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Quick Info
Mods available?	Yes
Year released	1999
Available from	GoG
Category	Roguelike
Time to Beat	56 Hours
Played?	Yes
Game length provided by HowLongToBeat

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Heroes of Might and Magic 3 is a turn-based strategy game developed by New World Computing in 1999, and some would say an absolute cult classic. The game blends beautiful pixel art graphics with a rich fantasy world with an underpinning of fun strategy mechanics. The game provides the players with control of heroes that command armies of creatures themed around the type of town also controlled by the player. The heroes travel across the game world utilizing per-turn allotted movement points, fighting creatures, collecting resources and finding artifacts to augment their stats. The resources found can then be used in the towns owned by the player to build up infrastructure, unlock new units, and hire more creatures to add to the players army. Heroes can also attack other towns owned by other players, laying siege and potentially capturing the town for their own use. Additionally, other battles will play out over the course of the game, with either groups of neutral monsters or other heroes on a hexagonal grid, also progressing through a series of turn based movements.

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Why should this game be played?

This game feels like a warm blanket. Between the pleasing pixelated visuals, the chill music and great high-fantasy atmosphere there is some form of enjoyment to be found here. On the surface the game's premise is simple - explore the map, build up a town, get units, and fight it out on a hexagonal grid. Only pursuing that in its simplest form can turn into many hours of game time, but if and when the player wishes to dive down the rabbit hole, there is much more to be found.

The base game offers a total of nine playable factions (often referred to as towns), all who follow the same general formula but have differences in town upgrade paths, unit stats and available heroes. In the version of the game widely available (which comes with the official expansion packs) there is a total of three campaigns to be played, totaling 20 missions and providing upwards of 50 hours of gameplay. Beyond that the game comes packaged with over 150 single scenario maps, ranging from small to extra-large in size. With each scenario offering the option to set starting factions, starting heroes and a starting bonus. Finally, there is a random map generator with some terrain settings and the ability to add up to 7 computer controlled opponents and influence their difficulty. This is all a very cursory explanation of what is available in the game, without even broaching the topic of multiplayer (and the thriving niche community) and the potential for getting even more content through one of the many mods available for the game.

Where to get the game

First and foremost - DO NOT BUY THIS GAME FROM STEAM. The version of Heroes III on Steam is the 'HD' version, which only includes the base game as released and a middling HD uplift to the graphics. Additionally, the Steam version of the game is a functionally different version, which means that while it's able to be modded, very few people have taken the time to create anything for it. Whereas the GoG version is the 'complete' version, which comes with all expansions and has a plethora of mods available for it, which can be used to integrate HD graphics and full on fan-made expansion packs.

So in summary - BUY THE GoG VERSION.

• GoG

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