This game is a great successor to Heroes IV. That game tried to introduce the innovation of heroes that were essentially a beefed up army unit, but fortunately in Heroes V, heroes are back to being commanders that stay out of harms way. Other than the issue of hero units, I love the move to a true 3D graphics engine. The units are beautiful and it is fun to be able to zoom in for a close camera angle during battles. I generally just zone out the music in a game but the music in Heroes V actually gets and keeps my attention. Some innovations to gameplay I have enjoyed is a revamped morale system where morale bonuses determine turn order (and even the possibility of regular, predictable multiple turns for a unit during one battle round) rather than a random chance of receiving another turn for a unit as well as a unit move timeline where you know when a unit will move so you can plan the battle more effectively. An extensive single-player campaign provides plenty of hours of gameplay supported by a good story, although combat can become monotonous. In conclusion, this game is essentially Heroes III with an extensive facelift and a few very useful combat innovations. Not a bad conclusion considering Heroes III is considered by many to be an epitome of the Heroes series.

Very nice game, returning to the more traditinal game mechanics that made the serie's success.

The turn by turn gameplay and the graphics are excellent.

Main downside is an unoriginal and not much developed storyline.

a game with a very exciting story line - if you can get into the characters

while I feel the dialogue leaves a bit to be desired - the actual events of the plot are very interesting

awesome game format and ideas for strategy play

can't wait for VI!!!

by the way - I could not beat this game without walkthroughs on the net I would only advise the passionate for puzzles to play out this game all the way!

Yuck! I played Migh tand Magic many years ago and remember being addicted to the game. Now, less than 5 hours into Heroes of Might and Magic V, I quit. The game play is very awkward, with a day and night system that is not as seamless as one would like. The graphics are very outdated and the game itself seems to lack identity... It is like a poor cross between Age of Empires and Kings Bounty, and yet it does neither of them well. The single player game is based on a campaign structure, similar to Age of Empires and as you progress through the story, your character and army changes with each campaign. You loose whatever army and items you had found and towns that you had captured. The only thing that follows from one campaign to the next is your level. You also do not have an option of characters to choose from.

Take my advise and do not get this game. If you are hell bent on trying it out, demo it first.

Having never played any of the Heroes of Might & Magic series I'd say my review may be slightly biased in terms of initial gameplay awareness. However, I love games and it takes a lot to impress me.

The game provides the player with a serious lack of awareness with what's going on. To start off, you have no clue what to do really. Nothing is explained at all; the statistics, inventory, items, spells. The skills you obtain at different levels leave you wondering how far along you'll benefit from it's following skills. It's hard to determine what's what in the game, and much is left unexpalined.

Gameplay is fun, until you realise there aren't that many units to play with in each Campaign. This game is okay, but has a lot more potential.

I have been playing this game for the past month. I would rate this a five star. I have played all of the previous Heroes games and this version has just as good of game play as the others. Replay value very high. The graphics are exponentially better than even version IV. Right now I am playing on "Easy" and have still been challenge on some scenarios. Of course that could be my talent level, but in my eyes if you like challenges in your strategy games this would be an excellent choice. If you haven't played any other Heroes games, number V is easy to learn and will entice you to play some of the others. Worth the price and even included the first expansion "Hammers of Fate" which I haven't even had time to play yet because the base game is so much fun.

Heores of Might and Magic 5, the 5 game in a great series. Theres not much more to say than this is really just making a perfect game better. Theres not much more to say than if you like turn based strategy games with a fantasy theme this is the ultimate game for you. I am just glad they still keep producing this stalwart of the turn based strategy genre. If you haven't Played Heores before, buy this and give it a try you wont be disapointed.