Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate Review

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(More customer reviews)It has become my way to write reviews about the new things in games, in particular how new races play.Having recently bought Hammer of Fate, I figured I would do the same again.

This expansion finishes what Heroes 5 started, i.e. the creation of a great Heroes game in 3D.5 was a fun and enmeshing game that was almost as good if not AS good as Heroes 3, the benchmark of the series.Now, with the inclusion of this expansion, it is PROBABLY better.

By this I mean the expansion has the long awaited random map generator which makes for insane re-playability.It includes the caravans from Heroes 4 which means you no longer need extra heroes to run from castle to castle trying to keep one hero with a full army.Caravans also allow a town to buy from the numerous autonomous creature buildings you mark, a great addition.

Now let's move on to the new race that is a... interesting addition.If you care enough it is easy to look up creature stats online and see attack power and defense and all but I will give a general descript.

When I first started playing this race, I hated it.The primary start creature is the Defender, possibly the WORST start creature in the game.They have weak attack, health and speed.In their basic form Defenders do 1-1 damage. That means AT BEST you will do the damage of the number you have in the stack.50 Defenders will do 50 or less damage... probably less.No big deal right?Peasants for the Knights are weak but with archers it's no biggy.Well... the next unit is called Spearwielders and they are awful too.With a piddly 4(?) shots and weak damage these shooters will be out of spears long before you reduce an enemy enough to send in the Defenders.And, as most players know, most early games come down to the 1st 2nd and 3rd tier of units.Which brings up the Bear Riders.

Bear Riders are supposed to be the fast attackers of the early Dwarf game.They are hopeless at it.Again, lack of speed at attack power plus only 25 hit points means that, unlike griffons, you can't hold back and wait for a certain kill.The enemy will more likely reach you first.Thus, early game can be a rough run for Dwarfs.

However, something funny happens when Dwarfs upgrade their creatures.Defenders become Shieldguard and now their attack is better, they are a great counter to fast movers like Paladins and they have a decent turn of speed.Spearwielders become Skirmishers and double their shots.Even the near worthless Bear Riders become Black Bear Riders whose special actually knocks back enemy units and stops a counter attack.From being the 3 worst units in the game, the Dwarf 3rd tier units are now some of the best.This trend continues through all the Dwarf units, with the exclusion of Fire Dragons, which rock from the start.Thanes, tier 6, are pretty poor.Their weak attack is supplemented by a lightning attack so they always kill twice what the computer says but besides being meat shields they lack punch.Warlords move fast, strike fast and do a great single range attack.Brawlers...bad.Berserkers have a no retaliation attack that tears through weaker units.And Runic Priests are ok but Patriarchs are better.And the Dwarfs grow fast.REAL fast.All their creatures populate in unheard of numbers so players can afford to lose a few more.

As an added bonus, the Dwarf special ability, Rune making, gives Dwarf army's a dangerous unpredictability.The Rune of Speed gets even the slowest creature across the map in one turn.There is a number of others that give attack bonuses, revive creatures and shield them from attack.You can't trust a Shieldguard to stay on his side of the map and only attack once.In fact, I would say this ability is probably the best CREATURE COMBAT special ability of any race, though that is arguable.

Finally, the Dwarf town is the hardest to crack in the game yet.With numerous extra defense walls, rune mines under the wall and a special that puts as many as 2K extra Shieldguard in your army, chances are any army will take losses in excess of the gain when attacking a well garrisoned town.And this defensiveness plays well to the Dwarf army, which can sit back, let the towers do their thing and kill any flyers that come over the top.

So... The Dwarfs.

Fun?Sure.Fire and Magma Dragons stumble around the map with great sinister and make for good times late in game.Dwarf Heroes add a great unpredictability to the game as well.

Powerful?Not entirely.Until a player upgrades his creatures even wild armies will be difficult to kill and that means slow recourses early in game.

Cheap?Not at all.To even stand a chance against other players Dwarfs need to buy TONS of extra buildings and upgrades.If anything, the Dwarf early game is deadly to Dwarfs,

A good addition?Absolutely.Weaknesses aside, once the Dwarfs get rolling, they are a powerful enemy.

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Product Description:
The Empire is paralyzed by a vicious civil war, having barely recovered from the massive conflict against the demon hordes and the undead legions.Take part into a thrilling new adventure in the world of Ashan with the Hammers of Fate expansion. Discover uncharted territories and experience new ways of playing Heroes of Might & Magic V.

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