Heroes of Sword and Magic 3: Renaissance of Eratia. Heroes of discrete time

Debate about which of the five parts of a step by step Heroes of Might and Magic The best, it seems, will be conducted forever. We will decide immediately in the introduction: each is good in its own way. Why then, in honor of the fifteenth anniversary of the famous series, we decided to write a retro review precisely Heroes of Might and Magic 3: The Restoration of Erathia? Because the third “Heroes” are a golden middle, a game that divided the history of Homm into “before” and “after”.

1999 was the year of the genre equinox. From the conveyor ID Software The online shooter came down Quake 3 Arena , Addon Starcraft: Brood War summed up the construction of the perfect RTS, Outcast I rewrote the canons of Advenchur with the tongue of Voacles, and a genetic mutant settled in the zoo of role -playing entertainment System Shock 2. Neither before nor after the game diet was so balanced, diverse and useful. This is now clear, but then, in his youth, we were mainly drawn to sweets – to the second “worms” and, of course, the third “heroes”.

Velvet evolution

Name Heroes of Might and Magic 3 revolutionary cannot even be very stretched. Developers from New World Computing We went the same road as three years earlier, when they created the second (really breakthrough) part of the company step -by -step series.

IN " Revival of Eratia »We again waited for the army of the army every Monday, marked with flags of the mine with seven various types of resources, easily dealt with neutral monsters and, making certain efforts, with the heroes-appropriates. Eight castles, in contrast to the same six, added the game of a fantasy horizons (with the release of Addon " Blade of Armageddon »Another faction has been added), and the possibility of an upgrade of everyone (!) basic unit – somewhat complicated the micro -study. But only. The foundation of the gameplay remained unshakable.

In the “Renaissance”, the entertainment potential embedded in Homm was finally disclosed by 100% – probably this must be explained by the phenomenal reigree of the trickel. All the gears of the collected NWC mechanism worked in a deep immersion in the game: an improved interface, slightly smarter artificial intelligence, a brilliant soundtrack and the highest bargaining bar. All one and a half hundred units are drawn with academic diligence, everywhere pleasant, smooth animation. In the third part of the paint, according to the general opinion, somewhat faded and lost Disney cartoon – but a distinct photographic effect appeared. As a result, the disputes that the second or third “heroes” are more beautiful – they still have not subsided.

The main meditation of the gameplay, as before, in the construction of the castle. Here, for the first time in the history of the series, the NWC tried to persuade heroists towards the development of one of the two lines: either the kingdom’s income (prefecture/municipality/Capitol), or an increase in the number of defensive rifle nests and the Fort/Citadel/Castle). However, with the neat distribution of resources, both tasks were solved by the middle of the second week, and after a month of active architecture, the castle was completely rebuilt.

It was possible to give the capital the final gloss by introducing a special artifact to the city – the Holy Grail. For each faction, the Grail did something of his. So, the tower was acquired by a heavenly ship (+15 to the knowledge of the defender hero), and the player opened the whole card. In the castle of Inferno, the god of fire settled, significantly increasing the birth rate of demons. In the “Armageddon blade”, a polar radiance was lit over the conjugation, and in the guild of magicians all the spells existing in the game appeared. In addition, the Grail brought 5,000 gold daily and increased the growth of creatures by 50% per week.

Without this game, they would not be released

What would we lose if Homm3 had never seen the light

King’s Bounty: The Legend of the Knight

Original King’s Bounty 1990, many call zero "heroes". This, of course, is not so: the “king’s award” did not contain construction in castles, the hero was only one, and the games are not connected in any way. However, following this logic, the 2008 remake from Katauri Interactive with a certain share of conventional can be equated to Heroes of Might and Magic 6. And, honestly, if the real sixth part has to see the light, then let it take the best from the “legend”-the strategy of the year according to “Gambling”.

Heroes of Malgrimia

In 1992, Kharkov citizen Sergey Prokofiev made an unofficial sequel King’s Bounty. The game came out extremely similar to the original, but, alas, unfinished (literally – it was simply impossible to pass). After 14 years, Prokofievskaya Studio " Alpha class "Repeated the same strange maneuver. Her “Heroes of Malgrimia” were similar to Homm to the degree of mixing, but they could only be recommended by the ardent fans of the genre, ready to put up with outdated graphics and a bag of bugs. However, in " Heroes of Malgrimi 2 https://jackpot-village-casino.co.uk/ »Prokofiev and Ko corrected – the sequel was much better than the original.

Disciples 3: Renaissance

Players professing a cult Disciples , can be compared with the Old Believers: they do not recognize their spiritual kinship with adherents of the dominant religion and in general – hold onto. Our advice to you: Never talk to the "dysiplers" about "Hirois" – you will hear a lot of non -parliamentary expressions. At the same time, it was the “Renaissance of Eratia”, which came out in the same year with the first part of Disciples, who ensured the game the starting growth of the fan base: many who were disappointed in the Creation of NWC found spiritual peace in the world of Nevendar.

Know the heroes in the face

Homm3 became a favorite pasture of Mantlerschkin. The possibility of transferring the most pumped commanders to future missions forced us to organize a long race on the map with a visit to all the golden and investigations-from the “+1000 to experience” to six basic library cells (+2 to each of the four basic characteristics-attack , protection, power of magic and knowledge). However, this did not insure from the difficulties of passing: the complexity of the campaign grew with each card passed, and for especially savvy strategists, separate grandmaster scenarios were prepared against AI.

Nevertheless, all this was only a prelude to really bright maneuvers. Heroes of Might and Magic, whatever part – this is primarily many hours spent in the multiplayer. Who will now remember who the sword of Queen Enrot Katherine exposed against whom and what the main warlock of the enemy kingdoms was called? But about the best moments of friendly “hot sites” during numerous birthdays, they probably recall, probably, everyone whose childhood was in the best years of the series. The most elegant gift was considered the festive card prepared in the editor of the missions, where the birthday man regularly supplied a free and strong army.

It is not easy to talk about this every time, but the “revival of Eratia” came the heyday of the entire Order -bearing Universe M&M. Three months after the third “heroes” New World Computing and 3DO will be released Might and Magic 7: For Blood and Honor , one of the pearls of his CRPG series. Bestiary in Might and Magic 7 looked just like in a strategic brothers (on the previous round of releases, Homm2 and M&M6, the units looked different), both games formed a single setting and weaved plots.

Alas, the promising unification of game worlds did not receive further development. The financial turmoil approached unnoticed – neither the developer nor the publisher survived the market cataclysms of zero. In the next four years, they managed to sell another good, one weak and one completely failed game under a once loud brand and go bankrupt. The rights to Homm and M&M switched to Ubisoft , But this is a completely different story ..

* * *

“Grandchildren will evaluate our achievements on an aesthetic scale, the only measure will remain, as in production – quality,” wrote Sergey Dovlatov, teaching contemporaries. We think it will correctly apply this maxim to the best games of the nineties. The third “heroes” go into history by an exhibit of meticulous handmade, the last and decisive battle of the flat with three -dimensional. The story of the entire classic series “Sword and Magic” is, in essence, a love story for a beautifully drawn 2D picture. If Homm was a timid date, Homm2 is a passionate novel, then Homm3 is already a long and happy marriage, which neither the soulless Robot Lumber Homm4, nor the remake of Homm5, could destroy the bonds. 11 years after the release, veterans players remain faithful to the classics, proof of which-numerous tournaments on the third “heroes”, regularly announced through the channels of fan hommanships.

Reigracy – yes

Cool plot – no

Originality – no

Easy to master – yes

Gameplay: 10

Graphics: 10

Sound and music: 10

Interface and management: 9

What it was? "Heroes" in the prime of strength, the most pedantic creation of New World Computing – wizards of our childhood.

Assessment of "Gambling": 9.5

" Fabulous "