Heroes Of Might And Magic 4 PC

Heroes of Might and Magic strategy series dates back to 1990 with the series' precursor, King's Bounty. Since then, the series has given rise to three games and several expansion packs over the course of about a decade. But none of that history really seems to matter at this point. The last game was released in 1999, and devoted Heroes fans--the group that developer New World Computing has worked hardest to please--have had more than enough time to play Heroes III to death. And as you might expect from hard-core fans, these dedicated Heroes players have demanded that Heroes IV be both completely fresh and new--but also that it remains true to the core gameplay of the series. And it turns out that Heroes IV succeeds in doing both, so if you're a serious Heroes fan, you can stop reading now and pick up a copy of the game if you haven't already.

If you're not a die-hard fan of the Heroes series but have heard something about it, you might know that it's a series of turn-based strategy games that take place in a colorful fantasy setting, which is actually the same universe as the one in New World's Might and Magic role-playing series. And Heroes IV's essential formula is similar to that of the previous games. You create a hero character specialized either in magic or in might (physical combat). From an initial town, this hero raises an army of troops and ventures out to explore the map, capture resources and items, and conquer enemy towns and armies. Each hero type corresponds to a different town type; and each town produces different types of monsters and soldiers you can recruit for your army. This is Heroes IV at its most basic level, and this formula is at least as engaging and addictive in the new game as it's ever been in the series. If you've ever played a game in the Heroes series, you're probably familiar with the almost insidious way that the games keep you playing for hours. You conduct your exploration and conquest over the course of many turns, and the games always coax just one more turn out of you to capture that last gold mine, treasure chest, or artifact.

Minimum:

 OS: Windows XP SP3

 Processor: 2 GHz Intel Dual Core Processor

 Memory: 2 GB RAM

 Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce 8800/ATI Radeon HD 2600 (256MB minimum)

 DirectX «: 9.0c

 Hard Drive: 10 GB HD space

 Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible

Recommended:

 OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Windows 7

 Processor: 2.3 GHz Intel Quad Core Processor

 Memory: 3 GB RAM

 Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX460/ATI Radeon HD 5850 (512MB minimum)

 DirectX «: 9.0c

 Hard Drive: 10 GB HD space

 Sound: DirectX 9.0c compatible