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 main game, I played the expansion Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate. In this expansion, a whole new race is introduced and you can now play as the Dwarves. There are new maps, many of them winter themed, and a new campaign is available. In online play, you can now also choose the Dwarves as a playable race.

In Hammers of Fate, a new mechanic is introduced. Units can use Runes to empower their attacks and gain small bonusses in term of damage, defense and accuracy. It is a unique mechanic, however, I thought it was pretty overpowered sometimes. The Rune Priest units for example, can wipe out an enemy stack in seconds when they use an attack Rune. It consumes resources, which is fair, but I think the Dwarven units do profit more from the mechanics than other races. The best example of this are the Thane units, who blast all electricity from six powerplants through their axes, annihilating the enemy.

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. I have to say though, that the new Dwarven units all looked a little generic and were not as diverse and well designed as all the other races in the game, in my honest opinion.

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. However, in the Hammers of Fate expansion, in which you play as the Dwarves, the soundtracks are a little disappointing in comparison.

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

Overall, I liked the Hammers of Fate expansion, although I still prefer the last one, Tribes of the East. This one was a little on the generic side in my opinion. I also thought the balance was a little off in comparison with all the other factions in Heroes of Might and Magic V.

Will still recommend it to complete the whole experience the series offers.