Heroes of Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes

Heroes of Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes – Review – Playstation 3

By GxGear on 23 July 2011 in Nintendo DS, Playstation 3, Reviews, Xbox 360 with 20 Comments

With the disturbing trends of developers re-releasing their previous work as downloadable titles, it is reasonable for one to think that Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes is yet another attempt for a quick cash-in at the expense of gamers. Fortunately, nothing could be further from the truth, as Clash of Heroes is a great game that offers satisfying action, with a unique take on a well-established gaming franchise. Couple that with hours of both single player content and multiplayer modes, and you’ve got a role-playing puzzle game that could not be more highly recommended.

Story: Originally a DS game, Clash of Heroes has found its way on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 as downloadable ports in high definition. The story takes place in the fictional land of Ashan, a fantasy world introduced in Might & Magic V. In the campaign, the demons once again plot to pit the existing factions of Ashan against one another, in an attempt to break free of their prison realm of Sheogh. To accomplish this they seek out the Blade of Binding, a powerful artifact that binds demons to the user’s will. When tragedy strikes and the blade is lost, you must play as each and one of the game’s five young heroes through their respective chapters to try to foil the demons’ ploy and recover the artifact.

Gameplay: As far as gameplay goes, you face off one-on-one against opponents in strategic, turn-based puzzle combat. Each fight takes place on a 12 by 8 grid, with only half of the battlefield at your disposal. In order to win, you have to deplete your opponent’s health to zero by sending your past their defenses while fending off offensive advances at the same time. Units are distributed randomly on each respective side of the grid, and an attack formation is formed by arranging 3 of the same color in a vertical line. After a least 1 turn of charge phase, depending on the type of unit, the attack formation rushes to the other side of the field, and take out as much opposition in its path as allowed by its strength. Defensively, wall formations can be formed by lining up 3 or more same-colored units horizontally, which becomes vital in defending against attacks. Once a wall or attack formation is formed, they automatically shift towards the frontlines, allowing you to control the idle units. However, once that happens, the formations are locked in and can no longer be moved manually. Because of this, it is equally important to quickly set up attacks while counter the enemy’s with wall defenses. The combat may seem simple at first, but there’s a lot of depth here and mastering the mechanics fully will go a long way towards success.

You’ll also employ the help of various elite units, which are much stronger than the core units and each comes with their own special abilities. Finally, champion units will also join your ranks, which can single-handedly turn the tide of the battle by themselves with incredible power. The elite and champion units come at a cost though, as they come in limited supply, occupy additional grid spaces, and have longer charging phases. With any attack formations, you have the option of increasing their strength via links and/or fusions; linking is created by setting up attack formations with the same charge times, and fusion is a result of lining up 2 attack formations of the same type and color. If your units are destroyed or participated in an attack, you can call in reinforcements at the cost of a move. Additionally, you can also cancel units to create more room, and if a formation is created as a result of that, an extra move is earned. It should also be mentioned that each hero gets a unique spell that can be cast once the magic gauge is filled, which accumulates during the course of the battle. There’s a lot to wrap your head around on paper, but the game does an admirable job of easing you into the action.

The role-playing element of Clash of Heroes is really what sets this game apart from other puzzle titles. As you progress through the campaign, you’ll earn experience and receive currency in the form of gold, ore, and crystal from vanquished foes. Resources can be used to purchase elite and champion units, to replenish the ones that have fallen on the battlefield. Experience will not only level up your heroes to give a boost in health, wall strength, and the number of units you can deploy, but it also goes towards leveling up your units. Traveling through the beautiful and lush world of Ashan, there will be a number of things to discover along the way. Magical artifacts are scattered across the land which will help you along in battle, bounties to hunt down criminals for some nice rewards, and battle puzzles to sharpen your skills in single turn, do-or-die situations. Boss battles are unique encounters sprinkled across the journey where you pit your army against a single mobile unit, complete with its own set of abilities at its disposal. The campaign is rich with content, and by the time it is completed you will have already invested dozens of hours into the game. Talk about bang for your buck.

More of a puzzle game as opposed to RPG, the M&M franchise’s usual choice of genre, Clash of Heroes took also a departure in the graphics department than what you would normally expect from a Might and Magic title. The characters are beautifully hand-drawn and the colors of the environments are both bright and vibrant. The overall result is a very pleasing look that has a very cartoon, anime-like feel to it. Units are detailed and animates nicely, with one sour note being that some of the details gets lost due to the sheer amount of things crammed on-screen. It’s also somewhat of a shame that you’ll be spending quite a bit of time staring at the frequent loading screens instead of Ashan itself.

Multiplayer: Once you’ve completed the campaign, you can jump into multiplayer and battle friends and strangers alike in online/offline skirmishes. It is possible to even dive right into multiplayer before finished single player, although it is recommended that you make some progress in the campaign in order to unlock playable multiplayer characters. You can either go head to head with a single opponent, or partner up and participate in 2v2 matches. The game has provided a health number of customizable options to create matches that caters to your liking, such as disabling the use of artifacts and hosting public/private games. An often overlooked search function is a welcome sight, and with it you can browse through open lobbies and ongoing games. The online community may be small, and matches can drag on even with the time limit enabled, but these minor details should not stop you from giving multiplayer a try.

Overall: At $14.99 (or 1200 MSP on the Live Marketplace for Xbox 360), Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes is a steal. It is a superb game that can be recommended to anyone, even those that don’t normally dabble in puzzle games. And once you’ve tried it, you will almost certainly be hooked to the game for hours on end. With a single player campaign that clocks well into double digits hour-wise, and a fully-featured multiplayer mode, this jewel of a downloadable title puts many retail titles to shame.

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