By John Walker on August 16th, 2011 at 6:01 pm.
Here’s a Might & Magic two-news-stories-for-one for you. Below we have the latest trailer for Might IV Heroes Of & Magic or whatever it’s called this time. But then there’s a surprise – the formerly console-only Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes is now making its way to PC next month. There are details about that below as well.
Originally a DS game in 2009, Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes eventually made its way to 360 and PS3 earlier this year. Four months on and the RPG reaches the PC, but with a slew of improvements. I think.
Ubisoft describes it thus,
“Might and Magic Clash of Heroes takes place 40 years before the Heroes V saga. Scattered across five different regions of Ashan, 5 young heroes must travel their own dangerous paths to grow in strength, unravel a demonic plot, and ultimately save the world from Chaos.”
For PC, says Ubisoft, the game is getting HD graphics, online multiplayer, and “exclusive items to unlock as well as a 1 versus 1 offline hot seat mode”. Then there’s a pre-order offer via the UbiStore that will see early adopters getting the first DLC free, which gives you new bosses to fight against.
The issue is, the console release was HD too, back in April, so it makes the claim that the PC version is improved by such a thing a little odd. Not sure what’s happening there. Anyhoo. The other good news is it appears it won’t be using Ubi’s despicable ‘always on’ DRM, rather just a single activation. I can tell that from this pack shot:
And, as promised, there’s the Gamescom trailer for VI & Might: Magic Heroes Of, right here:
16/08/2011 at 18:07 pakoito says:
Clash of Heroes was a game I’d rather liked having it had better multiplayer. The problem was clear imbalance between factions and artifacts, but still I think if they had cared and implemented an online pairing system it’d had been great. The single player story was meh, meh, meh, meeeeeeeeeh.
Still thinking on making my GameMaker clone of the engine -.-
16/08/2011 at 18:09 Drinking with Skeletons says:
Definitely want to try out Clash of Heroes and see if its anything good. Still waiting to hear about DRM before I jump on board the VI bandwagon.
Has anyone figured out Ubisoft’s pattern for their DRM? I mean, some games get it and some games don’t. I thought maybe they were going to do it for cross-platform titles to encourage console sales, but Settlers 7 and From Dust disprove that.
Is there a budgetary thing here? A mult-platform game makes its way to PC after two separate versions across three platforms, so it just has a token activation, since they’ve already made their profit, while simultaneously released games with an obviously high development cost–such as Assassin’s Creed–get ultra-chained-up to keep us filthy, scheming PC gamers from impacting sales through piracy, which we do constantly, for all games, at all hours of the day and night.
16/08/2011 at 18:34 Heliocentric says:
Seems not, ass creed 2 started always on and dropped it, brotherhood has never had always on, but settlers 7 (is it 7? the names confuse me) has always had always on.
I don’t get it, I’ll never buy an always on game, and yes steams offline mode gets them off from this clause.
16/08/2011 at 18:49 Archonsod says:
Settlers 7 is designed to be always on within the game itself though, so the DRM doesn’t really matter – the devs didn’t bother with an offline mode even without U Play.
16/08/2011 at 20:17 UnravThreads says:
MMH VI has been confirmed to not have the Always-On DRM, but I can’t remember what it has instead.
16/08/2011 at 18:14 Stephen Roberts says:
A trailer for a trailer? I buy games from ten years back for pennies, and they run like a dream on my modern computer box. And the patching is smoother. And the mods are done. And the various DLC are all bundled in. And the multiplayer servers are dead. And the internet is full of bug fixes and tweak guides. Anf I’m not actually going to post this, just like always.
16/08/2011 at 18:16 Spider Jerusalem says:
I feel like I’ve known Clash of Heroes was coming out on PC for a while.
I don’t know why I’ve known this, though.
16/08/2011 at 18:22 Drinking with Skeletons says:
Probably because this was announced a while ago. Destructoid posted this back in July; don’t know why RPS is so out of the loop about a PC Port.
16/08/2011 at 18:26 Spider Jerusalem says:
That’s an acceptable reason.
16/08/2011 at 18:17 Unaco says:
Was that the Gamescon Trailer for the game? Or was that the Trailer for the Gamescon Trailer (which is out on the morrow) for the game? Is the trailer for the trailer the new thing these days?
Also, are you allowed to post about Might&Magic
JimJohn*? Have you been to Might&Magic University and got your degree? Did you spend the weekend cramming up on Might&Magic so you are ‘strongly familiar’ with the franchise, and so can speak with authority?*Sure this was written by Jim when I commented.
16/08/2011 at 18:17 Hardtarget says:
new Ubisoft PC game eh? so how long till the delay announcement?
16/08/2011 at 18:23 Doesntmeananything says:
Might & Magic Clash of Heroes for PC delayed.
16/08/2011 at 18:18 gritz says:
Please start making regular Might and Magic games again, thanks.
16/08/2011 at 18:25 John Walker says:
Really?
But they were… awful.
16/08/2011 at 18:28 Xerophyte says:
I admit, my hopes were briefly raised that the double-whammy would involve making an actual Might and Magic game. Alas, said hopes were again dashed against the hard cliffs of endless spinoffs.
Of course, if ever they do announce a Might and Magic game again it will no doubt be a lifeless, streamlined abomination fit only to mock for it’s lack of word puzzles and inappropriate Star Trek references. It’s a cold, cruel world out there.
16/08/2011 at 18:37 Soon says:
The normal Might & Magic games are my guilty pleasure. Most things about them are terrible (except the music), but I love them so.
16/08/2011 at 18:54 Wizardry says:
Games (and series) that the Might and Magic series is better than:
Mass Effect
Dragon Age
Gothic
Two Worlds
Fallout
The Elder Scrolls
Icewind Dale
Baldur’s Gate
Planescape: Torment
Neverwinter Nights
Drakensang
Knights of the Old Republic
Alpha Protocol
Deus Ex
And many more. Games (and series) that are definitely superior to the Might and Magic series:
Wizardry
Games (and series) that John Walker likes that are superior to the Might and Magic series:
16/08/2011 at 18:58 coldvvvave says:
I loved Might and Magic 6, 7 and even 8.
What a shame.
16/08/2011 at 19:09 Hanban says:
@Wizardry
I disagree with you on almost every account.
16/08/2011 at 19:14 DrGonzo says:
Better than Planescape? This keyboard doesn’t have enough lol to express how I feel about that.
16/08/2011 at 19:17 Khemm says:
Might&Magic 3-7 >>>>>>> Fallout 3 and Oblivion which some people actually like (LOL)
16/08/2011 at 19:24 Vinraith says:
@gritz
Don’t wish for that. Seriously, don’t. As much as I’d love to have a real Might and Magic game come along, or indeed anything similar, you know that’s not what you’d get if they “rebooted” the series.
Somewhere along the line the “games should be about stories” folks won the battle over the “games should be about gameplay” folks, at least in the mainstream, AAA industry. Nobody makes mechanics-heavy RPG’s anymore, and that’s a crying shame.
16/08/2011 at 19:54 Soon says:
Are there any decent indie creations along the lines of M&M? They seem like good fodder for it.
16/08/2011 at 20:20 Nick says:
They weren’t awful, but they weren’t that good either. Although I prefered M&M3 and World(s?) of Xeen to the later ones, they were good. The realtime with turn based upon pressing enter thing and ugly bad 3D stuff in 6 and 7 annoyed me, that and the sort of aimlessness I felt in them.
As for games like them (aside from Wizardry series, but I only really like the last 3 of it, 8 especially) well, there were two called Yendorian Tales Chapter 2 and 3 (chapter 1 wasn’t like M&M) which I quite enjoyed, reminded me a lot of MM3 and a game called Wizards and Warriors that I’ve not payed as I could never find the damn thing after hearing about it, but I’m sure there are ways.
(tbh I enjoyed most of those games listed more than M&M, or at least as much as in some cases).
16/08/2011 at 20:21 Lars Westergren says:
@Vinraith
It’s hardly the fault of better stories that mechanics have become simpler in big budget games. It’s rather the constant drive to be more streamlined, accessible and action packed, in order to appeal to the broadest audience and maximize chances that they make a profit.
16/08/2011 at 20:43 blind_boy_grunt says:
@wizardry
Isn’t it depressing to read about all the games that are not wizardry and thus are clearly inferior? What do you get from coming here? I don’t go to a sims site to check up on what new addons they sell, because it just doesn’t interest me. I’m really not saying “go away” or anything, i’m just wondering.
Or: What games do you actually look forward to?
16/08/2011 at 20:54 TillEulenspiegel says:
It’s not “better stories”, it’s the focus on telling a story over creating an interesting game, which goes hand in hand with
16/08/2011 at 20:54 Gassalasca says:
@Wizardry – hyperbolic, sir, but generally right on the money.
16/08/2011 at 21:15 Vinraith says:
@Lars Westergren
I sincerely believe that the two go together. Streamlining, ultimately, is about taking choice away from the player. Authorial story telling, ultimately, requires taking choice away from the player. You can’t shoe-horn a game experience into a linear (or semi-linear) narrative without removing a lot of player control.
Edit: Also, what Till said.
16/08/2011 at 21:58 d32 says:
Nooo, don’t call them awful, don’t! I loved them when I was a teen. Until this day I even thought they had a critical acclaim (especially the sixth one).
@vinraith: Drakensang has pretty heavy mechanics.
17/08/2011 at 00:19 Soon says:
Early days, but this looks promising: Legend of Grimrock
17/08/2011 at 06:20 icemann says:
Damn straight
17/08/2011 at 07:03 Lars Westergren says:
@Vinraith
>Authorial story telling, ultimately, requires taking choice away from the player. You can’t shoe-horn a game experience into a linear (or semi-linear) narrative without removing a lot of player control.
I disagree, I think Deus Ex, the games of Troika, Obsidian and (especially early) Bioware shows that you can have strong narratives and yet allow a lot of player freedom in both which goals to select and how to achieve them.
Mechanical and gameplay complexity is orthogonal to narrative, storydriven complexity.
16/08/2011 at 18:25 noexes says:
PC Clash of Heroes!!?! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!
16/08/2011 at 18:39 Casimir's Blake says:
So, still no Might & Magic X then?
All this strategy/RTS Heroes nonsense makes me fall alseep. :(
16/08/2011 at 18:51 jp0249107 says:
Seeing that trailer tells me that if they were to make Might and Magic’s battle system realtime with tons of soldiers in a total war-esque sense, I would die from happiness. DO IT DEVS!
16/08/2011 at 18:53 Dominic White says:
Clash of Heroes is rather ace. As much as some people freak out over the Teen Titans-esque art style (plot-wise, it’s actually a prequel to HoMM5), it works very well given the puzzle-combat nature of the game. Very clean, clear and crisp and with beautiful hand-painted backgrounds.
The gameplay is rather special, too. It really does feel like a logical hybrid of Magical Drop-esque puzzle game and HoMM combat, with all the standard units and play mechanics coming into use.
16/08/2011 at 19:21 edededdd says:
Better than Planescape?
spree shoping
go to http://bit.ly/n6SVQy
16/08/2011 at 21:12 Daiv says:
You may be a spambot, but that doesn’t excuse the sheer wrongness of your wrongness.
16/08/2011 at 22:48 IDtenT says:
Spambots are starting to talk like youtube comment makers. Be scared, very very scared. Soon they will have a higher IQ than your average Internet person.
16/08/2011 at 23:30 Hypocee says:
http://xkcd.com/810/
16/08/2011 at 21:44 Hypocee says:
If Ubi doesn’t infect it get excited about this, folks! Even the laughably imbalanced (Elves, who you play for the first chapter, have a ‘Win Game’ button) DS version was one of the finest puzzlers I’ve ever touched. Like Tidalis, it fosters an unusual degree of planning. There’s little that feels as good as levering yourself out of serious trouble by spotting a two-layer wall chain.
17/08/2011 at 04:33 orranis says:
Looks like the spambots have broken through again. Oh, why do they even bother?
17/08/2011 at 05:03 JCDenton says:
“VI & Might: Magic Heroes Of”
Hahaha! Well put. It’s a filthy name change. I’m a huge fan of Might & Magic 6 & 7, and Heroes of Might & Magic 1-4.
17/08/2011 at 07:47 BobsLawnService says:
Oh, look, anime.
17/08/2011 at 15:50 CMaster says:
One has to question if Ubisoft know what they are doing.
This doesn’t sound very contemporary.