Heroes of Might and Magic III
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia is a turn-based strategy game developed by New World Computing for Microsoft Windows and released by the 3DO Company in 1999. An Apple Macintosh port was released by 3DO, and a Linux port was released by Loki Software, both later that year. It is the third installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic series. In contrast with the "cartoonish" graphical style of previous games, Heroes of Might and Magic III has a more subdued, serious look.
Story
Following her marriage to King Roland Ironfist of Enroth (as referred to in Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven), Queen Catherine returns home to Erathia to find that the kingdom has been overrun by the united forces of the Overlords and Warlocks of the kingdom of Nighon and the Demoniacs and Heretics of the Kreegan kingdom of Eeofol. Meanwhile, dark forces are being mustered by Catherine's father, King Gryphonheart, who has been assassinated by a traitor and revived as a lich by the necromancers of Deyja during his daughter's absence.
The game's story unfolds primarily through a series of seven playable campaigns, which alternate between the perspective of Queen Catherine and her allies, and the forces of the invading armies.
- Long Live the Queen documents Catherine's return to Erathia, and her initial attempts to reestablish a beachhead in the kingdom by enlisting the aid of Erathia's traditional allies, the angels and the griffons.
- Dungeons and Devils tells of the Nighon and Eeofol conquest of Steadwick, the capital city of Erathia. The campaign alternates between the dungeon and inferno alignments, and allows the player to choose which of the two alignments to play as in the final map.
- Spoils of War stars a mercenary working for both the fortress and stronghold alignments, and depicts the fighting between the two alignments. Like Dungeons and Devils, the player may choose between these two alignments for the final map, with a twist: The side that the player did not choose would become an additional enemy for the player to face. The fact that is this difficult is due to what heroes the additional enemy receives. The other side would receive all the heroes the player trained. If the player trained them well and gave them many artifacts, he could be in for an extremely hard game even if it is set to easy. On the other hand, the player could deprive the opposing heroes of any artifacts.
- Liberation is available for play only after the preceding three campaigns have been completed. It documents Queen Catherine's alliance with both the elven kingdom of AvLee and the wizard kingdom of Bracada, the reconquest of Steadwick, and the eventual retreat of the invaders from Erathia.
- Long Live the King is available for play only after the preceding three campaigns have been completed. It follows the necromancers' plot to resurrect King Gryphonheart as their undead leader.
- Song for the Father is available for play only after both Long Live the King and Liberation have been completed. With the armies of Nighon and Eeofol on the retreat, the necromancers of Deyja switch their allegiances after the now resurrected King Gryphonheart eludes their control, and ally themselves with Queen Catherine's forces to help destroy the undead King.
- Seeds of Discontent is a bonus campaign only available for play after Song for the Father has been completed. Years ago, both Erathia and AvLee fought over land during the Timber Wars and now the people who live in the disputed region make preparations to fight for their independence.[3]
Gameplay
The basic gameplay mechanics of Heroes of Might and Magic and Heroes of Might and Magic II remain unchanged in Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia. As before, the player controls a number of generals (or "heroes"), who command troops comprising various types of creatures, usually inspired by myth and legend. These troops are divided into stacks: each hero has space within his or her army for up to seven stacks of creatures. Creatures of the same type can be united into a single stack. During conflict, damage inflicted by stacks of troops is cumulative: two individual troops with a damage rating of 5-9 can be placed into a single stack with a damage rating of 10-18. Battle takes place on a separate screen, which comprises an 11 by 15 grid of interlocking hexagons. Heroes do not participate directly in battle, but their statistics and skills increase the effectiveness of their armies, and they have the ability to cast one magic spell per combat round.
Heroes have four statistics that determine their effectiveness in battle: attack, defense, magic power, and knowledge. The hero's attack and defense rankings are added to the ranking of troops within that heroes army during battle. Magic power determines the strength of any magic spell cast by that hero, and the number of magic points available to the hero are determined by multiplying that hero's knowledge ranking by ten. Each hero can be trained in up to eight different skills which can have a number of different effects, such as increasing that hero's magic proficiency or the distance he or she can travel across the map screen in one game day. Each skill is divided into three levels (basic, advanced, and expert), which determines the strength of the skill effect. In addition, each hero has the ability to equip a variety of artifacts to gain various bonuses, including increased attack and defensive ratings.
The magic system is categorized according to the four classical elements: water, fire, air and earth. Higher levels in a given magic skill makes spells of that category more effective and decrease the magic point cost of casting that spell. The ability to learn spells themselves is determined by the Wisdom skill. All heroes can cast level one and two spells, but Wisdom is required to learn more powerful spells. For example, to learn a level five spell, the hero must possess the Wisdom skill at expert level.
In order to build and maintain an effective military force, the player must acquire a variety of resources. There are seven basic resource types available in the game: gold, wood, ore, crystal, mercury, sulfur, and gems. Gold is the most important resource, as it is used both to pay for town improvements and to purchase troops. The other resources are used primarily as building materials. Additionally, certain higher level creature troops may require both gold and another resource type for purchase. Resources may be located randomly across the game map, as well as in various mines, which can be flagged by the hero and will produce a set number of resources per game day. Certain town buildings are also capable of producing resources.
Like the earlier Heroes games, Heroes of Might and Magic III was released with a fully-featured map editor. Many users took advantage of it to easily create custom scenarios and share them over the Internet, extending the life of the game. However, the map editor is exclusive to the PC version of the game.
Town alignments
There are eight different town alignments available in Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia. Three "good" towns (castle, tower, and rampart), three "evil" (inferno, dungeon, and necropolis), and two "neutral" (fortress and stronghold). Each town has fourteen unique creature types: seven basic level creatures, each of which can be upgraded to a more powerful advanced level creature. Creatures are also arranged into 7 levels for the purpose of calculating experience points and the casting of spells (i.e., some spells of a lower level cannot affect creatures of a certain level). Creatures are generated by creature dwellings, which must be constructed by the player, on the first day of every game week. Each town also features two associated hero types: one that focuses more on might(combat), and one that focuses more on magic.
- The Castle is predominantly "human", deploying the forces of civilization and religion. The creatures that can be hired in the Castle, in ascending order of level, are pikemen, archers, griffins, swordsmen, monks, cavalry, and angels. Later these units are able to be upgraded to halberdiers, marksmen, royal griffins, crusaders, zealots, champions, and archangels respectively. Castles typically require large quantities of wood to upgrade fully, and Castle troops favor grasslands. The might hero is the Knight and the magic hero is the Cleric. The kingdom of Erathia is of the castle alignment. The Archangel is the most powerful upgraded seventh level creature in the game (cost and power wise). Essentially the Castle is the balanced faction and is ideal for beginners.
- The Tower is associated with wizards and their magical servants, constructs, and allies. The Tower's creatures are gremlins, stone gargoyles, stone golems, magi, genies, nagas, and giants. The respective upgrades are master gremlins, obsidian gargoyles, iron golems, archmagi, master genies, naga queens, and titans. Tower buildings and Titans consume a substantial amount of gems, and have an advantage in snowy environments. The might hero is the Alchemist and the magic hero is the Wizard. The kingdom of Bracada is of the tower alignment. Many tactical players prefer Wizard towns, due to the unmatched ranged firepower of the Titans (which are the strongest creature in the game). Because of their need for rare resources and their creatures, the Tower faction is considered only to be used by experts as they know how to utilize the vast amounts of gold to compensate for the lack of rare but necessary resources. Even though the Alchemist is considered the might hero, it is still quite good as a magic hero, thus making the Tower more spell-based than any other faction. This, although may seem to add to its power, actually demands for a player that can analyse the combat situation and decide what spell to use (as one can only use one spell per turn).
- Ramparts draw on nature-affiliated creatures and those who defend them. The Rampart's units are centaurs, dwarves, wood elves, pegasi, dendroid guards, unicorns, and green dragons. The respective upgrades are centaur captains, battle dwarves, grand elves, silver pegasi, dendroid soldiers, war unicorns, and gold dragons. The might hero is the Ranger and the magic hero is the Druid. Ramparts often need a good supply of crystal, and their forces prefer to fight in the grasslands. The kingdom of AvLee is of the rampart alignment. Some Rampart creatures hamper enemy magics, although Gold Dragons are not as resilient to magic as Black Dragons (nor as strong). Rampart players are a bane to all Tower players as they have the ability to resist their spells. Ramparts utilize ranged attacks and unique abilities that requires excellent tactical use of these(such as the Dendroid series can be used to repair holes in castle walls by standing in and immoblizing their opponents. Overall Rampart is not hard to use and gives beginners a taste of the more "exotic" units in the game.
- The Inferno is a dark and brooding design reminscient of classical depictions of hell. The Inferno's creatures are imps, Gogs, hell hounds, demons, pit fiends, efreeti and devils. The upgrades are familiars, magogs, cerberi, horned demons, pit lords, efreet sultans, and archdevils. The might hero is the Demoniac and the magic hero is the Heretic. Infernos require specially prepared Mercury from labs and prefer to fight on ashy wastelands. The Kreegans of Eeofol is of the inferno alignment. Inferno-based heroes generally have high magic power, but little mana to support it. Efreeti Sultans can be extremely dangerous due to their passive Fire Shield ability (which reflects damage back to its attacker). Infernos demands for much of the same qualities as a Rampart player and gives him/her a chance to use the Arch-Devil(a toned down Archangel). Since it is relatively easier to obtain the Archdevil, the player can get a taste of the most powerful creature without having to play for hours. Inferno is also similar to Castle in may ways.
- Dungeons house bizarre creatures that prefer to live underground. The creatures in a Dungeon are troglodytes, harpies, beholders, medusae, minotaurs, manticores, and red dragons. The upgrades are infernal troglodytes, harpy hags, evil eyes, medusa queens, minotaur kings, scorpicores, and black dragons. The might hero is the Overlord and the magic hero is the Warlock. Dungeons desire sulphur, and its forces obviously prefer to fight in underground passages. The kingdom of Nighon is of the dungeon alignment. Some Dungeon creatures are extremely powerful (such as Minotaur Kings), but are often weak until upgraded. Dungeons also house the most powerful spell-negator in the game, the Black Dragon. Though it is relatively cheaper than the Titan, it is still just as hard to get. Dungeon can also be seen as the "evil" equivalent of Tower, as it's troop types are very similar.
- The Necropolis is a ghost town of the undead. All creatures in the Necropolis are undead, which makes them immune to a variety of spells and effects, such as poison, morale, death waves, or any mind-affecting spells. On the downside, they are also weak to certain holy spells that damage only them, and severely hurt the morale of any creatures unlucky enough to be forced to fight in the same army as them. The creatures in the Necropolis are skeletons, walking dead, wights, vampires, liches, black knights, and bone dragons. The upgrades are skeleton warriors, zombies, wraiths, vampire lords, power liches, death knights, and ghost dragons. The undead desire a balanced amount of all resources in general, although ghost dragons require extra amounts of mercury. The might hero is the Death Knight and the magic hero is the Necromancer. The kingdom of Deyja is of the necropolis alignment. By far the Necropolis can boast the largest army of any faction. Their Magic heroes all possess an ability to raise a certain percentage of fallen troops as either skeletons (if you have an open slot) or skeleton warriors(if you have one skeleton warrior and fully filled out slots). Because of the size of their armies, Necropolis players can often win by sheer attrition. They can also convert dragons into bone dragons. Necropolis is good for players that like to rush or mass opponents but they still require a good amount of tactical knowledge as a band of skeletons will fall faster than a ton of bricks dropped from a tower if improperly coordinated. Because of their necromantic nature, the magic hero of the Necropoli possess the Necromancy ability rather than wisdom. Only a few Necromancers possess Wisdom and thus makes the Necropolis rather vulnerable when having to depend on spells.
- Strongholds are populated with various brutish creatures associated with barbarism and raiding. The Stronghold's creatures are goblins, wolf riders, orcs, orgres, rocs, cyclopes, and behemoths. The upgrades are hobgoblins, wolf raiders, orc chieftains, ogre magi, thunderbirds, king cyclopes, and ancient behemoths. Strongholds need a steady ore supply to be built, and their troops are able to traverse the normally harsh desert with ease. The might hero is the Barbarian and the magic hero is the Battle Mage. The kingdom of Krewlod is of the stronghold alignment. Stronghold town creatures are often offensively powerful, but cannot take much damage. The Heroes of the Stronghold are all combat based, even their magic users usually cast support spells rather than offensive or tactical spells. To reflect this, Strongholds can only have spells up to level 3 unless they acquire something to change this fact(a tome or another castle).
- The Fortress offers hardy creatures bred in the marshes and contain numerous reptilian creatures. The Fortress creatures are gnolls, lizardmen, serpent flies, basilisks, gorgons, wyverns, and hydras. The upgrades are gnoll marauders, lizard warriors, dragon flies, great basilisks, mighty gorgons, wyvern monarchs, and chaos hydra. A Fortress needs a variety of resources, and their troops are at home in the swamps. The might hero is the Beastmaster and the magic hero is the Witch. The kingdom of Tatalia is of the fortress alignment. Fortress creatures are generally weaker than other alignment creatures, but usually have nasty abilities to compensate for this weakness. The Mighty Gorgon is one of the most feared creatures in the game, since it has the ability to kill any creature instantly, regardless to how much HP the creature actually has (a scourge to high-level creatures). The Fortress contains many exotic abilities and should be used by expert players only.
Expansion packs
Two expansion packs were released for Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia. The first of these expansions, Armageddon's Blade, introduced a ninth town alignment, Conflux, a variety of new creatures, heroes, and structures, and well as six new playable campaigns. The second expansion, The Shadow of Death added seven new playable campaigns and a variety of new artifacts.
Neither Armageddon's Blade or The Shadow of Death were released individually for the Macintosh or Linux ports of the game. Heroes of Might and Magic III Complete, a compilation of The Restoration of Erathia and both expansion packs, was released for both the Windows and Macintosh version. No Linux version of either expansion pack was ever released, however.
An unofficial fangame expansion pack In the Wake of Gods was released in the early 2000s. It introduces a brand new scripting language to the game, that allows a variety of third party extensions and modifications to be made to the game. In addition, the release includes a variety of new features, including a large variety of new creatures and structures, modifications to existing creature and hero statistics, a number of optional gameplay changes, and several new campaigns. In the Wake of Gods is currently only available for the Windows version of the game, and the developers have announced no plans to release it for any other version of the game.
Heroes of Might and Magic III Complete
Heroes of Might and Magic III Complete (Collector's Edition) is a version of Heroes of Might and Magic III which comprises the original version, the Armageddon's Blade expansion pack, the Shadow of Death expansion pack, as well as a number of special elements. As mentioned, it was released both for Windows and for Macintosh, allowing the Macintosh players to finally obtain the two expansions, which were not released for their platform separately. The Main bonus of purchasing The complete version was the added feature of a random scenario generator, which made the playability endless, and more convenient than making/downloading user-made levels.
Notes and references
- ^ "GameSpy: Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia." GameSpy. Last accessed on 28 January 2006.
- ^ "Loki | Products | Heroes III | Overview." 28 October 2000. Loki Games. Last accessed on 28 January 2006.
- ^ GhostWriter, "Heroes of Might and Magic III → Overview." Celestial Heavens. Last accessed on 28 January 2006.
External links
- Elrath Map Vault - Heroes of Might and Magic Map Vault / Archive
- Heroes Of Might And Magic III - Collection Review at BytePress.com
- Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia at MobyGames
- Age of Heroes - fan site with 150 pages of information about Heroes 3 and Expansion Packs
- Template:GameFAQs
- Heroes of Might and Magic III: The Restoration of Erathia at IMDb
| Original series | |
|---|---|
| Spin-offs | |
| Heroes of Might and Magic | |
| Heroes spin-offs | |
| Related | |
