—Game Review— Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes

This was offered free for gold subscribers in the Xbox Live Marketplace some time ago. I grabbed it based on my brother's recommendation. It's a clever little game of puzzle-style battles. I enjoyed it enough to grab the PC edition when it went on sale on Steam for only $5. 

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***Clash of Heroes***
Might & Magic

Published by Ubisoft | Developed by Capybara Games

Released 2011 | Puzzle

For Xbox 360, PS3, PC | Review: Xbox 360, PC
(Originally released for Nintendo DS in 2009;
released for Android/iOS in 2013)

*Rated E10 for Everyone 10+*

Mild Fantasy Violence | Mild Language

Mild Suggestive Themes
HGG rating: ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ 9/10

Synopsis? 

You are the young people of a collection of kingdoms under attack. You must fight your way to freedom, taking on foes in a puzzle battle style. 

First impressions? 

Interesting. Very. It's a fun, relaxing game. They walk you through your first few battles, forcing you to quickly catch on to how the battle system works. Easy, peasy.

Graphics and voices? 

This is a puzzle game originally developed for Nintendo DS, so the graphics are simple, but I think they suit the overall feel of the game rather well. I love the colors.

In-game cutscene

There is only one voice in this, the narrator for the cutscenes, who gives the story a compelling quality. I've linked a short video here as an example, but if you haven't played this game and worry about spoilers, you might not want to watch. (Yes, this is one of my videos. I apologize for the shortness.)

Gameplay? 

The single-player campaign is divided into 5 parts: Irollan (Anwen the elf), Holy Griffin Empire (Godric the knight), Heresh (Fiona the ghost), Sheogh (Aidan the demon), and Silver Cities (Nadia the mage).

The map
This is where you select which portion of the game you want to play.
(I morphed five maps to make one that shows all five characters. You're welcome. lol)

Battles are puzzles involving enemies on one side of the board and allies on the other. Link three of the same color fighter together to form an attack. Link three or more across to form a defensive wall. These walls are necessary, especially in boss fights.

The battlefield

You come across special fighting units that have more powerful/unique attacks, but these usually cost money and can actually die in battle. Thankfully, every battle you fight results in money for buying more. You are limited to 10, 5, or 3 of each depending on just how special/powerful the unit is.

Fiona's soldiers in Heresh

Each character's level cap is 10; the bosses are higher than this, up to level 15. The fighting units cap out at level 5.

Capped hero, stronger boss

This is one that is multiplayer too. I don't do the multiplayer mode, 'cause it's just not my thing, but I imagine it is fun and challenging. For each portion of the single-player campaign you finish, an additional multiplayer character is unlocked. These have different magic attacks from the main characters.

Storyline? 

It's a good story, though pretty cliche as far as game stories go: A group of young people taxed with stopping a power-mad person from unleashing great evil into the world. Honestly, it's a cliche that works rather well, thus the reason it's a cliche in the first place. In fact, this is pretty much the story behind all my favorite games...and most games for that matter. Whatever. The story's good. lol

The playing field

Complaints? 

Um... none, really. It is what it is. I find it fun and relaxing, though there are times it's a bit of a challenge.

Close call

Overall? 

Great game. Good story. Interesting, sometimes challenging puzzles. Hours and hours of relaxing fun (30+). This is my go-to game when I need to chill.

There is no noticeable difference between the Xbox 360 and PC editions of this game. Graphics are the same quality, gameplay's the same (especially if you use a controller for PC), and neither one was buggy, at least not that I noticed. The PC edition is easy to play without a controller, though—I should point that out since I'm not a keyboard/mouse user in general. 

My rating? 

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ 9/10 life hearts. Considering how much time I've spent playing this game, and I've played it through twice, I can honestly say, for what it is, this is a really good game.  

Where to buy?

• Steam
• Xbox Live Marketplace
• PlayStation Store
• Amazon (Nintendo DS, Kindle, PC)
• GameStop (Nintendo DS)
• iTunes (iOS)
• Google Play (Android)

*Screenshots and video taken by LowliGigger (The Heartless Gamer Girl); © Ubisoft/Capybara Games. These companies in no way endorse this fan blog.

Until next time...