Might and Magic Heroes Kingdoms – Review

Heroes of Might and Magic is one of those classic fantasy franchises which everyone seems to have played at one time or another and has seen a release on every console known to man. Well, Ubisoft has revived the franchise in the form of a browser-based strategy MMO which will allow anyone to play simply by paying the subscription and going to game’s website.

Browser-based MMOs are becoming ever popular, mainly because they’re all inclusive. You have a computer, you can play. They don’t need flashy graphics cards or high-end machines. The downside to this is, of course, the complexity of the games. In order to run on every system they’re often much simpler than traditional MMOs like Aion or WoW. This can sometimes mean basic gameplay or awful graphics but Heroes of Might and Magic Kingdoms simplifies this by creating a good game with simple gameplay which feels more like an RTS than an MMO.

The idea of the game is to defend your city from an onslaught of demons and denizens by way of fortifying your city, sending your troops to clear out zombie-infested mines and using the ore to build important buildings – like a pub. In some ways, Heroes of Might and Magic Kingdoms is a bit like Sim City meets a casual game like Farmville. While you have a hero as an avatar, the main control system of Kingdoms is a God-like one where you move troops, maintain your city’s defenses and generally try to keep everything ticking over.

The main screen shows your city in a grid format which can be zoomed in and out, and each city comes with a certain number of mines which offer materials which can help you create new buildings. Of course, these mines need to be flushed out, and this involves sending your hero in. The battles themselves are all about sending troops to aid your hero and pitching them against enemy forces. If you’re successful then you’ll receive a congratulatory battle report delivered to an in-game mailbox.

The game really does feel like Sim City but with an MMO twist. There are other people and things that want to seize your town, and your city continues to exist when you log off. Fortunately though, Kingdoms has a nice way of making sure no harm comes while you’re offline in the shape of a night-time mode. During this period, armies are forced to stay in their home town so there won’t be any skirmishes or sneak attacks. A side effect of this is that it also limits how long you can play online for.

Might and Magic Heroes Kingdoms is never going to be competition for the big MMOs, but it’s not meant to be. It stands firmly in the realm of casual gaming, designed to be played whenever you have free time, without worrying that you’ll still be playing at 3am. Basically, it’s the MMO version of Farmville, and that is why it’s likely to be successful, even if there’s a subscription involved.

blog comments powered by Disqus