Customer Reviews

Heroes of Might & Magic 4 Expansion: The Gathering Storm

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I enjoyed the expansion pack much more than Heroes of M&M IV. There are some new elements in the expansion (as described in a previous and very accurate review). The arenas (fighting black or magic dragons to go up a level) are fun and change the strategy of how you might want to build your heroes. The campaigns are very well thought through, and finishing all six will require a substantial time investment. There are really two major changes that make these campaigns very enjoyable and playable. First, the artifacts are very important and there are a wide range of new and interesting ones. Second, there is real recognition of the fact that this is really a RPG with strategy built in. Your fully developed heroes come back for the final scenario exactly as you developed them (as opposed to previous Heroes campaigns in which you spend time developing excellent heroes and are then rewarded with computer generated schlock). This makes for some really enjoyable play in the final campaign. Some of the campaigns are really tough, and require very careful play in spite of the dismal AI. (I agree with all the comments I have read about the poor AI for Heroes IV.) The strength of the expansion is better map construction and concept in both the campaigns and scenarios. If you liked the concept of Heroes IV, you will like the expansion pack even more. I have also played a bunch of the scenarios in the expansion pack, and they are defintely better than the ones in Heroes IV.
All, the problems of Heroes IV still exist, but they have strengthened the good elements.

I am very upset because I got the expansion pack to go with my heroes iv and everytime I try to install it it say please install heroes iv first. Well, now I bought a second heroes iv thinking that my heroes iv made from ubisoft wasn't the right one so I ordered another game thinking it was made from 3do. Both are the same game made from ubisoft and both don't work with the expansion pack. So I can't use it!!!

3DO has continued its decline. In HH4 you got several campaigns that were all stand alone with no concluding campaign, however you were given a continuous story that tied each scenario together, while the stories may not have been compelling in many cases, they were there. In Gathering storm they have added a concluding campaign uniting the individual campaigns together. What they forgot in several cases was the story in the initial campaigns. In fact, in one campaign except for a small text box between scenarios there was no story line developed during the scenario. You got the impression they just strung 3 randomly generated maps together.

This was the last hurrah of 3DO. They basically put this on the shelf, sold a bunch, and then closed their doors. This game is weak and full of bugs. Overall it is a very shoddy product. I was so angry after I bought it I almost sought out my local District Attorney to see about suing this company, but they had already closed the shop.

Even though I have had the Heros IV on my computer for quite awhile and I have played it to death, the expansion pack says it isn't there and refuses to install! I have already sold my original Heros IV cd, so now I'll have to find someone who wants to buy this one.

I love this expansion pack! It has a new campaign and new scenarios and is very well made and entertaining...I wish Ubisoft hadn't changed to the new format because I enjoy this type of game much more than the new one...although the new one might be more technologically advanced!

The "Gathering Storm" brings campaigns of interest, with more complexity than the original. It's worth the time & money.