Wynams also points out this project to overhaul HoMM V - and in particular, the AI. I'm not clear what the project is called but you can find the details at Eternal Essence, which is an original TBS strategy project the team is also working on. Here's the overview:

The primary goal of this project is to reimagine Heroes V and to create a strategy game that comes close to the vision its fans have. This includes the AI, new refined adaptable gameplay rules and enhancements to the original game, an advanced modding interface, better tools and a new campaign.

Heroes V can be much more than just the little brother of Heroes VI. It can be an independently evolving strategy game that is driven by a community and emerges as the premier modding destination for this genre. It is a unique project in the industry, for a community to take the reigns of a mature strategy title and to create a blueprint for a more advanced game.

It is also meant to excel in a number of ways and to provide an incentive to the developers of Heroes VI to create a game and add-ons that are more ambitious than what Heroes V has achieved. 

You can grab build 3.1 from this page.

Mastertronic sent us a press release on a new Heroes of Might & Magic pack that contains the first five games and seven expansions for the UK:

Heroes of Might & Magic^® Complete to be published by Mastertronic

Mastertronic announces the first five Heroes of Might & Magic ^® will be available to buy as a collection for PC on 21st April 2011

Mastertronic, UK’s leading independent publisher of computer and video games, today announced the release of Heroes of Might & Magic Complete under license from Ubisoft®. The Heroes of Might & Magic Complete collection offers superb value, bringing together the first five Heroes of Might & Magic titles, plus seven add-ons and expansion packs.

Mastertonic’s Product Director Neil McKenna said: “The Heroes of Might and Magic series has been around for more than 15 years and continues to prove popular with strategy gamers old and new. This collection gives gamers a chance to buy the first five Heroes of Might & Magic titles with seven add-ons in one affordable package. That’s literally hundreds of hours of video game enjoyment available for the price of a single game. The collection offers excellent value to those new to the series and to gamers who would like to pick up a collection of Heroes of Might & Magic titles.”

Steam has some Might & Magic games and bundles on their weekend sale, with Heroes of Might & Magic V for $4.99 and a complete bundle with both expansions for $12.99.

You can also nab the action game Dark Messiah for $4.99 or grab the whole lot for $19.96.

HoMMV: Tribes of the East has been patched to v3.1, adding widescreen support among other tweaks and fixes.  Grab links here on the Ubisoft forums and read the notes here at M&M fansite Celestial Heavens.

Thanks, Angelspit!

Ubisoft has announced a web-based persistent-state HoMM game called Kingdoms.  You can check out the website and here's the official press release:

LONDON, UK –13th December, 2007 – Today Ubisoft, one of the world’s largest video game publishers, announced that Heroes of Might and Magic® Kingdoms , a new Web-based game in the critically-acclaimed Heroes of Might and Magic series is being developed for a Spring 2008 worldwide launch.

Heroes of Might and Magic Kingdoms is a strategy game set in a persistent version of the heroic-fantasy world of Heroes of Might and Magic. Thousands of players will be able to rule their virtual kingdoms, lead gigantic armies against each other, master the trades or create legendary heroes. The game requires no download or installation, only an Internet connection. In addition, players can play at their own pace; from 10 minutes to multiple-hour sessions.

“This is a new type of game for Ubisoft, one that allows you to jump into a rich and complex universe just with your Web browser,” said Serge Hascoët, Chief Creative Officer. “Heroes of Might and Magic Kingdoms will open a wide door to the Might and Magic universe, allowing players to immerse themselves within it unlike ever before.”

An exclusive key for the beta test is hidden in the Heroes of Might and Magic Complete Edition that releases today, you can also register on www.hommkingdoms.com.

Eurogamer  posts their review and impressions of Ubisoft's and Nival's standalone expansion to Heroes of Might & Magic 5, Tribes of the East, scoring it 5/10:

The [Orc] army's special trait is their Blood Rage ("borrowed" from World of Warcraft's warrior class, if I remember correctly.) The more damage that the Stronghold faction causes in battle the more blood points their units get. These blood points act as both a defensive barrier, being used up in the place of damage, or are used to level up Blood Rage, which we guess gives you damage bonuses. Unfortunately, we found it very hard to find out exactly what effect this has, as it differs from unit to unit. (We even looked at the manual to try and work it out, a desperate step for a reviewer) It's a perfectly solid mechanic, forcing you to attack relentlessly with units rather than defending, it's also just a little too obscure as you don't know how much it's helping....

...The addictiveness is still there; 12 hours sitting in front of the PC on a Saturday night with nowt but penny sweets for company testifies to that. But now the difficulty is so amazingly high, it's a struggle to get through the campaigns; that 12 hours was spent in one mission, which I couldn't even finish because the game is tougher than Gillen's Zebu steaks (tough, believe us). Yes, this might be designed for the hardcore HOMMV players...

How is it so tough? Well, even on the normal difficulty level you start with very few troops and the enemy creeps are just slightly too high-level. You bleed soldiers in every encounter, and every enemy stack seems rather too high-level, so you have to choose your fights exceedingly carefully. Weirdly, the new campaigns give you a taster of all the factions, which indicates that the expansion was aimed at luring new gamers into the franchise before the inevitable sequel in the next twelve months or so.

75% is the score for HoMMV: Tribes of the East at YouGamers, with several "annoyances" bringing the score down:

This fifth installment managed to build heavily on the gameplay of Heroes of Might & Magic III (arguably the most successful implementation), but also absorbed some of the advancements made in the otherwise weak 4th game. Whilst the formula seemed to be exactly what fans wanted, a lot of minor (and not so minor...) annoyances spoiled the fun to some extent, robbing an otherwise great effort from its potential glory.

1Up has posted a short review of Nival's standalone expansion to thier fantasy strategy entry in the Heroes of Might and Magic series, HoMM5, Tribes of the East, with an overall positive opinion and a score of 7/10:

If you don't like the Heroes model of high-fantasy construction, combat, and conquest, Tribes of the East won't do it for you. Everyone else gets a beefy, feature-laden stand-alone product so packed with content as to nearly qualify as a full game on its own. Tribes wraps up the single-player Heroes V storyline and introduces the Orc faction, thus far seen only as villains in Dark Messiah or mentioned in passing in Heroes. Their units, techniques, and unique mechanics differentiate the Orc experience nicely. Orcs are tribal folk whose behavior and use of magic is different to other races' strategies; their most striking aspect is Blood Rage, a feature that protects your troops from damage and increases as your troops fight with mindless aggression, but plummets if you defend or even pause on the battlefield. High-level Orc creatures, such as Cyclopes and Pao Kai Wyverns, come straight out of Dark Messiah and fit elegantly into the strategic game.

GamesRadar has posted a review of Nival's stand alone expansion  to the fantasy TB  strategy title Heroes of Might and Magic 5, Tribes of the East, rating it 7/10:

 Other nifty new features include the alternative upgrade patch for units, the ability to retain your heroes, selling artifacts in the marketplace, collecting special artifact sets (hey didn’t Diablo do this a few years ago?) and sacrificing troops for experience. This last bit is nice if you’re trying to quickly race up the level tree, but most players will likely find that keeping peasants around as cannon fodder is more useful than a small experience boost.

Ultimately, Tribes of the East is a solid follow-up to an already engaging franchise. Players with a lot of time invested in Heroes of Might and Magic V are going to appreciate the engine tweaks and thoroughly enjoy giving it a go with the Orcs. Those new to the series however would probably be better served by looking for a copy of the original game and playing through that before moving on.

Heroes of Might and Magic fansite Celestial Heavens has posted a detailed walkthru for the prologue scenario of Nival's standalone HoMM5 expansion Tribes of the East, featuring a run down of the new Stronghold (Orc) faction and how best to utilize their unique skills, including the Blood Rage ability.

Obviously, a detailed walkthru contains SPOILERS so bear this in mind when following the link. 

Gamespot has posted their review of Nival's standalone expansion pack to HoMM5, Tribes of the East, rating it at 5.5:

The three campaigns carry over from last year's Hammers of Fate expansion. You start by guiding an orcish rebellion with the Stronghold in a single mission, move on to the Necropolis faction, then to the Academy, and finally wrap up back with the orcs. Influence from the Dark Messiah of Might & Magic action game can be seen throughout the campaigns, especially in the Necropolis section, which revives that game's big baddie, the necromancer Arantir. Thankfully, you don't have to have any familiarity with Dark Messiah to understand what's going on here.

There are some new creatures, some new spells, some new sets of magical artifacts, and a revamped promotion scheme that provides alternate upgrades for units (though most aren't exactly imaginative). There are also a handful of new multiplayer and scenario maps, but you'd really have a tough time telling the new stuff from the old without the feature list sitting in front of you. The look and sound of the expansion seem to be exactly the same as in the original Heroes, too. Yet with all that said, there remains something in this formula that is still extremely addictive. Even with the repetitions forced on you by the harder missions and the same-old, same-old overall design, it's hard to stop playing...at least if you're a Heroes V fan who hasn't gotten enough yet.

In more HoMM5 news today, Ubisoft has released the latest patch for Nival's fantasty strategy title Heroes of Might and Magic 5. The fix list contains many of the new features in the recently released Tribes of the East expansion. Here's a summary from fansite Celestial Heavens:

Kingdom Overview

Extended Number of Turns on Cursor

Wait Button

Sleep Mode for Heroes

Threat Indicator for Enemy Stacks

Autocombat Without Magic

The complete list of fixes as well as the patch  is available at  FileShack and you can also pick it up at GamersHell and Ubisoft. 

Thanks again, Dark Savant! 

Dark Savant writes in to point out this review at IGN of Nival's standalone HoMM5 expansion Tribes of the East, which gives the turn-based fantasty strategy title 7.9 out of 10:

It's about time we got a chance to play around with the Orcs in the world of Might & Magic. We've beaten on the ubiquitous Orc soldiers so much that it's only fair that UbiSoft and Nival's latest stand alone expansion pack, Tribes of the East, lets players take charge of the orangey savages and fight the bad fight. A whole range of leaders who combine the best parts of both Genghis Khan and the Sierra Club add loads of personality to the new faction as they struggle to compete in the cutthroat world of Heroes of Might & Magic.

There's also some news about a HoMM5 Complete Edition set for European release at fansite Celestial Heavens:

 The French page of the official Might and Magic portal (which has gone through an orcish makeover since I last went there) announces an upcoming Complete Edition of the whole Heroes of Might and Magic series. The new package will include (take a deep breath) all games of the series, from A Strategic Quest to Tribes of the East, a three CD soundtrack, a high quality art book with Heroes V artwork, a bonus DVD with trailers, diaries and wallpapers, a poster, a t-shirt, the fan manual, a creature chart, a tarot card game and a Dark Messiah map. Only 20,000 copies will be released worldwide, in December. Check out the official site to view more pictures.

Edit: I learned that the Heroes Chronicles games will not be included (but I doubt there will be a riot because of that). Also, the Dark Messiah map is a playable Heroes map based on Dark Messiah (wow!).

Here is the info at the official French site and U.K. edition details can be found here. 

Thanks, Dark Savant! 

Ubisoft has announced HoMMV: Tribes of the East is now shipping in NA:

SAN FRANCISCO – October 17, 2007 - Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced today that Heroes of Might & Magic® V: Tribes of the East for the PC has shipped to retailers nationwide. Developed by Nival Interactive, this stand-alone product will allow both long-time fans and series newcomers to enjoy the dramatic evolution and conclusion of the Heroes® V experience. Heroes of Might & Magic® V: Tribes of the East is rated "T” for Teen and has an MSRP of $29.99.

About Heroes of Might & Magic® V: Tribes of the East For the first time, play as the Orc faction and recruit heroes, build armies and manage cities as you explore and conquer legendary lands. Use tactics, skills and magic to outsmart fantasy armies while developing your heroes and unveiling the dark plot that threatens to tear the world of Ashan apart.

Heroes of Might & Magic® V: Tribes of the East chronicles the final chapter in the epic struggle that began with the interrupted wedding of Queen Isabel. Players will follow the steps of the Necrolord Arantir as he uncovers the prophecy of the Dark Messiah of Might and Magic(TM) and exposes the Demon Sovereign's conspiracy.

Following this brilliant conclusion to the Heroes of Might & Magic® V story, the world of Ashan will never be the same again…

KEY FEATURES:

• New Orc Faction: First made famous in Dark Messiah of Might and Magic(TM), the brutal Orc faction now comes to the Heroes® series. Savage, fiercely proud and resolutely independent, the Orcs put the "might” in Might and Magic®. This faction's troops include Orcs, Goblins, Cyclops and the famed Pao Kais.

• New Campaign: Experience the dramatic conclusion of the usurper Biara's reign. Discovering the demonic influence that corrupts the Haven knights, the savage Orc clans will take up arms to eradicate the Inferno threat. Characters from Dark Messiah of Might and Magic will also appear to bring an unexpected twist to this multi-layered plot. In addition, Tribes of the East will also feature 10 multiplayer and five single-player maps.

• New Upgrade Level: Every creature in the Heroes V universe will get an alternative upgrade level, increasing the total number of creatures in the Heroes of Might and Magic V line to over 170! These powerful new abilities are sure to become an integral part of your combat tactics.

• Extra Content: Expand your arsenal and gameplay with new spells, new artifacts, new buildings and innovative new features such as the combo-based Artifact Power Link and Battle Rage, the unique racial ability of the Orcs.

• Standalone Product: In order to allow both fans and newcomers to enjoy this dramatic conclusion to the Heroes V experience, Tribes of the East will be a standalone product – no previous Heroes game installations will be required to play.

First, Hooked Gamers has 5 new screens from Nival's soon to be released stand alone expansion  to HoMM5, Tribes of the East.

Also, Heroes of Might & Magic fansite Celestial Heavens has the news that a "Gold" compilation of HoMM5 including the basic game plus the first expansion, Hammers of Fate as well as Tribes of the East, will be released November 8th according to Amazon.de. No news of any such project elsewhere as yet that I could find.

For those who can read German, the details are here. 

Might and Magic fansite Celestial Heavens has the update that the demo for the standalone expansion to Nival's HoMM5: Tribes of the East, is now available at
FilePlanet.

You can also find it at FileShack, and Gamer's Hell, who give this summary of the 900 mb taste:

The demo features a key episode in the Heroes V storyline where players will follow Gotai, a young warlord of the Orc tribes, as he leads his armies in an invasion of the Griffin Empire. Players can control the new Orc faction by building cities, recruiting troops, and fighting battles with brand new creatures and discover the unstoppable power of the Orcs on the battlefield, using the all-new "Blood Rage" and "War Cries" features.

Heroes of Might and Magic fansite Celestial Heavens posts the news that a demo for the standalone HoMM5 expansion, Tribes of the East, is scheduled to hit Fileplanet on September 27. For full details, head here.

There's also some forum news about the King's Bounty remake coming from 1C at the same link. 

Dark Savant wrote in to point out a new trailer for HoMMV: Tribes of the East at Internode's gaming portal.

There is also a new dev diary on the official forums, looking at the Blood Rage ability.

HoMMV: Tribes of East has been previewed at GameSpy, with some hands-on impressions:

To get a feel for the expansion, we were given the opportunity to play the opening level of the new campaign, which follows Qurac's first forays into the human lands. During the mission (which is purely hero-based, there is no fortress), he'll travel about the land rescuing representatives of the four other races from the human that will eventually make up the new Orcish faction of "Bastion." The map also introduced two of the game's new strategic wrinkles that players will have to deal with. One is the Orc ability to pillage human farmsteads for money; the other is a new sacrificial altar that allows players to sacrifice low-level troops for leadership experience points. The second, at least, will certainly make for some interesting new strategic wrinkles as players weigh the pros and cons of expending resources to raise armies of useless creatures as sacrificial victims.

A couple of HoMMV: Tribes of the East previews have popped up.  Here's a bit from 1Up:

For those who have never played a Heroes of Might and Magic game before, Tribes of the East is a standalone title that includes five single-player levels lasting two to three hours apiece, 10 multiplayer maps, and a map editor. If you have Heroes V or Hammers of Fate, Tribes of the East will allow you to increase the level of your old characters by an extra ability point. It's not quite the same as adding brand new characters to the old games, but it's a nice bonus if you're attached to your previous armies. The in-game cut-scenes in Tribes of the East have also gotten a bit of an upgrade since Hammers, with new cinematic direction that portrays the story of the Orcish liberation as Braveheart with pointy ears.

...and IGN:

With 170 units total, a new campaign, 10 new multiplayer maps, and 5 new single player maps, Heroes of Might & Magic V: Tribes of the East looks to provide a pretty good expansion pack experience. Right now the game is slated to release sometime in September. Once we find out a more secure release date, we'll let you know.

Half a dozen screens from HoMMV: Tribes of the East can be found at Worthplaying.

Worthplaying has half a dozen screens from Heroes of Might & Magic V: Tribes of the East.

The Heroes of Might & Magic V v1.5 patch we've already posted about a dozen times has finally been released.  The Might & Magic official portal has a long list of mirrors, including Worthplaying, Strategy Informer and Gamers Hell.

The official Might & Magic portal is pointing to the patch notes for a HoMMV v1.5 update, which is apparently "coming soon".

Ubisoft has announced a standalone addition to the Heroes of Might & Magic V series titled Tribes of the East, and described as the "conclusion of the Heroes V experience".  The main attraction is the addition of the Orcs from Dark Messiah:

SAN FRANCISCO – April 5, 2007 - Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, announced today that Heroes of Might & Magic® V: Tribes of the East will arrive for the PC in Fall 2007. Developed by Nival Interactive, this stand-alone product will allow both long-time fans and series newcomers to enjoy the dramatic evolution and conclusion of the Heroes® V experience.

"With a vast array of new content and an engaging, epic narrative, Heroes of Might & Magic V: Tribes of the East will thrill devoted fans of the series,” said Tony Key, vice president of marketing for Ubisoft North America. "It's a fitting end to Heroes V – the most accessible chapter yet combined with the industry-leading quality that has made the Heroes franchise a benchmark for strategy gaming.”

About Heroes of Might & Magic® V: Tribes of the East For the first time, play as the Orc faction and recruit heroes, build armies and manage cities as you explore and conquer legendary lands. Use tactics, skills and magic to outsmart fantasy armies while developing your heroes and unveiling the dark plot that threatens to tear the world of Ashan apart.

Heroes of Might & Magic® V: Tribes of the East chronicles the final chapter in the epic struggle that began with the interrupted wedding of Queen Isabel. Players will follow the steps of the Necrolord Arantir as he uncovers the prophecy of the Dark Messiah of Might and Magic(TM) and exposes the Demon Sovereign's conspiracy.

Following this brilliant conclusion to the Heroes of Might & Magic® V story, the world of Ashan will never be the same again…

KEY FEATURES
• New Orc Faction: First made famous in Dark Messiah of Might & Magic(TM), the brutal Orc faction now comes to the Heroes series. Savage, fiercely proud, and resolutely independent, the Orcs put the "might” in Might & Magic. This faction's troops include Orcs, Goblins, Cyclops, and the famed Pao Kais.

• New Campaign: Experience the dramatic conclusion of the usurper Biara's reign. Discovering the demonic influence that corrupts the Haven knights, the savage clans of the Orcs will take up arms to eradicate the Inferno threat. Characters from Dark Messiah of Might & Magic(TM) will also appear to bring an unexpected twist to this multi-layered plot. In addition, tribes of the East will also feature 10 multiplayer and five single-player maps.

• New Upgrade Level: Every creature in the Heroes® V universe will get an alternative upgrade level, increasing the total number of creatures in the Heroes of Might & Magic® V line to over 170! These powerful new abilities are sure to become an integral part of your combat tactics.

• Extra Content: Expand your arsenal and gameplay with new spells, artifacts, buildings and innovative features such as the combo-based Artifact Power Link and Battle Rage, the unique racial ability of the Orcs.

• Standalone Product: In order to allow both fans and newcomers to enjoy this dramatic conclusion to the Heroes® V experience, Tribes of the East will be a standalone product – no previous Heroes game installations will be required to play.

Freeverse has released a Mac version of Heroes of Might & Magic V for any readers who'd prefer to use their Apple.

As anticipated, Ubisoft has released a new patch for Heroes of Might & Magic V (v1.41) and the Hammers of Fate expansion (v2.1), although the previously announced v1.5 seems to have been downgraded to 1.41. Head to the Might & Magic portal for a full list of mirrors.

Ubisoft's Heroes of Might & Magic forums has details of an upcoming v1.5 patch for HoMMV and Hammers of Fate v2.1, due to be released on Monday.  The patches change the "principles" of Necrmancy and Training and address a considerable number of balance and stability issues.  Hit this link for the anticipated patch notes.

Along with the v1.4 update for HoMMV comes news that Ubisoft has licensed the franchise for casino gaming machines.  Gamers rejoice:

Cyberview Technology to Develop Casino Version Of Ubisoft's 'Heroes of Might & Magic(R) V'
Thursday November 9, 2:00 am ET

-- New Games to Target Next Generation of Casino Players Raised on Video Games

 

LONDON & LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cyberview Technology (LSE:CYBS - News), a leading provider of secure server-based downloadable technology for the gaming industry, today announced an agreement with Ubisoft, one of the world's largest video game publishers, to develop games for casinos and other gaming venues based on Ubisoft's hit title, "Heroes of Might & Magic® V." Ubisoft games have been sought after by millions of players and have been recognized with industry awards for innovation in game play, technology, graphics and character design.

Worthplaying let us know that a v1.4 patch for Heroes of Might & Magic V has been released that "adds new features, and the usual improvements, balance tweaks, bug and crash fixes."  The major new feature seems to be paper dolls for Heroes, along with a raft of tweaks and fixes.

Q: What are the main abilities of this new faction?

FC: Dwarves will have a specific magic school, the rune magic. They are the only ones who can access and use it. They have runes on themselves or on their equipment. The rune mage (the dwarven hero) commanding the army can activate these runes by spending resources (not mana). So you will have to be careful of choosing the right moment to activate them and not waste resources! Runes will have various effects such as allowing a unit to attack twice or to dispel any negative spell effects.

Come see the game that could have been absolutely awesome. It's still pretty good, and it will last you forever.

Some of you amongst the audience may be wondering why I am just now writing up a review for Heroes of Might and Magic V when it came out sometime in June or July or whatever. It is not because I just now got around to playing the game. It is because I have been "getting around to playing it" for the past two months. I make it my general policy to not review games I have not yet beaten, which I like to think improves the quality of said reviews. Regardless, this game took forever to beat. This is because it is A) a turn based strategy, B) has no less than six races, C) each and every race has a huge campaign. That makes no less than six single-player campaigns. On a turn-based game. Jesus Christ it took forever. But it's done now, so I can tell you all about it.

Could you please tell us more about the content of this add-on?

The dwarves make their entrance in the world of Might and Magic and bring along a whole new kind of gameplay. There is also a campaign that is worth half the one from Heroes 5, SP and MP maps and all the stuff around that (artefacts, spells, etc.). Furthermore what we wanted to include in this add-on are the features all fans are craving and going around in circles to get. These features appeared secondary to the game experience and couldn't make their way into the development or budget of Heroes 5 but are finally available.

Ubisoft sends along a new patch for Heroes of Might and Magic V, bringing the US downloadable edition of the recent medieval fantasy 3D turn-based strategy sequel by Nival Interactive to version 1.01, in sync with the earlier retail upgrades. As before, this update adds an Easy diifficulty level, an auto-patcher, and a long list of gameplay tweaks, bug fixes and other changes as detailed in the accompanying release notes.

The lack of non-campaign mission maps is similarly frustrating: for a franchise that has long given its fans a wealth of replayability via standalone maps and a do-it-yourself editor, the reliance on well-executed but still stingy multiplayer features to provide replayability just feels cheap.

Maybe we'll need another patch for that. In the meantime, there's still dozens upon dozens of hours of fun to be had here as is.

If you don't have a Ubi.com account already, click here to register.

Check the opt-in box to receive communication from Ubisoft (we will distribute the maps to you via email).

Do this before July 21st.

Receive your new maps at the end of the month.

Enjoy!

Game-play wise, HOMMV is both engaging and rewarding. I found myself utterly drawn into the simple, yet deceptively deep gaming which the game provides. Much of the game is spent on the overland map, and it's here that you'll move your hero (and in turn, his army), manage your town and recruit troops. The map is packed full of items and locations, which really stop the tactical overland screen from becoming drab and an annoying diversion from combat. There is a strange excitement from exploring each new map and hunting for items. Once you've used up all your hero's movement points, you simply click turn over and wait for the computer to move. At some point though, that army you've been meticulously grooming will have to earn its keep, and combat is where HOMMV really starts to shine.

Two of the game's main drawcards are notable by their absence. Heroes of Might and Magic V shipped minus a map editor and random map generator; however these will reportedly be made available in future updates, along with patch material and additional features. The first update is out now and includes a new Easy difficulty level. It is most important to download the correct update for your region and product, since there are different versions for the collector's and standard edition of Heroes of Might and Magic V. After sifting through many posts on the HoMM forums, we installed the European patch, which runs with no problems whatsoever.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about HoMM V is that, while combat is an obvious focus of the game, it isn't where the player will spend most of his time. Instead, the game consists of a great deal of exploration during which the hero will discover troops to add to his army, gold, spells, and even experienced-filled treasure chests. Using this experience, the hero will level up and begin to learn new talents which pass various upgrades and skills down the line to every creature under his control. While the combat is a ton of fun, I honestly had a better time with the exploration of the map and the discovery of the treasures which littered it, each of which conferred some bonus or power to assist in the more visceral aspects of the game.

They have done something interesting in this game which allows for a bit more adventure and exploration. Your hero can only travel so much for the day before you have to end your turn and progress to the next day. As the days turn to weeks you then enter into the Week of the Golem or the Week of the Colossus or some such and each creature week causes that creature to appear at random on the map. If you spend enough time roving the map, capturing resources and the like, the map will soon be littered with creatures.

Heroes of Might and Magic has been around for quite some time. I remember with joy the days when I played Heroes I! Back then, it represented something almost new to the gaming industry, it being a time based strategy. Over the years, it had several sequels, the most know and successful of them being Heroes of Might and Magic III. Seeing that it had such success, 3DO went even further and made another sequel, Heroes IV. This one was much different from any of its predecessors.

We published a fan-made game manual for Heroes of Might and Magic V. It's a printable PDF with lots of stats about heroes, skills, spells, buildings, etc. It will definitely make the game more fun for anyone who isn't familiar with the game yet. Fans seem to love it so far.

The battle system in Heroes 5 is mixed. The new system showing exactly where your units can move, as well as enemy units can move, and the initiative bar allows you to plan out your battle to incur as few losses as possible. Of course, there's still some randomness with how much damage is done (although now it gives you a range of kills when you hover over an enemy unit), as well as the lucky critical hits and morale/spell changes that may affect initiative. One thing I disagree with is the spread of damage, critical hits, and some of the undead units' ability to dodge a shot.

There are six single player campaigns, which can only be accessed by successively finishing them. Each campaign individually focuses on one of the six factions, which is pretty much a collection from the previous games. All the factions that players expect to be there are present, which is pretty much an ongoing theme for this game: Great delivery, with few surprises. There is the classic Haven faction, which works with angels and griffins pitted against the demonic Inferno faction. Somewhere in between are the Sylvan Elves, which is nature themed, the undead Necropolis, the Wizardry Academy, and finally the Dungeon dwelling faction. Each have unique units that go along with their faction-specific castles. The thing about these campaigns are that they start ridiculously easy. Many of the missions play out like long, drawn out tutorials which many of the enemy armies practically falling down in front of you. Then, all of sudden, things suddenly get incredibly hard, requiring players to fight long and hard for every bit of territory they claim. The difficulty comes out of nowhere and suddenly piles onto you without any real transition missions.

Pace is varied nicely throughout the campaigns, with the first couple of missions typically focussing on combat rather than town management and lasting only a couple of hours. The latter episodes in the campaigns are much more epic affairs, taking place on larger maps, with subterranean dungeons thrown in for good measure, which may take anything up to eight hours to conquer. So with 30 missions in the single-player campaigns, averaging around four hours each to complete, you're looking at well over 100 hours' worth of gameplay for your money; and that's before you even factor in the extensive multiplayer options and the standalone single scenario missions. That's a heck of a lot of game...

And bugs? A whole summer camp's worth of them. Random crashes, creature counts that tally inaccurately end of battle, mangled missions easily snapped by innocently completing objectives out of order, heroes that can attack through walls, and multiplayer games that de-sync like clumsy lovers -- to call HOMM5 playable would be accurate, but enjoyable? No way, Jose -- not yet, anyway. Never mind a klutzy A.I. incapable of wielding area damage spells or retreating from battles, no option to quit from battles, improper widescreen support, ten inadequate skirmish maps (and no map editor), and incongruous info feeds when clicking on objects. Series fanatic or no, you'll want a comprehensive patch addressing most of these issues before picking this one up. It's simply too big a mess at this point.

As we explained in our numerous previews, HOMM:V (an acronym sounding nearer to a corpulent Yankee car than a game) is striving to stick to the formula at all costs. We can finally reveal that... yes, they've done it. They've made another turn-based M&M strategy game and it's a good example of the series. However, does that mean the series bears up to scrutiny in the modern day?

Fans of the series will notice that Nival has played it very safe with this sequel. There are some notable improvements and additions, but overall the game feels very much like an updated version of any of the other titles in the franchise. While that might not be a bad thing for most gamers, those who have seen some of Nival's unique ideas in Blitzkrieg, Etherlords and Silent Storm might be wondering why Heroes V feels so familiar.