Demo reviews:

[markgil]

sounds like this game is living up to expectations and then some!

how many expansions are planned for KB btw? i thought i read that there were going to be at least 2.

thanks.

[Imperial Dane]

Originally Posted by markgil

sounds like this game is living up to expectations and then some!

how many expansions are planned for KB btw? i thought i read that there were going to be at least 2.

thanks.

Perhaps you should start up a new thread for expansion talk ? Would be better instead of cluttering this thread up.

[KingImp]

Okay, here is my quick review. Sorry boys and girls, but it's not going to be all positive.

Yes, the graphics are beautiful and this is one of, if not the best looking world I have seen in a long time. The small amount of spells are okay (yes, I know it's limited in the demo), but where it really gets cool is using the Spirits of Rage. That Swamp Monster (can't recall the name right now) with it's Shoal attack is awesome. You can wipe out whole armies using that thing.

I do have to say though that I'm not impressed with running around on the map. It's hard to see where you are going as it doesn't allow you to scroll ahead to see if the coast is clear and numerous times when being chased, I got caught because I kept running into things. That brings me to another point. The path detection in this game is awful. If I tell my hero to run to a certain post, I expect them to find the best route possible and run there. In this game I have numerous times seen them run straight into an object that they could have easily gone around and then they just stop.

Also have to say I am not impressed at the experience and leveling up. I can't count how many fights I had, yet I still just hit level 4. I'm getting like 10 exp. points per fight and it's taking forever. That and it hasn't once prompted me to level up my hero's special abilities. We have this big "tree system" for leveling up, yet it hasn't even offered me anything new. I'm hoping this is all because it's just a demo and it works properly in the full version.

Lastly, this is neither a good, nor bad thing. Just an observation and a question. I have all these quests, but I don't think it's possible to finish them all. Every time I try to go through a portal to where the quest tells me I have to go, it says "This area not available in the demo."
Is it actually possible to even finish all the quests here?


Overall, the game is very addicting, but I was kinda expecting a bit more. Hopefully it really shines in the final version because I'm not blown away here.

[pkt-zer0]

Based on the demo, the game seems to be excellent in every aspect except for the translation. Great overall presentation. The music, while good, seemed to get a bit repetitive after some time, though I'll chalk this up to being limited to a single area. (I'm guessing other areas have differing music tracks) The combat system strikes a nice balance between simplicity and depth - the core mechanics are pretty basic, but having lots of varied abilities allows for quite interesting scenarios. It's as complex as it needs to be, not any more complex. Outside of battles, the items laying all around the place make exploration worthwhile. Quests add some flavour to the basic "kill enemies, upgrade, repeat" gameplay, but a lot of the humour is unfortunately lost due to the translation. It's hard to get a good idea of long-term balance and gameplay from the demo, so can't comment on that. The Starforce copy protection is another negative for me.

Overall, the demo definitely sold me on the game, even though I never really liked any of the HoMM games. It's like Age of Wonders in that way for me: like HoMM, except good. I'll be sure to buy it after it's un-Starforced.

[Imperial Dane]

Well overall i don't recall having any problems with looking around to be honest as i keep a slanted top down view that allows me a good look at things.. and movement wise ? I don't click that far ahead, either in short bursts in the hopes of treasure, or i keep the mouse button down and just ride, in which case the camera tends to move behind the hero.. Just a comment on those things that keeps being repeated...

@Kingimp: That is because the skill system doesn't work like that

Level up grants you stat bonuses in some way, skills are taken through runes, runes which are granted in several ways, either through levelling up, finding them somewhere, and probably rewards as well. Then you purchase the skills you want, takes a bit of getting used to, but overall no problem.
Regarding levelling overall, i do believe that is a matter of balancing to prevent the hero from getting too powerful right away, also you gain more experience if the army is stronger than you than if weaker.. get the scouting skill to keep track of that .

@pkt: Well according to Nike-it, there won't be starforce protection at all. And seeing as he is a 1C rep, i imagine he knows what he is talking about.

Also just a small addition to my impression of the demo:
I like how things change from game to game, bonuses, items, monsters, treasures, even the creatures offered in most of the places change from time to time which really makes a difference. I mean at one time i found an altar of experience laying on a small island where in previous games it hadn't.

[KingImp]

Originally Posted by Imperial Dane

@Kingimp: That is because the skill system doesn't work like that

Level up grants you stat bonuses in some way, skills are taken through runes, runes which are granted in several ways, either through levelling up, finding them somewhere, and probably rewards as well. Then you purchase the skills you want, takes a bit of getting used to, but overall no problem.
Regarding levelling overall, i do believe that is a matter of balancing to prevent the hero from getting too powerful right away, also you gain more experience if the army is stronger than you than if weaker.. get the scouting skill to keep track of that.

Actually, that was my bad and I just figured this out after playing again. I just happened to put my cursor over one of the abilites and saw you could click it to upgrade.

So, any comments on the quests that can't seem to be finished? I think I'm done as I can't go anywhere else and all my fights are finished, yet there are still 3 quests yet to be completed.

[pkt-zer0]

Originally Posted by Imperial Dane

@pkt: Well according to Nike-it, there won't be starforce protection at all. And seeing as he is a 1C rep, i imagine he knows what he is talking about.

Missed that, thanks.

Originally Posted by KingImp

So, any comments on the quests that can't seem to be finished? I think I'm done as I can't go anywhere else and all my fights are finished, yet there are still 3 quests yet to be completed.

Well, since you're supposed to go to another area to finish those, and they aren't in the demo, those'll be unresolved.