Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars (PC, 1996)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-8 Control-8 Challenge-6.5
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7.5/8* Originality-7
Overall Score-7.5
*Hot seat multiplayer
+
Very good interface overall (hotkeys, unit splitting, grids and movement range indicators in battle, etc.)
Two different campaigns ("good" and "evil")
Effectively mixes town simulation with exploration and turn based battles
Lots of content (different heroes, skills, spells, artifacts, map encounters)
Local and online multiplayer (with save feature, teams or free for all, difficulty options (five settings: easy-impossible)
Save/load anywhere outside battle (many nameable slots)
Two fairly lengthy campaigns with some branching paths (plus one expansion available with four smaller campaigns, new units?)
Auto battle feature (the AI isn't great though)
Speed options - Langrisser II
Difficulty options (not in the campaign)
Some advanced features (terrain effects, diplomacy, moral (creature loses or gains a turn) and luck (more/less damage) bonuses, artillery for siege battles, teleporters)
Decent art direction overall (nice town views and world maps, so-so cgi cutscenes/animations, often goofy looking sprite animations)
Lots of customization (skills, spells and artifacts, troop types, upgrades)
6 diverse factions to play as with many unique strategies
Cool spells (clone, visions, hypnotize, town portal, summon boat, resurrect)
No need to build a tavern to recruit heroes (Heroes 3)
Mass versions of spells don't replace regular versions
Fund transfers between players in multiplayer?
Music changes depending on where you are on the map
Very addictive
+/-
Huge time sink (especially in multiplayer; due to limited movement points and some interface bottle necks)
It takes long to learn how to play well
The heroes play a supporting role (casting spells, buffing/debuffing, morale) and aren't manually controllable in battle
Quite micromanagement heavy (need to keep visiting map locations with your heroes for weekly bonuses and troop dwellings, also need to trade for different resources from time to time)
Armageddon spell (wastes huge armies with little effort)
Luck plays a big role (what certain locations will teach, some luck/morale/movement locations, spell selection in a mage guild is semi-random, which heroes come up in the tavern (only 2 per week unless you recruit and dismiss on purpose), which artifacts you find, morale (=extra move for a unit which can pretty much turn the tide in a battle) and luck bonuses in battle, unbalanced terrain layouts, secondary skill selection on level up)
Can't cancel/rewind a wrong move
All tiers of units can be built from the first level onwards in the campaign (lessens the sense of progression)
Can't cast haste on slower units outside of battle (might've been OP; slowest unit in an army decides how far the hero can move though this can be circumvented somewhat when in towns)
Towns are a bit faster to build overall than in Heroes 3
AI players generally start with more resources and know the map + your creature stacks by default
More expensive to upgrade units than waiting and upgrading their dwelling/production facility before recruiting
Rogues protecting an artifact never increase in strength/numbers
Can't move through high grass in battle
No ballista or first aid tent
Dimension door is OP
A hero can stay in battle with only summoned units and the spell is fairly cheap
Can't dispel temporarily resurrected creatures
Double MP springs are overpowered (there are several in the last scenario)
-
Only five creature slots on heroes and in towns when you can build six different creatures per town
Heroes and artifacts usually don't carry over to the next scenario in single player (the game can be pretty vague about this; gets tedious to re-train over and over and dampens the sense of progression)
Some near useless skills (scouting, eagle eye (worse than in Heroes 3), navigation) meaning some hero types are worse (and hero selection is close to random)
Some interface issues (can't always see if a location was visited by the current hero before/this week, no "buy all" button in the fort, no "transform all resources" in the marketplace, can't recruit creatures from the overview (town well) screen, need to click the side menu on the WM to see what day it is)
The campaign gets repetitive after a while (destroy enemy, capture location, save town are the usual missions)
Can't throw away artifacts or disown a town (there are some negative artifacts and you can't choose not to pick up an artifact taken from an enemy hero; you need to lose a throwaway hero carrying it in battle)
The story isn't as engaging as it could be (little to no focus on characters, so-so sense of progression)
Some towns can't get some spells in their guilds (you can still learn them via other towns though)
Some factions are under/overpowered or severely limited strategy-wise in multiplayer (Sorceress and Knight kind of suck?; Ghosts and (to a lesser extent) Genies are OP)
Some interface problems (can't trade between heroes while both are in a town, trading troops between heroes could be faster, sometimes unit graphics cover up their numbers stat when in battle)
Trial & error (mechanics - how retreating works, Shield doesn't protect against turret fire, Disrupting Ray can't be dispelled?, ambushes?, placement quirks in sieges, how to get certain spells, which skills are useful, location effects etc.)
Unit animations and sounds are pretty silly overall
Somewhat archaic battle message interface - since it shows only two lines it's hard to follow on higher speeds
Some spells become seriously overpowered at expert level (mass slow/haste) while others do not evolve enough
Can't quickly move an entire garrison of units to or from a hero
Can't view any details on the different options prior to a campaign level to make a better choice (heroes, artifacts, troops; need the manual)
Can't press Space or M to re-enter a location that your hero is standing on (like a world map marketplace for example)
No "wait" command
Some slowdown
Some delay after visiting some locations
No difficulty options for the campaign
Predictable AI in some ways (almost always goes for your ranged units in battle, somewhat evenly distributes its troops among all of its heroes)
Can't force ranged units into melee (need to walk up next to the enemy thus wasting one turn)
Heroes can't teach each other spells (no scholar skill)
No deployment phase pre-battle or manual siege weapon skills
The game doesn't show the mini-map during the AI's turns (can get disorienting)
Very limited save file naming options
Minor pathfinding and hit box issues
Sometimes uneven difficulty in the campaign mode (spike at Roland's sixth scenario where you lose immediately if the beginning town is conquered)
No subtitles on the briefing screens in the campaign
Can't control the catapult
Can't disband heroes
Dated looking cgi cutscenes
No caves/underworld
The music restarts when exiting or entering a town screen
Bugs:
-Archibald doesn't use his full force in the final battle (keeps 20-40 red dragons in the castle so that they're wasted)
-Semi-functioning volume controls (GOG DOS version) - Only the sfx and some jingles can be lowered
-Allied enemy heroes in the campaign sometimes kill each other or don't run away from a losing battle when they can
-Movement speed affected by slow troops can be avoided by leaving them in town overnight and then picking them up again (confirmed H2)
-Artifact bonuses for movement are added at the beginning of a day and you can switch the artifact without losing the bonus?
Notes:
Secondary skills: http://www.heroesofmightandmagic.com/heroes2/secondaryskills.shtml
Level Design-7 Frustration-7.5 Fun-7.5/8* Originality-7
Overall Score-7.5
*Hot seat multiplayer
+
Very good interface overall (hotkeys, unit splitting, grids and movement range indicators in battle, etc.)
Two different campaigns ("good" and "evil")
Effectively mixes town simulation with exploration and turn based battles
Lots of content (different heroes, skills, spells, artifacts, map encounters)
Local and online multiplayer (with save feature, teams or free for all, difficulty options (five settings: easy-impossible)
Save/load anywhere outside battle (many nameable slots)
Two fairly lengthy campaigns with some branching paths (plus one expansion available with four smaller campaigns, new units?)
Auto battle feature (the AI isn't great though)
Speed options - Langrisser II
Difficulty options (not in the campaign)
Some advanced features (terrain effects, diplomacy, moral (creature loses or gains a turn) and luck (more/less damage) bonuses, artillery for siege battles, teleporters)
Decent art direction overall (nice town views and world maps, so-so cgi cutscenes/animations, often goofy looking sprite animations)
Lots of customization (skills, spells and artifacts, troop types, upgrades)
6 diverse factions to play as with many unique strategies
Cool spells (clone, visions, hypnotize, town portal, summon boat, resurrect)
No need to build a tavern to recruit heroes (Heroes 3)
Mass versions of spells don't replace regular versions
Fund transfers between players in multiplayer?
Music changes depending on where you are on the map
Very addictive
+/-
Huge time sink (especially in multiplayer; due to limited movement points and some interface bottle necks)
It takes long to learn how to play well
The heroes play a supporting role (casting spells, buffing/debuffing, morale) and aren't manually controllable in battle
Quite micromanagement heavy (need to keep visiting map locations with your heroes for weekly bonuses and troop dwellings, also need to trade for different resources from time to time)
Armageddon spell (wastes huge armies with little effort)
Luck plays a big role (what certain locations will teach, some luck/morale/movement locations, spell selection in a mage guild is semi-random, which heroes come up in the tavern (only 2 per week unless you recruit and dismiss on purpose), which artifacts you find, morale (=extra move for a unit which can pretty much turn the tide in a battle) and luck bonuses in battle, unbalanced terrain layouts, secondary skill selection on level up)
Can't cancel/rewind a wrong move
All tiers of units can be built from the first level onwards in the campaign (lessens the sense of progression)
Can't cast haste on slower units outside of battle (might've been OP; slowest unit in an army decides how far the hero can move though this can be circumvented somewhat when in towns)
Towns are a bit faster to build overall than in Heroes 3
AI players generally start with more resources and know the map + your creature stacks by default
More expensive to upgrade units than waiting and upgrading their dwelling/production facility before recruiting
Rogues protecting an artifact never increase in strength/numbers
Can't move through high grass in battle
No ballista or first aid tent
Dimension door is OP
A hero can stay in battle with only summoned units and the spell is fairly cheap
Can't dispel temporarily resurrected creatures
Double MP springs are overpowered (there are several in the last scenario)
-
Only five creature slots on heroes and in towns when you can build six different creatures per town
Heroes and artifacts usually don't carry over to the next scenario in single player (the game can be pretty vague about this; gets tedious to re-train over and over and dampens the sense of progression)
Some near useless skills (scouting, eagle eye (worse than in Heroes 3), navigation) meaning some hero types are worse (and hero selection is close to random)
Some interface issues (can't always see if a location was visited by the current hero before/this week, no "buy all" button in the fort, no "transform all resources" in the marketplace, can't recruit creatures from the overview (town well) screen, need to click the side menu on the WM to see what day it is)
The campaign gets repetitive after a while (destroy enemy, capture location, save town are the usual missions)
Can't throw away artifacts or disown a town (there are some negative artifacts and you can't choose not to pick up an artifact taken from an enemy hero; you need to lose a throwaway hero carrying it in battle)
The story isn't as engaging as it could be (little to no focus on characters, so-so sense of progression)
Some towns can't get some spells in their guilds (you can still learn them via other towns though)
Some factions are under/overpowered or severely limited strategy-wise in multiplayer (Sorceress and Knight kind of suck?; Ghosts and (to a lesser extent) Genies are OP)
Some interface problems (can't trade between heroes while both are in a town, trading troops between heroes could be faster, sometimes unit graphics cover up their numbers stat when in battle)
Trial & error (mechanics - how retreating works, Shield doesn't protect against turret fire, Disrupting Ray can't be dispelled?, ambushes?, placement quirks in sieges, how to get certain spells, which skills are useful, location effects etc.)
Unit animations and sounds are pretty silly overall
Somewhat archaic battle message interface - since it shows only two lines it's hard to follow on higher speeds
Some spells become seriously overpowered at expert level (mass slow/haste) while others do not evolve enough
Can't quickly move an entire garrison of units to or from a hero
Can't view any details on the different options prior to a campaign level to make a better choice (heroes, artifacts, troops; need the manual)
Can't press Space or M to re-enter a location that your hero is standing on (like a world map marketplace for example)
No "wait" command
Some slowdown
Some delay after visiting some locations
No difficulty options for the campaign
Predictable AI in some ways (almost always goes for your ranged units in battle, somewhat evenly distributes its troops among all of its heroes)
Can't force ranged units into melee (need to walk up next to the enemy thus wasting one turn)
Heroes can't teach each other spells (no scholar skill)
No deployment phase pre-battle or manual siege weapon skills
The game doesn't show the mini-map during the AI's turns (can get disorienting)
Very limited save file naming options
Minor pathfinding and hit box issues
Sometimes uneven difficulty in the campaign mode (spike at Roland's sixth scenario where you lose immediately if the beginning town is conquered)
No subtitles on the briefing screens in the campaign
Can't control the catapult
Can't disband heroes
Dated looking cgi cutscenes
No caves/underworld
The music restarts when exiting or entering a town screen
Bugs:
-Archibald doesn't use his full force in the final battle (keeps 20-40 red dragons in the castle so that they're wasted)
-Semi-functioning volume controls (GOG DOS version) - Only the sfx and some jingles can be lowered
-Allied enemy heroes in the campaign sometimes kill each other or don't run away from a losing battle when they can
-Movement speed affected by slow troops can be avoided by leaving them in town overnight and then picking them up again (confirmed H2)
-Artifact bonuses for movement are added at the beginning of a day and you can switch the artifact without losing the bonus?
Notes:
Secondary skills: http://www.heroesofmightandmagic.com/heroes2/secondaryskills.shtml