From the immersive music to the beautifully cartoony models, Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is an incredibly enjoyable game
Basically, it's a turn based strategy game. You can build armies in your town and then join them up with a hero.
Your hero has to complete certain objectives to beat the level.
On the map, your hero "icon" will encounter creatures, and when you run into one it enters the combat scene, where your units are represented by a single creature of that type per "stack", with a little number representing how many is in the stack.
You can split your armies up into different stacks, if you want to.
I think of it as though it's a game of cards. You have a stack of spades; but you can only see the one on the top. However, you have labelled the stack to show how many is in it. If you want to, you could cut the stack so you have 2 stacks with half the cards in each. Well, that's the general idea, anyway.
Enough of the cards metaphor.
So, different units can move different distances on the battlefield, and attack enemy creatures, dealing different amounts of damage depending on the quality of the unit.
If you win the fight, you gain experience and your hero may level up.
Your hero will learn spells and skills for usage in combat or on the main map with each level.
You can upgrade your town to produce better units, spells, and income. You run around the map collecting goodies of all kinds, and generally attacking creatures, taking relics, and capturing enemy castles and heroes.
It's that standard formula, yes, but it's the way it's executed that really matters.
The 2d graphics are fantastic. Not the "mind-blowing-next-gen-fps-graphics" kind of fantastic. They're fantastic in a different way.
The creatures look great, and they move how you would expect them to -
From the shuffling limp of the Zombie to the rigid stomp of the Iron Golem.
The towns are all breathtakingly beautiful.
The barbaric Stronghold is my favourite – you can see canyons and arid, rocky plains stretching out in the background.
The Tower also holds some amazing views – frosty mountains that rival Everest, and some really high towers, as the name suggests!
The sounds in this game are pretty good. You hear a pleasant ding that changes pitch every time you collect some resources or open a chest on the map, which I thought was a nice touch.
The battle music fits nicely, but what I like best is the music that plays when you're in a town.
It's different for each town, of course. And it suits the faction you're playing PERFECTLY.
It really helps to set the atmosphere of the game.
Game-play-wise, all the factions are balanced, and are each a blast to play.
You get a real thrill when you conquer an enemy town.
It's all got a very polished feel, and I've not encountered any bugs whatsoever.
Overall, it's very hard to find a single fault with HOMM3. It's a superb strategy game, with immersive graphics and rock solid game-play mechanics.