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As the Heroes of Might and Magic V release gets closer, more features are posted, this time from IGN, Gamespot, and GameSpy. IGN has a hands-on preview of the upcoming game developed by Nival Entertainment, and discusses the upgraded features including graphics and continuous story. The Gamespot feature is also a hands-on preview talks about features similar to older Heroes games and multiplayer. Highlights of the Gamespy preview include the graphics, and elements of HoMM III that have found their way back to HoMM V.

From IGN:

With the change of publisher it's no surprise that the developer has changed as well. In this case, it's not a bad move. The new developer, Nival Interactive, has made some terrific games in the past like the Blitzkrieg, Etherlords, Silent Storm series all of which have been decent at the very least. Putting Heroes of Might & Magic into their hands seems like a perfect fit.

However, the game will also feature two entirely new multiplayer modes, one of which is designed to let you sit down and play a game of Heroes in no more than half an hour. The duel mode will focus exclusively on tactical battles, and it will let you choose from a set of preconfigured armies with a certain makeup of different units, after which you can go at it in head-to-head multiplayer. Each of these armies will be fine-tuned to provide an interesting, but balanced, side to play. We tried out our own duel, and found it to be similar to challenging preconfigured chess games, only slightly faster with 100 percent more fire-breathing dragons.

All that, of course, means nothing without great gameplay -- and this is where I'm most excited. If you asked me what my dream for the Heroes of Might & Magic franchise was, I would answer, "Heroes III, better graphics." While I wasn't able to delve as deeply into the game as I would have liked, my cursory gameplay experience tells me that that's exactly what Nival has delivered. The two tier unit production chart of Heroes IV is...

IGN: HoMM V Preview

Gamespot: HoMM V Preview

Gamespy: HoMM V Preview

Freeverse (add to watch list)

Ubisoft (add to watch list)

Heroes of Might & Magic V (add to watch list)

Buy Heroes of Might & Magic V

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