Heroes of Might and Magic II

Infobox VG
title = Heroes of Might and Magic II


developer = New World Computing
publisher = The 3DO Company
designer = Jon Van Caneghem
engine =
version = 1.3
released = October 31, 1996
genre = Turn-based strategy
modes = Single player, Multiplayer
ratings = Not Rated
platforms = Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, RISC OS, GBC
media =
requirements =
input =

"Heroes of Might and Magic II" is a turn-based strategy video game developed by New World Computing and published in 1996 by the 3DO Company. The game is the second installment of the "Heroes of Might and Magic" series and is typically credited as the breakout game for the series. "Heroes II" was voted the sixth-best PC game of all time by "PC Gamer" in May 1997.

An expansion pack, "The Price of Loyalty", was released in 1997. Later, 3DO bundled "Heroes II" and its expansion pack in one box, released as "Heroes of Might and Magic II Gold".

Gameplay

"Heroes II" introduced several new features that have since become standard for the series. First among them is the ability for heroes to gain special abilities. Each hero can possess up to eight different secondary skills out of fourteen available. Once gained, a skill can be developed from Basic to Advanced and Expert levels. For example, the "Wisdom" skill allows a hero to learn spells of level 3 and higher, while the "Logistics" skill increases the hero's movement ability over land. In "Heroes I", heroes had a single fixed special ability according to their class.

The magic system was changed in "Heroes II". "Heroes I" had used a memorization system in which each spell could be cast a certain number of times before being exhausted. "Heroes II" uses a magic point system that allows the player to apportion spell use as needed, while the varying point cost of different spells maintains balance.

Another major feature introduced in "Heroes II" is the ability to upgrade units, granting them improved statistics and, in some cases, important abilities. For example, upgrading Vampires to Vampire Lords enables them to absorb health and even to resurrect units.

Castle types

The Knight, Barbarian, Warlock, and Sorceress alignments return from "Heroes I", while two new alignments were added: Wizard and Necromancer. Of the 6 alignments, Knight, Sorceress, and Wizard are "good", while Barbarian, Necromancer, and Warlock are "evil".

*The Knight castle features the combined armies of humans. Knight heroes tend to have the highest defensive skills in the game.
*The Barbarian castle is a stronghold of savage raiding armies. Barbarian heroes tend to achieve the highest attack skills in the game.
*The Wizard castle is a haven for magical beings. Wizard heroes tend to divide their focus between knowledge and spell power.
*The Necromancer castle is a haunted city of the dead. Undead in mixed armies have a bad effect on morale for the other units. Undead themselves are unaffected by morale. Necromancer heroes tend to divide their focus between knowledge and spell power.
*The Sorceress castle is a peaceful abode for the denizens of the forest. Sorceress heroes are always female and usually have a high knowledge skill.
*The Warlock castle is a home to wild, arcane monsters. Warlock heroes are always male and tend to have the highest spell power.

There is still a neutral alignment, now added to by Medusas and four types of Elementals, with Ghosts still being unrecruitable.

tory

The canonical ending of "Heroes I" results in Lord Morglin Ironfist's victory. In the following years, he has successfully unified the continent of Enroth and secured his rule as king. Upon the king's death, his two sons, Archibald and Roland, vie for the crown. Archibald orchestrates a series of events that lead to Roland's exile. Archibald is then declared the new king, while Roland organizes a resistance. Each alignment is represented by one of the game's two campaigns. Archibald's campaign features the three "evil" town alignments, while Roland's campaign features the three "good" town alignments.

If Archibald is victorious, Roland's rebellion is crushed, and Roland himself is imprisoned in Castle Ironfist, leaving Archibald the uncontested ruler of Enroth. The canonical ending, however, results in Roland's victory, with Archibald being turned to stone by Roland's court wizard, Tanir. This event is referenced later in "", with Archibald eventually freed of the spell.

Development

Much of the core programming of "Heroes II" was carried over from the original "Heroes", and the game actually took less time to develop than the original "Heroes".Fact|date=December 2007

Expansion

"The Price of Loyalty" is the expansion pack for "Heroes II". Development of the expansion was contracted to Cyberlore Studios and it was released in 1997. "The Price of Loyalty" adds four new campaigns, new artifacts, new creatures, new scenario maps, new in-map buldings and an improved map editor. the expansion also added a new structure for the necromancer faction - the shrine which enhances the heroes ability to raise the dead.

A common complaint about the expansion was the inclusion of a recruit building (Barrow Mounds) for ghosts. Since all units killed by ghosts themselves become ghosts, players were able to quickly gain invincible armies of ghosts that destroyed the game balance.

Reception

"Heroes of Might and Magic II" was the best-selling game for over 12 months in parts of Russia and Europe. "The Price of Loyalty" enjoyed similar success in those regions. The game sold very well in general, picking up critical awards as well.

External links

*dmoz|Games/Video_Games/Strategy/Turn-Based/Heroes_of_Might_and_Magic_Series/Heroes_of_Might_and_Magic_2|"Heroes of Might and Magic II"
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/fheroes2 fheroes2] Open source, SDL implementation of the Heroes 2 engine, currently under development.