Clash of Heroes (DS), a better spiritual succesor to Puzzle Quest?

So I've just stumbled onto a lot of chatter about Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes, the newest game from Capybara Games (of Critter Crunch on the PSN fame).

It's in the same puzzle/rpg sub-genre of Puzzle Quest, but personally has a ton more charm and uses a completely different puzzle mechanic (hello, addiction!). It has zero to do with previous Might & Magics, as it seems to be a small studio attaching themselves to a known property to get their game published.

IMAGE(http://www.capybaragames.com/images/MMCH_S_CampaignHaven2.jpg)IMAGE(http://www.capybaragames.com/images/sc3.jpg)IMAGE(http://www.capybaragames.com/images/sc6.jpg)

I was pretty disappointed with PQ: Galactrix (the mechanic was unintuitive to me and the loading was onerous), but this game has me hooked so far. It also seems to be getting good reviews thus far on the all powerful metacritic.

Oh, and it's cheap! It's on sale from bestbuy.com for $19.99 right now.

Better? Successor? Puzzle Quest?! I'm all in.

I saw the trailer a few days ago and besides the amazing vo it looked like a quality product. I must play this, it's just a matter of when.

I just picked this up. Thanks for the heads up about the sale at Best Buy. I just spent an hour wandering the aisles trying to find something worthy of my $15 rewards certificate. New DS game for $5? Sold!

This game looks really great. I'll probably add it to my pile. Toys R Us has a buy one get one half off sale. Maybe I'll pick up this and Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Thanks for the heads up on the sale, wokavan. I also had a $10 best buy gift card.

Been playing it for about two hours now, and I think it really scratches the Puzzle Quest itch. I also appreciate the option to use stylus or d-pad controls. I know what I'll be playing during my holiday travels.

This is good. I'm having fun. Let's see how long it will hold my attention. I really like that I have a reason to turn on my DS again!

I picked this up at best buy today. So far it's fantastic. I'm an hour or two in and I'm already hooked. I hope this game doesn't get lost in the holiday rush. I can't remember the last time I played a retro style rpg and looked forward to the combat.

Ooooh, this sounds like my kind of game. I have plenty of addicting titles in my library. Looks like it's time to buy another.

Just got this, and am enjoying it far more than Puzzle Quest. Actually. PQ might not be the best comparison; reminds me of King's Bounty more than PQ.

In Gamasutra's Best of 2009 write-up, Brandon Sheffield writes re: Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes: "for my money, it’s the best DS game this year."

Wow nice find. I just ordered it for in-store pickup. I will be stopping at BestBuy on my way home. These seem to be the type of games that are best suited for the DS.

woot! I'm glad I'm not the only one really enjoying this one. I just wanted to quickly bump this topic up since the best buy sale is about to end tonight (I assume?).

I picked it up, seems good so far.

I've been playing for a few days and it really has been giving me the PQ DS vibe. Most matches are so short that I can either make the experience 'finish the area', or 'do this one fight' and be satisfied. This game can't be criticized for Spirit Tracks slow opening. I think I've played 2 hours and it just now eased up on giving me new mechanics to use.

The only thing I tsk at is the polish of the menus. It takes longer than it should for a little bar to pop-up and the same can be said for switching between menus. There's a slight pause in play that I'm sure the team would agree shouldn't be there.

Thanks for making it harder to not have a DS. Jerk.

So, why use an established IP like Might and Magic if you're going to create a game that has nothing to do with the other games in the series? It makes me angry in a "you're not justified to be angry but you are anyway" sort of way....yeah.

They both have elves?

mrwynd wrote:

So, why use an established IP like Might and Magic if you're going to create a game that has nothing to do with the other games in the series? It makes me angry in a "you're not justified to be angry but you are anyway" sort of way....yeah.

It takes place in the same world as HoMM 5 and Dark Messiah, and shares several characters as those titles. And the gameplay feels more like the HoMM strategy games than Puzzle Quest.

And what does the Might and Magic IP mean after 3DO ran it into the ground with M&M 9 and HoMM 4? Capybara and Ubisoft made a very enjoyable game and have, in my mind, redeemed the name of the series. I was up till 3:00AM the other night playing. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Can anyone say how the game holds up after the first few hours? Is there a lot of "extra" stuff to do, or is it pretty linear? I liked PQ primarily because there were a lot of side activities, like the crafting or monster capture etc. They were nice diversions from the normal battles.

syndicatedragon wrote:

Can anyone say how the game holds up after the first few hours? Is there a lot of "extra" stuff to do, or is it pretty linear? I liked PQ primarily because there were a lot of side activities, like the crafting or monster capture etc. They were nice diversions from the normal battles.

It's a pretty linear game, but there are side quests. The game often changes up the victory requirements, so different battles can require very different tactics.

FWIW I'm at 20+ hours and my enthusiasm hasn't waned yet. With PQ I lasted only a few hours before wanting to move on to something else.

Aaaand I just hit a save-game crushing glitch.
Aidan is standing somewhere off-screen and won't move.
Grrrr!

Uh oh that sounds awkward. I haven't got that far yet, as I'm only halfway through Godric's campaign. And boy did the difficulty ramp up a bit once all the mechanics were out of the way. I'm having to do a few random encounter battles to level up Godric to take on the main and side quests. Not a complaint really as the battles are real nail-biters right now, and it feels good to come away with a hard fought victory, and in defeat I can't help but feel I probably made a mistake.

Rezzy wrote:

Aaaand I just hit a save-game crushing glitch.
Aidan is standing somewhere off-screen and won't move.
Grrrr!

I read about that happening online. Ever since I started Aiden's part of the story I started copying my save to the second slot everytime I stop playing.

I'm hoping if it does happen I can just go back a battle or two.

mrwynd wrote:

So, why use an established IP like Might and Magic if you're going to create a game that has nothing to do with the other games in the series? It makes me angry in a "you're not justified to be angry but you are anyway" sort of way....yeah.

From what I've read from the developers it's the same mindset Ubisoft had with Far Cry 2 - attach an established IP that isn't being used with much else to help offset the risk of publishing a type of game that doesn't have instant mainstream appeal.

This is fantastic. The wife and I have both put in around 20 hours. Feel's much more on the strategy side that the Puzzle Quest games, which I definitely think is a good thing.

I am having a lot of fun with it. The game has an "annoying" habit of making me not work. At work.

But leave my DS at home? Never!

This is an incredibly addicting game. I logged 3 hours last night by accident ... and then an hour this morning after I had breakfast. I like that evenly matched battles are tough. I never feel like I'm just waltzing through the game.

I picked this up yesterday and got a chance to play it today. I sank three hours into it and am having a great time so far; pretty good music and the graphics are pleasing with lots of neat little touches. I do find it amusing how the characters are always facing the camera; it makes me think they're all clogging to their destination. Definitely a bit more 'mature' than I expected giving the e10+ rating; children being butchered and eaten, psychological torture, etc.

I like the fact that it has two save slots; if you're sharing the DS with someone it's nice to be able to have two saves going at the same time.

You can get this $15 at amazon. That's a steal

http://www.amazon.com/Might-Magic-Cl...

Yeah I saw that sale and it was recommended to me by Amazon. Couldn't really decide, and didn't see this topic here. On the one hand, 27 of 29 Amazon reviews gave it 4 or 5 stars. The other hand only really has the size of the pile staring me in the face and trying to justify another game.