Reminiscent of the classic HOMM games, but with many improvements and innovations
Gameplay
============================
I have just completed the campaign on normal difficulty and over all I think the difficulty is just about right for someone who's had previous experience with fantasy turned based strategy games like Age of Wonders and Age of Wonders 2.
Generally speaking, your role in this game is to ascertain the preservation of troops as armies are not produced as fast as in the previous HOMM games and/or AoW. Because there is no way for players to construct new towns and the number of towns in any given episode in the campaign is scanty to say the least, it is important to keep in mind the abilites of your troops and your hero and devise viable strategies for fighting different types of foes - be it slow, quick, weak, numerous or ranged.
This version of HOMM introduced race based perks (aka special abilites) that can only be obtained after satisfying certain skill prerequisites. Each race is suited to a different set of skills (Leadership for example does nothing for the Necropolis as their morale is always neutral regardless).
The battlefield does get boring after playing the game for a while, but I guess most people tend to be involved more with the combat itself then minding the backdrop or the layout of the battlefield.
Graphics
======================================
Overall, graphics have received an overhaul from the designers. However, due to the fact that the game is now in 3d, its minimum system specifications have tripled from HOMM4 and with my ATI Radeon 9600 and 768mb RAM, zooming out from the map can cause major processing delays. The game also slows down when I move my screen close to Lava based or Mountain based terrains and when I enter a town.
However if you have a powerful enough system, the interface looks stunningly beautiful. Colours blend well with each other and creatures and ambiance are rendered very nicely in a cartoonish fashion.
Sound
======================================
Nothing that makes this section of the game stand out. Sound is average and the music is engrossing, but like every other game gets repetitive after spending some time with the game.
My Tilt
======================================
I really enjoyed the campaign. I have not yet tried going through it on difficulties beyond Normal, but I have heard that the difficult curve rises exponentially. So if you are a hardcore HOMM fan (or a turned based game fan in general) looking a good challenge, try beating the campaign on the most difficult, otherwise my recommendation is to try the normal setting and go through the storyline which in itself is very well written and presented.