Heroes of Might and Magic V (PC)

Graphics

The cartoon style graphics may not be to everyone’s taste but in this game they work nicely. It has a feel of being colourful, bright, big and bold with over the top armour and weapons. The individual character heroes have a solid feel to them and the creatures all have a sense of graphical personality.

The travel map has limited 3d rotation and again has nicely drawn and animated graphics, it’s a bright and lush world brought to life with reflections in the water and a lovely sense of fantasy. The battle maps are simple affairs but they work in the context of the game and they don’t detract from it. The city management screens are gorgeous with each city depicted in 3d and as you upgrade you can see the changes made to the various buildings and the citadel itself.

Animations

In keeping with the cartoon style of the graphics, the animation is simple and effective. The motion of the characters lacks a true fluidity but works non-the-less. There are some nice battle animations and spell casting animations as well as some personality to each unit as they wait to fight. They respond to a victory in a positive manner and a defeat in a negative one. The mission map has some nice animations that lend a feeling of a living world, the sawmill cuts up wood and the smoke trails from a peasant hut while chickens run around fields and so on.

Mission design

The various factions’ stories unfold as each mission progresses, beginning with the Haven (human) faction and telling the tale of a land under the forces of darkness. The mission design itself is intelligent and you don’t feel put off at any point by any kind of huge quest, or side objective. The maps are well made and they combine nicely with the animation and graphics, exploration is interesting and the designers have packed the maps with little bonuses and hidden locations under the fog of war.

Sound

From the ambient noise to the battle clash and the sound of your heroes horse riding through the world map, Heroes Might and Magic V comes alive with a vibrant audio that delivers good quality through even an older soundcard.

Music

The musical score for the game is a great one, its stirring and brings to mind glorious battles and the sense of the fantastic. It is a good mix of harmonious soft music for exploration and a dramatic tense music for important events and combat.

Voice

It isn’t the best voice work in the business and suffers from a little flatness in the delivery of the lines. It works however and provides a sense of character to some of the people in the world. I wasn’t too impressed with the voice acting from the Queen and felt that the actor wasn’t really putting any kind of effort into it. This was the only part of the game that dragged me down when playing.