fadeinlight

**Disclaimer: I've been a fan of the HOMM series since the mid '90's, so this review is a bit biased. This game might have scored a 9, if it weren't for a couple of issues. I've owned this game for about a week now, and this is the second night in a week that I've been unable to connect to the Conflux servers (which give access to more content than is generally available). While I can still play custom games, I can't continue on in my campaign--the only option I have is to start a separate, presumably offline-mode one. I understand that companies are interested in protecting their properties via online requirements--but if they should decide to do so, at the very least they should have their servers up on a regular basis so that you can -actually play the game-. Besides that, the game is fine. I was skeptical at most of the changes, but I've found some of my fears to be unfounded. For instance, dropping down to four resources hasn't really bothered me as much as I thought it **** having to take over forts/cities in order to control mines just changes the dynamic so that you've got to focus on said properties--basically, it's harder to change ownership, but once you get it, it's harder to lose ownership as well. I'm missing some of the vast variety of buildings, plus the ability to have heroes learn spells by visiting some of those buildings and cities as well. I miss running heroes around and getting them uber-powerful. The storyline is old-hat fantasy stuff, with orcs that don't use connecting words, heroes that all have British accents and the like. There's a handy little "skip" button that I like to use for the cut scenes, but unfortunately there's no way to automatically skip the little animation that plays when one of your stacks gets a critical hit. Seeing it two or three times is fine--the fortieth time gets a little bit weary. On the positive side, the graphics are light-years beyond anything that they've been before, the maps are huge, the sound is atmospheric, and beyond the ridiculous Conflux issues, I would argue that this is a suitable advancement of a series that has devoured as many hours of my life as any other.