I be HOMM noob, which do I buy?

[Quitch]

Back in the day of HOMM 3 (or possibly 2, but 3 I think) I played the demo which came from my PC mag of choice... PC Review or PC Gamer, depending on the year. I played the demo. Then I played the demo again. Later I played the demo some more. I liked the demo.

Alas, being on pocket money meant such classics never entered my collection, along with Cyberstorm (a game I will never forgive myself for not buying).

So, now I earn money and can buy games I may never play and add them to my enormous backlog. I tried the HOMM 5 demo when it came out, but something didn't grab me (and it's nice to see pointless camera manipulation hit yet another genre). I'll admit, the combat in HOMM 3 wasn't brilliant, it was more the creation of armies, recruiting of cool monsters and exploration of the land which led me to love HOMM. The combat was something I put up with, since it didn't seem to have that much depth once you hit the tactical screen. I was (and if the HOMM 5 demo is anything to go by, remain) pretty rubbish though.

Still, now King's Bounty has me in the mood to get the equivilent of the Vs. version where I battle other people's stacks. I won't be playing multiplayer. Ever. So, is HOMM 2, 3 or HOMM 5 the better choice here? For me the most important element is which one will present a better AI in skirmish.

[André Costa]

HoMM 3 will be the popular choice. I liked 5 but most didn't like it , it seems.

You might also want to look into the Disciples series.

[scharmers]

HoMM 3. Nothing touches it.

[Skipper]

Another vote for 3. Get the complete edition, or better yet, the HOMM complete pack 1-4, plus all expansions.

[Quitch]

If I play HOMM 3, do I want to bother with 1, 2 and 4... forget 4 ;)

[Miramon]

2 is a fine game, that some people like better, but I prefer 3, partly because it's a bit more evolved, and partly because the better user-designed campaigns and scenarios are really superior -- I don't believe 2 had as good an editor as 3.

4 is lame but playable if you absolutely run out of other things to do -- at least it seems like it's a part of the series. But 5 is some other game completely with crappy 3D, terrible professional levels, world's worst cut scenes (no, really, they're that bad), and slow stupid AI.

[Sharpe]

I would also recommend 3 as the best of the lot and you should be able to get the game in a nice combo package these days. 2 is the 2nd best and is also a fine choice if you want to do 2 then 3 and really jones on HoMM. 1 can be skipped, as although it is a solid iteration of the core game, its somewhat dated now as well being thinner on content than the later offerings. 4 is also skippable as I felt overall it deviated too much from the core formula. 5 is a mixed bag: its OK in the core gameplay (not as terrible as Miramon says, IMO) but really the core gameplay is similiar to 3 and the updated 3D graphics don't add anything. The dated but stylish cartoon graphics of 3 are fine IMO, and 3 is a bigger package, with far better maps (both dev and user) and none of that weird Eastern European sense of difficulty.

Also if you get 3, there are a few user maps that are really very strong, equal to or better than anything the devs ever did. The one I recall was titled "Lord of War" and was epic in all the best senses of the word. There were a huge number of other high quality maps as well.

[Chuck]

After playing the King's Bounty demo, then going back and playing a little of my stalled HOMM5 campaign, I ordered up HOMM3 Complete off Amazon (20 bucks new).

So my answer is 3.

[Rock8man]

HoMM2 is the best if you care about things like art style, presentation and music (especially music). If you don't care about those things, and only want it for the strategy elements, I recommend HoMM3, since it just has more stuff in it. More campaigns, more sides to pick from, more creatures/units, more maps, etc. It takes the excellent core game from HoMM2 and it's expansion, and gives you more everything. It loses a little in the art and music side though, so I didn't find it as satisfying personally.

[chumpface]

i think 5 is the best mix of art and design (3 is kinda fugly). 2 was gorgeous at the time but likely outdated now.

here's the catch with 5: the campaigns are terrible. you need to play the multiplayer maps as single player skirmishes, and those, i think stack up well with any other HOMM.

[Skipper]

HOMM 3 "Complete" had the best troop selections, the best hero selections, the most amount of upgradeable troops, the best amount of win conditions, the best expansion areas and artifacts, the easiest random map generator, and some of the best player made maps period.

Also having played 2 recently, yeah, it hasn't aged well. Especially on the large scale monitors of today.

[Midnight Son]

HOMM the 3rd.

[Sidd_Budd]

I personally believe HoMM 2 is better than HoMM 3, but I'm forgiving of out-of-date graphics & older UIs. I haven't played either lately, so I couldn't tell you which had a better skirmish AI.

They are both great games, though. Any PC gamer with an interest in strategy titles should eventually pick up both, as well as the expansion for HoMM2 (i.e., Price of Loyalty, which is probably included in compilation packs by now).

[RepoMan]

Can HOMM 3 run on weird resolutions? My tablet is 1280x800, and my main monitor is 1920x1200, and neither one really likes non-native resolutions (they both want to scale everything to fit).

I ordered HOMM 5: Tribes of the East based on recommendations in the HOMM 5 thread. Are NONE of any of the HOMM 5 expansions' campaigns worth playing? If not, which are the best multiplayer maps in the HOMM 5 series?

[peterb]

No, I'm not joking: I liked King's Bounty better than any of the others.

But I'm a plot-driven sort of guy.

[tylertoo]

I ordered HOMM 5: Tribes of the East based on recommendations in the HOMM 5 thread. Are NONE of any of the HOMM 5 expansions' campaigns worth playing? If not, which are the best multiplayer maps in the HOMM 5 series?

I've had a lot of fun just using the random map generator in Tribes. Enough controls to create precisely the kind of map I'm looking for.

[Unicorn McGriddle]

HOMM 3
AoW:SM
Disciples 2

[BleedTheFreak]

I've had a lot of fun just using the random map generator in Tribes. Enough controls to create precisely the kind of map I'm looking for.

Heartily seconded.

[WarrenD]

I've had a lot of fun just using the random map generator in Tribes. Enough controls to create precisely the kind of map I'm looking for.

So have I, but I'm also having fun playing through the campaigns.
While not the greatest story I have ever played, the campaigns give me a reason to try all the different factions, at least loosely tying them together.

Also the campaign maps tend to be more puzzle oriented than the RMG games so its a change in style from the pure strategic maps.

[Robert Sharp]

Three. It's not even close. That's not to say you can't play 4 and 5 eventually, but 3 is the one that will show you why we love the series.

[Aeon221]

Three. It's not even close. That's not to say you can't play 4 and 5 eventually, but 3 is the one that will show you why we love the series.

Well, it sure ain't five. I kinda thought you folks who liked the series were all a little too stoned after trying it.

[Skipper]

Can HOMM 3 run on weird resolutions? My tablet is 1280x800, and my main monitor is 1920x1200, and neither one really likes non-native resolutions (they both want to scale everything to fit).

I ordered HOMM 5: Tribes of the East based on recommendations in the HOMM 5 thread. Are NONE of any of the HOMM 5 expansions' campaigns worth playing? If not, which are the best multiplayer maps in the HOMM 5 series?

No the game runs in 800x600 only as far as I remember. However it's very easy to run the game in windowed mode. Set your desktop color depth to 16-bit and once done you can hit F4 while in game to run in windowed mode.

[pg]

HoMM 3 for sure, 2 is great but it has not aged well. When I tried to play it recently I gave up on it quickly despite seeing how fun it still was. If it had a modern UI and higher resolution it'd be pretty much tied with 3.

[Skipper]

Three. It's not even close. That's not to say you can't play 4 and 5 eventually, but 3 is the one that will show you why we love the series.

To add even more to this, I'll throw in a little history. Two longtime fans of the series are Rob and Melissa Simyar. They became huge fans during the shift from HOMM2 to HOMM3. Melissa's better known name was none other than Playboy Playmate Tiffany Taylor. Rob and Melissa continue to run a website to this day, dedicated to bringing players together for multiplayer HOMM games and rankings:
http://www.toheroes.com/

If there were any doubt that the HOMM series isn't awesome, these pics should clarify things greatly (http://www.toheroes.com/melh5.jpg). That's right ... it's HOMM3 (http://www.toheroes.com/pics/1melcomp4.jpg) in the background.

[intruder]

If there were any doubt that the HOMM series isn't awesome, these pics should clarify things greatly (http://www.toheroes.com/melh5.jpg). That's right ... it's HOMM3 (http://www.toheroes.com/pics/1melcomp4.jpg) in the background.

I don't see any HOMMs in those pics. :p

[Quitch]

Is it even possible to get "Heroes of Might and Magic - Complete Edition" any more? Only copy I could find was $150 on ebay.

[Skipper]

They appear to be all over Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Might-Magic-3-Complete-Pc/dp/B00004YKX4

Sounds like you mean the complete pack of 1-4 though. No clue where to get those.

[Rock8man]

Best way to get Heroes 2 gold seems to be to get the Heroes Millennium edition (http://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Might-Magic-Millennium-Pc/dp/B00002EIX3/ref=sr_1_24?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1222642814&sr=1-24), which also has plain Heroes 3, and is around $25 once you add shipping. The Platinum edition, which is the Millennium edition plus the Heroes 3 expansions, is much more expensive, around $75 or more. If you're looking for Heroes 2 Gold and Heroes 3 complete, it's probably best to get the Millennium edition first, and if you want the expansions to Heroes 3, get Heroes 3 complete.

Heroes 4 is not worth getting. (Unless they did something in the expansion packs to fix it's AI problems).

[Sol Invictus]

Here are the games you need to get :
HoMM3
King's Bounty
Disciples II (but the campaigns really kinda suck compared to HoMM3)

HOMM3's definitely the pinnacle of the series and it's immensely playable, even today. HOMM4 greatly pissed me off with its saxophone soundtrack. What the hell was up with that?

[intruder]

Is it even possible to get "Heroes of Might and Magic - Complete Edition" any more? Only copy I could find was $150 on ebay.

Do you mean this one?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Heroes-Of-Might-And-Magic-1-2-3-4-5-Complete-Box-Set_W0QQitemZ120309936020QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item1 20309936020&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

I got mine from Ebay as well. Never seen it in a retail shop anywhere here.
Think the price is fair.

[Mike Hussey]

In order of preference 3,5,2,1,4.

3 was the best of the series and still has tons of user made scenarios availavle for download, some better than anything that came with game.

5 was a good effort by a new developer, but suffers from a lack of stand alone scenarios and terrible voice acting in the campaigns.

2 was great for its time, but might cause problems on modern systems. I couldn't get it to run on XP and I doubt Vista is any better.

1 was a good game way back when half the mebers of this board weren't even born, but was eclipsed by its sequels.

4 would have been fine if it did what it said on the tin, but was rushed and buggy and never properly fixed due to the demise of 3DO. There's still some gameplay to be had from the campaigns, but that's about it.

[WarrenD]

In order of preference 3,5,2,1,4.

3 was the best of the series and still has tons of user made scenarios availavle for download, some better than anything that came with game.

5 was a good effort by a new developer, but suffers from a lack of stand alone scenarios and terrible voice acting in the campaigns.

2 was great for its time, but might cause problems on modern systems. I couldn't get it to run on XP and I doubt Vista is any better.

1 was a good game way back when half the mebers of this board weren't even born, but was eclipsed by its sequels.

4 would have been fine if it did what it said on the tin, but was rushed and buggy and never properly fixed due to the demise of 3DO. There's still some gameplay to be had from the campaigns, but that's about it.

Well summed up Mike, I agree with you totally.

[Robert Sharp]

Well, you could play 2 on Gametap, for the record (and 3 and 4, actually).

[Brian Rubin]

HOMM 3
AoW:SM
Disciples 2
I'm in agreement with this one. ;)

[Rock8man]

Gametap also has Age of Wonders: SM, as Disciples 2, I believe.

[Rock8man]

So slightly off topic question: Is Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic more like the original Age of Wonders compared to AoW 2?

One of the reasons why I could never get into AoW 2 even though I absolutely loved the original AoW is that you couldn't customize your hero to be this badass wall-climbing hero who could personally go in during the battles and kick ass. It was highly dangerous because if you died, the game was over, but that's part of why it was so deliciously fun.

I really should AoW: Shadow magic a shot, since I still have Gametap for another month before my subscription runs out.

[Brian Rubin]

AOW:SM is the closest thing we've seen to an actual sequel to Master of Magic. Take from that what you will. Now I wanna run and reinstall my copy, thanks guys. ;)

[Skipper]

It's like AoW 2.5. There are some wonderful mods out for it as well, try Dwiggs mod if you get the chance. In my personal opinion it fixed most of the nagging things I hated about AoW and AoW2.

And yes you can move your wizard around if you want as part of a stack, you lose some bonuses to your casting, and it's dangerous, but if you want to duke it out you can. Wizards don't get much but spells really. If you're talking about hired heroes then yes you can do that too. By the way, hired heroes are much better in AoW:SM, but the mods help them even further. Dwiggs, for example, changes each class slightly so that they all end up being fully functional and used. Instead of the common, "oh crap I have a rogue hero," you end up liking most heroes because of their unique abilities.

Probably one of the coolest things I liked about AoW compared to HOMM was the ability to set up cities wherever you wanted, and the ability to pillage or raze the cities you conquer. It gave it much more of a Masters of Magic or Civ feel than HOMM's strategy.

[Robert Sharp]

I guess I should give it more of a chance then, because AOW:SM felt very puzzly to me. It didn't have the openness of MoM at all from what I remember.

[Rock8man]

I just remember that in AoW, you could hire heroes, but you also had your own character, that represented YOU. And that character leveled up and you could make him a wizard, but you could also make him a badass warrior guy.

It sounds like even in AoW:SM you're restricted to being a "wizard"? Maybe there's a mod that lets you change that so you can be a warrior again like in AoW. Or maybe I should just dig out my AoW disk. That game was awesome. They just needed more scenarios though. There weren't enough in the game, and not many user-made maps either, so we eventually ran out of content we could play and just waited for AoW 2, which turned out to be a disappointment since they changed the dynamic of who your hero/main guy could be.

[peterb]

AOW:SM is the closest thing we've seen to an actual sequel to Master of Magic. Take from that what you will.

So you just keep hitting "Next Turn" until you eventually cast the spell of mastery?

[Brian Rubin]

So you just keep hitting "Next Turn" until you eventually cast the spell of mastery?
Heh, funny, really funny.

[LeSquide]

As someone who loved Heroes III, is HoM&M V: Tribes of the East worth the 20$ it costs off of Steam?

And is there any reason (mods or whatnot) not to buy it off Steam?

[Cubit]

As someone who loved Heroes III, is HoM&M V: Tribes of the East worth the 20$ it costs off of Steam?

And is there any reason (mods or whatnot) not to buy it off Steam?

Yeah, its well worth it. Not any mods that I know of either that have trouble w/ steam.

[lesslucid]

Just my opinion, but I rate HoMM V as the worst of the series. Plenty of other people here seem to like it, though, so YMMV.