Game Over Online ~ Heroes of Might & Magic III: Armageddon's Blade

GameOver Game Reviews - Heroes of Might & Magic III: Armageddon's Blade (c) 3DO, Reviewed by - Spesonx

Game & Publisher Heroes of Might & Magic III: Armageddon's Blade (c) 3DO
System Requirements Pentium 166, 32MB Ram, Heroes of Might & Magic III
Overall Rating 77%
Date Published Friday, November 19th, 1999 at 09:15 PM


Divider Left By: Spesonx Divider Right

The Heroes of Might and Magic (HoMM) series has become one of most successful fantasy turn-based strategy franchises to date. Based on the Might and Magic role-playing universe, Heroes of Might and Magic has just the right formula of spells, creatures, adventuring and combat. We've seen three installments in the HoMM series to date, and each new title brings an assortment of new creatures, spells, hero types, campaigns and storylines. The latest installment in the HoMM series is Heroes of Might & Magic III: Armageddon's Blade. It features a handful of new veteran Heroes, a dozen new creatures, a slew of new fearsome dragons, and much more. So why not name it Heroes of Might & Magic IV? I guess 3DO has finally caught on that these really aren't sequels after all, but simply expansion packs. That little rant aside, Armageddon's Blade is an excellent single-player expansion pack.

Armageddon's Blade offers one new full-size campaign along with five smaller campaigns. The larger campaign tells the story of the Armageddon's Blade. It goes a little something... (lights dim, camera fades out) like this:

In the demon kingdom of Eeofol, Lucifer Kreegan has a vision to set the world on fire by constructing the "Armageddon's Blade". Seeking to dethrone this insane king, Catherine invades. However, her generals report the appearance of the fiery Phoenix and mysterious elemental Confluxes. As Catherine contemplates her next move, she wonders... do these omens foretell of Erathia's victory... or the world's destruction?

The new campaign does an excellent job of furthering the storyline and features a number of cut-scene animations that are by far the best in the series. Overall, there are 6 new campaigns and over 35 stand-alone missions that are sure to add hours of gameplay for those who are itching for more HoMM.

There are also two new hero types, the Plainswalkers and the Elementalists, 16 heroes in total; 23 new creatures to hire and deal with (including the Phoenix, three kinds of Dragons, Elfin Sharpshooters, and much more). Armageddon's Blade also adds a new town type, the elemental Conflux (which features the all-powerful Phoenix). Also included in Armageddon's Blade is a new random map generator that lets you create unlimibed battle scenarios. The map generator also does an excellent job of creating unique maps each and every time. You'll rarely come across maps that look similar. A game editor is included as well, allowing you to create your own unique battles. A fully functional campaign and improved map editor ensures infinite replayability for those with creative juices.

As mentioned above, this is probably best described as a single-player expansion pack. The amount of gameplay offered rivals any of the three 'prequels'. In terms of multiplayer, there are only ten new maps created specifically for multiplayer mayhem. In my opinion, HoMM has never had strong multiplayer features and Armageddon's Blade does nothing to improve on that aspect. In terms of graphics and sound, there really is no improvement in either respect as well. Clearly Armageddon's Blade focused on expanding on the gameplay and does a great job at that.

So let's see here: 12 new creatures, 2 new Conflux hero classes, a new town type, over 35 stand-alone missions and 6 new campaigns. They didn't call this Heroes of Might & Magic IV? Thank you 3DO for avoiding that faux-pas. As a single-player expansion pack, it doesn't get much better than this. If you've played out Heroes of Might & Magic III, Armageddon's Blade is just cure while you await the next in the Magic and Magic series of titles.

 

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Rating
77%
 

 

 
 

 

 

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