Heroes of Might & Magic 4 Expansion: The Gathering Storm

by The 3DO Company

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00006IR3P
• Item Weight: 12.3 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: September 24, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,179 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Gathering Storm includes six entirely new campaigns which tell the tale of five heroes and their quest to defeat a mad wizard named Hexis, whose control of the realms of Nature and Death have begun a chain of events that threaten not just the heroes' own kingdom of Devonshire, but all of the lands of Lodwar. As Hexis's strength grows, so does his negative effect on nature itself. Earthquakes, floods, storms, and more have begun to spread across the kingdom, and it is up to the five heroes to stop Hexis and somehow reverse the damage he has done.

Product Description

Requires Installed Original Heroes IV to Play

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable but the price is unjustified, January 6, 2003

By 

M. Gold (Tukwila, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heroes of Might & Magic 4 Expansion: The Gathering Storm (CD-ROM)

Don't get me wrong, I'm having a lot of fun with this expansion. The new campaigns surpass the campaigns included with the original Heroes IV game, and they've revived my waning interest in Heroes IV. The new creatures and artifacts seem like interesting novelties--not really necessary or very important. Like many other fans of the series, I wish that there were more content in this expansion. Among other things, it would be nice to have a new castle type, or significant changes to the existing ones. The previous expansions in the Heroes series have all added significant gameplay elements or forced the player to develop new strategies. This one, while I admit it is enjoyable, doesn't give rise to new play styles or strategies.

If you can wait to buy this expansion, you probably should. Sometime down the line, 3DO will undoubtably release a "complete" version of Heroes IV including the orginal game, this expansion, and the upcomming 2nd expansion. They've taken this route with the prior Heroes games, and these releases have turned out to be much more attractive price-wise.

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The weakest HoMM expansion so far, October 6, 2002

By 

Jozef (Atlanta, GA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Heroes of Might & Magic 4 Expansion: The Gathering Storm (CD-ROM)

Considering the previous Heroes of Might and Magic Expansions (Price of Loyalty, Armageddon Blade and Shadow of Death), I have had pretty high expectations for this expansion. While I enjoyed playing it very much, I highly doubt that it is worth the [money].

The new expansion includes the following features:

* Multiplayer support (also available as a free download from the 3DO site)
* Six campaigns
* Four new monsters
* Several new buildings
* 15 new artifacts

Pros:

* The six campaigns were designed much better than the original maps. The designers took into account the terrible A.I., and tweaked their maps accordingly. The new maps are much more linear (probably to avoid the A.I. cheating with the Fog of War), and have a deffinite RPG feel to it. In fact, I consider this expansion to be a role-playing game with strong strategy elements, not the other way round.

* Some of the new buidings - arenas of two types - add to the fun factor to the game. These arenas will grant a hero a level when he (alone) defeats a number of dragons.

Cons:

* Serious bugs in multiplayer allow for lots of cheating. For example, players are able to move units between towns instantly, due to one of the more serious bugs.

* Gameplay of 20-30 hours for single player does not justify the price.

* Random map generator still not included.

* User maps created when this expansion is installed will not run on HoMM4 without the expansion, even if the new elements are not included.

Conclusion:
If you are a HoMM fan, wait till the price drops... before going out and buying it.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is what you REALLY get with this expansion.., October 20, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Heroes of Might & Magic 4 Expansion: The Gathering Storm (CD-ROM)

I have played this expansion,so unlike some of reviewers here I know what I'm talking about. Here is what you get:

Around 20 Single scanario maps and 5 multi-player maps
6 Camapaigns (the 6th one opens up when you finish the 5th)
4 New creatures (pretty tough ones at that)
around 18 new artifacts in 5 sets (when the sets are put together you get bonus abilities)
5 Spell conservatories (adventure objects where you can buy spell scrolls)
2 Arenas (adventure object where you fight dragons to gain levels)
The multi-player patch is included (or you can download seperatly)

Enough in my opinion to be worth the price. The campaign maps are also more challenging also IMHO. In the end, if you liked Heroes IV, your gonna like this one as well.