Heroes of Might and Magic IV

Heroes of Might and Magic IV this is the fourth full-fledged version of the extremely popular series of turn-based strategy games in fantasy, launched in 1995 by Heroes of Might and Magic: A Strategic Quest. Jon van Caneghem and the New World Computing team, known from the RPG series Might and Magic and considered to be the precursor of Heroes the game King's Bounty.

Fabula

Action of the game Heroes of Might and Magic IV takes us to the next continent of the fantastic universe of the series - Jadame, known, among others, from two years earlier Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer. The story of the game consists of six separate mini-campaigns, each of which focuses on one of the kingdoms of Jadame and tells a story centred around the leader of a chosen faction. Among them there are both new heroes as well as those known from previous editions of the cycle Heroes of Might and Magic.

Mechanics

In the fourth part of the series, the overall concept of the game remained unchanged, and the game continues to focus on exploring the world, collecting treasures and magical artifacts, developing armies, expanding existing cities and the turn-based fight against monsters and other antagonists. Compared to its direct predecessors, Heroes of Might and Magic IV introduces, however, the largest number of novelties and changes so far, significantly affecting the course of the game.

Six types of cities with different types of units and technologies are at our disposal: Academy (white mages), Asylum (chaotic mages), Haven (knights), Necropolis (necromancers), Preserve (forest elves) and Stronghold (heavy armaments knights). We can develop and expand individual cities to a much greater extent, gaining a well-developed army of one kind, or we can choose to recruit various monsters to it, which, however, will not be able to achieve the highest specialization. Each city also has its own unique school of magic and (with the exception of Stronghold) can only rent heroes of a specific race.

The biggest changes have affected mainly the combat mechanics and the way of military management. The rules of recruitment have been modified, so that some creatures can be recruited every day, and not only once a week. The heroes were characterized by nine basic coefficients, related to the special skills developed during the game. A complete novelty, however, is the fact that individual armies can fight with several heroes or completely without a hero (although they are then deprived of the ability to take over enemy structures). Unlike the previous parts of the series, hero can also directly participate in the fight, and not only support his army with magic.

Game Modes

In terms of gameplay modes, Heroes of Might and Magic IV does not introduce any revolution. In addition to the above mentioned, extensive feature campaign, the game also allows us to play single scripts, in which we face opponents controlled by the computer controlled AI or other players. This option is available for up to six participants, competing via the Internet, LAN or hot chair mode.

Technical issues

The PC game Heroes of Might and Magic IV is another important step in the technical evolution of the series. Displayed in higher resolution 1024x768 graphics gained in detail, thanks to which we can watch improved animations, as well as nicer maps, cities and models of units on the screen. Compared to the previous scenes, the way of fighting presentation has also changed - instead of the traditional side view, now we see it in a completely new isometric projection. The soundtrack was taken care of again by a team of artists known from previous parts, headed by Paul Romero.

Additional information

Games Heroes of Might and Magic IV went two official extensions: The Gathering Storm (2002) and Winds of War (2003). Traditionally, the Gold version has also been released on the market, containing the basic game with both of these add-ons.