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Heroes of Might and Magic IV

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Heroes of Might and Magic IV
Developer(s)New World Computing
Publisher(s)The 3DO Company
Director(s)David Mullich
Producer(s)James W. Dickinson
Designer(s)Gus Smedstad
Programmer(s)Gus Smedstad
Artist(s)Joseph McGuffin
Fernando Castillo
Writer(s)Terry Ray
Composer(s)Paul Romero
Rob King
Steve Baca
Paul James
SeriesHeroes of Might and Magic
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
Release
March 28, 2002
  • The Gathering Storm
    Winds of War
Genre(s)Turn-based strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Heroes of Might and Magic IV is a turn-based strategy game developed by Gus Smedstad through New World Computing and published by the 3DO Company for Microsoft Windows-based personal computers in 2002. A Macintosh port was subsequently developed by Contraband Entertainment and released by the 3DO Company. The fourth installment of the popular Heroes of Might and Magic franchise, it is the sequel to Heroes of Might and Magic III, and was the last to be developed by New World Computing.

Gameplay

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Heroes of Might and Magic IV introduced a number of major changes to the series. There are six town types, and this time each has an ideological alignment: Life (Haven), Nature (Preserve), Chaos (Asylum), Death (Necropolis), Order (Academy), and Might (Stronghold). Apart from Might, which is neutral, each alignment is friendly to two others and antagonistic to two others.

Heroes

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Unlike previous games, where they had little active role in combat, heroes became present on the battlefield with their troops. They can attack, and be attacked. If a hero is killed in combat he/she must be brought to a friendly town to be revived. It is possible to have armies with more than one hero, or with no heroes at all, although armies without a hero are incapable of performing certain tasks, such as capturing enemy towns or structures.

The skill system also underwent a significant overhaul, and all Heroes of a given class start out with the same skills. The player has significantly more control over the development of the Hero than in previous games in the series, and Heroes "evolve" into over 40 different specialized classes. A Hero can select up to five of the nine available primary skills, and each primary skill makes available three secondary skills. Each of these 36 skills have five levels of progression as opposed to the three levels in the previous games.[6]

Heroes are now free to move about the battlefield.

Combat

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Both the adventure and combat maps were converted to a fixed-view isometric 3D display. The traditional hexagon-based battle grid was converted into a much higher-resolution square-based grid, making it easier to feature units of different sizes. Non-hero spellcasting units were given proper spell selections. Retaliation was allowed simultaneously with the attack, and ranged units were given the capability to retaliate against ranged attacks. Projectile attacks and spells now required direct line of sight to the target.

World map

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Each individual troop unit was given its own movement allowance on the adventure map, with units possessing the ability to split off independently of the main army; however, the troops can no longer be "shuttled" from hero to hero to move an army large distances in a single turn. Logistics were restricted by eliminating or weakening travel spells. This, in turn, was partially compensated for by the elimination of the need to revisit resource-producing structures each week, and the introduction of caravans, which can quickly and safely transport heroes and remotely recruit troops from external dwellings.

Units

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A small number of these skills are shared with earlier games, and some of the new skills can dramatically affect strategy (e.g., a Hero with Grandmaster Stealth is invisible to all non-allied units). Troop units may no longer be upgraded, and there are four recruitable ranks of unit in towns, down from seven. Each rank has two dwellings that can be built, but beyond the first rank, building one dwelling precludes the other. The creature dwellings themselves accumulate new creatures every day, as opposed to the start of each new week.[7] Unlike previous games, even unit types that can only be found on the adventure map and not in towns are all still associated with one of the six faction alignments.

Story

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The status display screen for a hero.

Following the events of Heroes Chronicles: The Sword of Frost, Gelu, the leader of Erathia's Forest Guard and wielder of Armageddon's Blade, attacks Kilgor, the Barbarian King of Krewlod, in an attempt to claim and destroy the Sword of Frost. As foretold by a prophecy, when Armageddon's Blade and the Sword of Frost clash in battle, the result is a massive explosion known as the Reckoning, which destroys the world of Enroth. Many of the inhabitants of the planet, however, escape through mysterious portals that appear during the Reckoning leading to another world, called Axeoth – also the setting for Might and Magic IX.[8] Included among the refugees are many of the heroes of previous installments of the series, and many return to their old ways shortly after arriving on their new home.

The story of Heroes of Might and Magic IV unfolds primarily through the game's six campaigns, each of which establishes how the major kingdoms of one of Axeoth's continents were forged in the wake of the Reckoning, and the arrival of the Enrothian refugees on Axeoth. Each of the campaigns centers on a faction leader, and tells the story of how that leader came to prominence. Unlike Heroes of Might and Magic III, all of the six campaigns are accessible from the beginning, and each unfolds as a stand-alone tale.

  • In the Haven campaign, The True Blade, Lysander, a loyal knight formerly in the service of Queen Catherine Ironfist, rules over the nascent kingdom of Palaedra, inhabited mainly by refugees from the kingdom of Erathia. His command, however, is challenged by a usurper named Sir Worton, who claims to be the only surviving heir to the Gryphonheart dynasty. Many of Lysander's generals are drawn to Worton, forcing the lord to expose Worton as a fraud or lose control of his kingdom.[9]
  • At the start of the Stronghold campaign, Glory of Days Past, Waerjak, a barbarian chieftain, despairs over the changes that have come over the barbarian community. In the wake of Kilgor's death, his people have descended into interfactional strife, and are in danger of wiping themselves out. Intent on restoring the barbarian kingdom to its more peaceful state before Kilgor's ascension, Waerjak sets out to prove his strength and to subdue his rivals, guided by his mentor, Tarnum (previously the protagonist of the Heroes Chronicles series).[9]
A snowy necropolis (death-aligned town).
  • The game's Academy campaign, The Price of Peace tells the story of Emilia Nighthaven, the peasant daughter of an Enrothian glassblower. On Axeoth, however, she finds herself taking command of a community of frightened refugees and forging them into the kingdom of Great Arcan. Queen Emilia's success, however, attracts the attention of Gavin Magnus, the Immortal King of Bracada from Heroes of Might and Magic III and Might and Magic VII, and his genie servant, Solmyr, who seek to prevent Axeoth from meeting the same fate as Enroth by magically depriving its entire population of their free will.[9]
  • In the Preserve campaign, Elwin and Shaera, Elwin, a simple elf from the Elven kingdom of Aranorn (mainly populated by survivors from AvLee), is in love with Shaera, but their romance is threatened by Lord Harke, a powerful rival for Shaera's affection. Elwin's continued pursuit of his beloved plunges the region into internecine war, and whoever emerges the victor will not only win Shaera's hand in marriage, but the throne of Aranorn, as well.[9]
  • Half-Dead, the Necropolis campaign, relates the tale of Gauldoth Half-Dead, the half-human, half-lich victim of a necromantic spell that he cast to save his life which went horribly wrong. Tired of living on the scraps of food he can steal from fearful villagers, Gauldoth unites the forces of the surviving Necromancers and demonic Kreegans from Enroth's old kingdoms of Deyja and Eeofol into Nekross, a powerful and feared kingdom, but he is forced to act as a protector for both the living and the dead when a powerful being from another dimension arrives with plans to end all life in the universe.[9]
  • A Pirate's Daughter, the game's Asylum campaign, introduces the only daughter of a famous pirate, Tawni Balfour. Tawni inherits her father's ship and crew following his unfortunate death. Sailing down the coasts of the Gold Sea, fighting feared buccaneers, sea monsters and mermaids alike, Tawni intends to claim her father's mantle as Axeoth's most feared pirate captain, all while having to face her own shady past.[9]

Expansion packs

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Two expansion packs were released for Heroes IV: Heroes of Might and Magic IV: The Gathering Storm (2002) and Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War (2003), both for Microsoft Windows only.

The Gathering Storm offers six campaigns, more than 20 maps, 16 additional artifacts, four new creatures, and a multiplayer update. Each of the first five campaigns features a new specialty hero. The Gathering Storm also features an upgraded editor, which allows full access to new heroes, adventure objects, artifacts and creatures. A new soundtrack is also included.[10]

Winds of War introduces three new creatures and six new campaigns, which collectively tell the story of the invasion of the kingdom of Channon by the leaders of its five neighboring kingdoms.[11] Winds of War was the last installment of the entire Heroes of Might and Magic series to be developed by New World Computing. Afterwards, the bankruptcy of the 3DO Company led to the sale of the Might and Magic franchise to Ubisoft for $1.3 million.[12]

Reception

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Heroes of Might and Magic IV

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Critical reviews

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The original Heroes IV received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[13] GameSpot wrote that "Heroes IV is clearly a worthy successor to the series and has very clearly been worth the wait", praising New World Computing for being "able to incorporate so many new and interesting features into this sequel while still making sure it kept all the core elements that made all the previous games so great."[20]

Sales

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In the German market, the game debuted at #5 on Media Control's computer game sales chart for April 2002. It climbed to fourth in its second month,[27] before dropping to 12th and 19th in June and July, respectively.[28]

Awards

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The game was a nominee for The Electric Playground's 2002 "Best Strategy Game for PC" award, but lost to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.[29]

The Gathering Storm

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The Gathering Storm received "mixed" reviews, more so than the original Heroes IV, according to Metacritic.[30]

Winds of War

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Winds of War received more mixed reviews than The Gathering Storm and the original according to Metacritic.[36]

References

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  1. ^ "HEROES OF MIGHT AND MAGIC® IV TO SHIP THIS WEEK". The 3DO Company. March 25, 2002. Archived from the original on June 11, 2002.
  2. ^ McVeigh, Chris (November 2002). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV: New Heroes for a New World". Apple Inc. Archived from the original on February 9, 2006. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "Mac Heroes IV Ships". Mac Heroes. StrategyPlanet. Archived from the original on December 2, 2005.
  4. ^ "3DO Ships Heroes of Might and Magic® IV: The Gathering Storm™". The 3DO Company. September 27, 2002. Archived from the original on December 15, 2002. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  5. ^ "3DO Ships Heroes® of Might and Magic® IV: Winds of War™ Expansion Pack to Retail Stores". The 3DO Company. February 26, 2003. Archived from the original on April 23, 2003. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  6. ^ "Heroes of Might and Magic IV / Heroes 4". Age of Heroes. Archived from the original on December 15, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  7. ^ Harukaba. "Heroes of Might and Magic IV → Overview". Celestial Heavens. Archived from the original on March 12, 2007. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  8. ^ "Might and Magic IX for Windows (2002)". MobyGames. Blue Flame Labs Inc. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f Kalah. "Heroes of Might and Magic IV → Heroes IV Text Collection". Celestial Heavens. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Butts, Steve (October 14, 2002). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV: The Gathering Storm Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Butts, Steve (March 25, 2003). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV: The Winds of War Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on January 7, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  12. ^ O'Mara, Matthew (September 30, 2015). "Heroes of Might and Magic: A retrospective". National Post. Postmedia Network. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Heroes of Might and Magic IV for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
  14. ^ White, Jason. "Heroes of Might and Magic IV (PC) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 15, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  15. ^ Kapalka, Jason (July 2002). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 216. Ziff Davis. pp. 72–73. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  16. ^ Walker, Mark H. (April 24, 2002). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV (PC)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Inc. Archived from the original on March 4, 2003. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  17. ^ Bye, John "Gestalt" (May 26, 2002). "Heroes Of Might & Magic IV (PC) [date mislabeled as "January 12, 2010"]". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on June 4, 2002. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  18. ^ Brogger, Kristian (June 2002). "Heroes of Might & Magic IV (PC)". Game Informer. No. 110. FuncoLand. p. 84. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  19. ^ Ferris, Colin (April 2002). "Heroes of Might & Magic IV Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on October 12, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Park, Andrew Seyoon (April 2, 2002). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV Review (PC) [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on December 29, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  21. ^ Abner, William (April 10, 2002). "GameSpy: Heroes of Might and Magic IV (PC)". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 12, 2007. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  22. ^ Giacobbi, Kevin "BIFF" (April 18, 2002). "Heroes of Might & Magic IV Review - PC". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 31, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  23. ^ Sanchez, Rick; Butts, Steve (January 29, 2003). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV (Mac)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  24. ^ Butts, Steve (April 10, 2002). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV (PC)". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on July 9, 2022. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  25. ^ Cohen, Peter (April 17, 2003). "The Game Room (Heroes of Might and Magic IV)". Macworld. IDG Communications. Archived from the original on July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  26. ^ Klett, Steve (June 2002). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV". PC Gamer. Vol. 9, no. 6. Imagine Media. p. 68. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  27. ^ "Zeitraum: Mai 2002". Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (in German). Archived from the original on June 15, 2002. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  28. ^ "Zeitraum: Juli 2002". Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (in German). Archived from the original on August 17, 2002. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  29. ^ EP staff (2003). "Blister Awards 2002 (Page 3)". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Inc. Archived from the original on August 17, 2003. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  30. ^ a b "Heroes of Might and Magic IV: The Gathering Storm for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  31. ^ "Review: Heroes of Might and Magic IV: The Gathering Storm". Computer Games Magazine. No. 147. theGlobe.com. February 2003. p. 83.
  32. ^ Chin, Elliott (February 2003). "Heroes of Might & Magic IV: The Gathering Storm" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 223. Ziff Davis. p. 80. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  33. ^ Park, Andrew Seyoon (October 8, 2002). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV: The Gathering Storm Review". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on November 29, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  34. ^ Harker, Carla (November 6, 2002). "GameSpy: Heroes of Might and Magic IV: The Gathering Storm". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  35. ^ Giacobbi, Kevin "BIFF" (October 17, 2002). "Heroes of Might & Magic: The Gathering Storm Expansion Pack Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  36. ^ a b "Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on January 25, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  37. ^ "Review: Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War". Computer Games Magazine. No. 151. theGlobe.com. June 2003. p. 87.
  38. ^ Jackson, Jonah (August 2003). "Heroes of Might and Magic 4 [sic]: Winds of War" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. No. 229. Ziff Davis. p. 90. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 25, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  39. ^ Ferris, Colin (March 2003). "Heroes of Might & Magic IV: Winds of War Review". GameRevolution. CraveOnline. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  40. ^ Park, Andrew Seyoon (March 10, 2003). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War Review [date mislabeled as "March 18, 2003"]". GameSpot. Red Ventures. Archived from the original on January 29, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
  41. ^ Rausch, Allen (March 20, 2003). "GameSpy: Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War". GameSpy. IGN Entertainment. Archived from the original on February 11, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  42. ^ Giacobbi, Kevin "BIFF" (March 16, 2003). "Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War Expansion Pack - PC - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on November 12, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  43. ^ Bemis, Greg (April 25, 2003). "'Heroes of Might and Magic IV: Winds of War' (PC) Review". Extended Play. TechTV. Archived from the original on April 28, 2003. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
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