I loved Heroes of Might and Magic V. I tried the earlier installments before, but never understood the game and its mechanics. For some reason, HOMM V was a lot more accessible and easier to understand.

The mechanics in HOMM V are relatively simple. You explore a map, with various resources, towns, small buildings and upgrades, to increase your strength, stats and army. On the map, different units are stationed, some friendly and ready to join you, but most of them are hostile. You fight them to earn XP, level up and unlock more skills. The goal of each map varies from scenario to scenario but mostly includes the conquering of a town or gate to win. Some scenarios are timed, adding to the challenge.

After the somewhat average expansion Hammers of Fate, I played the second and last expansion Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East. Immediately I was in love with the new campaign, new playable race and the third (optional) evolution of every race in the game.

In Tribes of the East, you can now play as the Orcs. In true Orc fashion, they are savage, brutal and strong, and their new bloodlust mechanics in Heroes V is an important asset in their fighting strategy. I also really liked the small references crosswise between the Orc units and their appearances in Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, in which you fight Orcs, Goblins and even a Paokai. The new campaign was a lot of fun and I enjoyed the story far better than Hammers of Fate.

In addition, all units, from every race, now have a third upgrade available. The balance in these upgrades is really well done. Instead of “just making them stronger”, each unit now has a “new better feature”, but also a “slightly worse” stat or skill. You really need to look per unit what works best for your playstyle and upgrade them accordingly.

The graphics are great for the time and the animations of the units en environmental buildings are nicely done. The color pattern is warm and soft and enhances the experience. All the new unit variations are a little mixed. Some are straight reskins with a different color, but others have completely different looks.

The best upgrades for the units in my opinion are the Dungeon creatures (different clothing, new weapons, more armor pieces). The worst are the Inferno creatures (make everything grey and replace fire with smoke).

By far the best aspect of Heroes of Might and Magic V, is the sound. The (combat) music is absolutely great and the sound effects are spot on. I loved the satisfying sound effect of the scythe of the Wraith units and the four-sword attack of the Rakhasa rani. It is sound design at its best. The only personal complaint I have, is that all the sound effects of the third upgrade units are completely ruined in my opinion. They all sound terrible in comparison to the solid, brutal effects from the second upgrade units. This is a matter of my own experience I think.

The mechanics, controls and interfaces are easy to understand and can be mastered fairly quickly.

I think Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East is the best expansion for the main game and when playing HOMM again, Tribes of the East is the way to go.

Definitely recommend this game.