been generally positive. However, one should note that customer review scores are noticeably lower than those of published reviews. Upon release, the game was affected by a large number of bugs which negatively impacted gameplay. Furthermore, the inability to access campaign files without being connected to 'The Conflux' renders the single player campaign essentially unplayable without a consistent Internet connection to Ubisoft's servers.

The game has currently scored:

• 76 out of 100 on http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/might-magic-heroes-vi Metacritic, based on 37 critical reviews (English)
• 7 out of 10 on http://www.gamer.no/artikler/96103/anmeldelse-might--magic-heroes-vi/ Gamer NO (Norwegian)
• 8.5 out of 10 on http://www.vandal.net/analisis/pc/might-and-magic-heroes-vi/13081/ Vandal (Spanish)
• 8.8 out of 10 on http://www.3djuegos.com/juegos/analisis/9427/2/might-magic-heroes-vi/ 3djuegos (Spanish)
• 7 out of 10 on http://consolelife.ru/games/heroes-of-might-and-magic-6/ Consolelife (Russian)
• 8.4 out of 10 on http://www.gry-online.pl/S016.asp?ID=15496 Gry Online (Poland)
• 87 out of 100 on http://www.gamestrust.de/test,might-magic-heroes-6-einmal-ashan-nie-mehr-zurueck,id575,0.html Gamestrust (German)
• 8 out of 10 on http://www.eurogamer.be/articles/2011-10-10-might-and-magic-heroes-vi-review Eurogamer (Dutch)
• 8 out of 10 on http://pc.ign.com/articles/121/1210600p1.html IGN (English)
• 5 out of 10 on http://www.incgamers.com/Reviews/1252/turning-bases-in-might--magic-heroes-vi-review (English)
• 3 out of 5 on http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/might-magic-heroes-vi/1210326p1.html (English)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Might and Magic Heroes VI Patch v1.1". Game World. http://www.gamew0rld.com/might-and-magic-heroes-vi-patch-v1-1/. 
2. ^ ^{a b c d} A, J (2010-08-17). "Might & Magic Heroes VI Q & A". Meodia. http://meodia.com/news/1438/might-magic-heroes-vi-q-a/. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Might & Magic Heroes VI will be released on October 13th". Ubisoft. 2011-08-05. http://might-and-magic.ubi.com/heroes-6/en-GB/news/details.aspx?c=tcm:21-21565&ct=tcm:6-231-32. Retrieved 2011-08-05. 
4. ^ "Might and Magic Heroes VI - Gamescom 2011 Trailer [UK"]. Youtube. 2011-08-16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PKxXdSUl3Q. Retrieved 2011-11-7. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d} "Might & Magic Heroes VI Announced". Voodoo Extreme. 2010-08-17. http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/56600/Might-Magic-Heroes-VI-Announced. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
6. ^ "Might & Magic Heroes VI Demo version download". AtomicGamer. 2011-08-18. http://www.atomicgamer.com/files/93296/might-magic-heroes-vi-demo. Retrieved 2011-08-20. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Schmidt, Christian (2010-08-17). "Die sanfteste Fortsetzung der Welt". GameStar. http://www.gamestar.de/spiele/might-magic-heroes-6-/artikel/might_and_magic_heroes_6,46387,2317016.html. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
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 2010-08-18. 
9. ^ "Interview with Ubisoft on Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes". PlanetDS. 9 August 2009. http://www.planetds.de/artikel/mightandmagicclashofheroesinterview/seite2.html. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 
10. ^ "An (alleged) Heroes VI screenshot has been leaked early". Age of Heroes. 2010-08-17. http://www.heroesofmightandmagic.com/. Retrieved 2010-08-18. 

External links

• Official site
• Might and Magic Heroes 6 Debut Trailer