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The Might and Magic series has one of the grandest prestiges in classic strategy gaming, and the task of translating it to a free-to-play browser title is a heavy task to say the least – so if any developer was going to tackle it with any success, it would be one beneath the Ubisoft umbrella.
Everything you know and love about the game is still basically intact, but thereβs been a multiplayer aspect skillfully woven into the core Might and Magic experience with an almost subtle approach – it doesnβt seem like a M&M game with multiplayer tacked on. It feels like a fluid next step for the series
Combat is laid out on a hexagonal grid, with your hero removed like a fragile princess wearing clearly decorative full plate armour atop a mighty steed, waving a massive sword around in a way that almost suggests he might use it. As usual youβll be deploying a bunch of footsoldiers to do the dirty work, supporting their efforts with the heroβs spells when he can tear himself away from the dainty picnic heβs obviously having offscreen. If your footsoldiers all die, youβre done for.
We begun our hands-on with the Haven faction (after having our wrists slapped for attempting to play the then unfinished but totally bad-ass Necro faction). Itβs worth pointing out that the other two titles we previewed (Anno & Silent Hunter Online) needed a little bit of explanation before we got stuck in. But Blue Byte let Might and Magic Online speak for itself, and speak it did. The tutorial is effortlessly integrated into the starting area, teaching you the basics of rallying your posse of soldiers and bowmen against wolves and similar troublesome beasties. The power of ranged units (and by that token, your heroβs support spells) has been significantly decreased to ensure you really think about what youβre sending your men into. The focus is on strategy now more than ever – you wonβt just be kiting monsters across the grid while a mass of archers tucked into cover wipe out everything in sight. Archers are powerful but typical glass hammers, so even in the opening section where thereβs only two units to assemble your force from, youβll be choosing your moves wisely and treasuring every precious little peon as if youβre worried theyβre not wrapped up warm enough or they arenβt getting enough calcium.
The value of individual units has seriously stepped up. Losing a soldier can be crippling at the best of times, and though that might sound too harsh for some, itβs a refreshing change of tactical pace. The interface is simple, everything is on screen and easily navigated by mouse, but the strategy runs much deeper. As I mentioned before, losses really matter and are not so easily recuperated
PvE takes place in a gorgeous overworld where you can see other players running around, collect resources and gold scattered about the map, and just explore – thereβs a lot to take in. By todayβs graphical standards it has the appearance of a PC game just starting to show its age, but infinitely crisper and more colourful – and packed into a browser. I canβt stress enough how impressive it is, from fullscreen on a 37β TV at home to a webpage shiftily tucked away on your laptop at work. Movement in the overworld isnβt turn based, so when youβre not screaming in terror for fear of your last archerβs wellbeing youβll be exploring an isometric map, picking up quests from lazy army official types and bumping into other players to trade or group with. Unfortunately we couldnβt put the party feature through its paces in our preview, but if it works anywhere near as well as the rest of the game, we donβt have anything to worry about.
After about an hour of gameplay we were shown a controlled demonstration of the Necro faction, who bring something a little different to the typical human Haven faction – youβll be attempting to control an outbreak on a gloomy prison island instead of braving a forest and killing wolves (in their natural habitat, I might add). The Haven story route walks some well-trodden fantasy ground, but the Necro campaign is sort of like playing from another perspective, and itβs a welcome change.
Blue Byte have rebuilt Might and Magicβs core gaming to be more palatable for browser gaming (which is often the domain of the procrastinator or the bored commuter) so the maps are much smaller, laced with impassable features like rivers or rocky outcrops to ensure that while battles might be condensed, theyβre still just as tactical, allowing you to create bottlenecks and choke points with your troops. Whether youβre just dropping in to kill some time on your train or settling in for a long evening of tactical warfare, youβll enjoy every battle individually. Fighting never becomes a chore – which is hugely reassuring considering the potentially 100+ hours of play you might be sinking into it.
The big freemium question still stands though, and while we werenβt given much of an ideaΒ of pricing rates for Hero Seals (the secondary currency) we were told that Seals can be picked up free of charge for those who play regularly. Again, thereβs no word about the amount, but Hero Seals are likely to become more valuable than the primary currency of gold at the end game. They can be used for such purposes as reviving fallen soldiers at the end of a battle, which is likely going to be a key part of Blue Byteβs profit strategy – monetizing our laziness was a stroke of genius.
What really matters, though, is that you can play and enjoy the game completely free without spending any money. The option will always be there to part with a fraction of cash for in-game benefits but itβs not going to put you above anyone else when it comes to the skirmishes – itβll just be less painful when you fail. The game is completely free and accessible, meaning you donβt have to part with any cash or even any hard drive space to enjoy the next step in strategy gaming. Go on – itβd be rude not to.
MMOHut have uploaded a great First Look Game play Video Enjoy
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