The game uses the Might & Magic universe to launch it into a selling component. The game was released at a time where numerous developers tried to cash in on different Bewjeweled/Columns puzzle games, each having their own flair. Clash of Heroes does a good job being different than the competition and the addition of it being an RPG catapulted it to top spots for those who wanted it to be more than a puzzle-clone.
The story is pretty generic and checks all of the normal tropes of the lands sitting in peace after a great war pushing the demons away, sealing them, only to see the seal breaking. There are numerous races that control different continents, each holding a piece that would be used to push the demons back, but the demons have found a way out. It is not a mind blowing plot, but it does give the player a starting point and get to see different races like humans, elves, ghosts, etc.
The game plays on a digital board, like most tabletop games, and you move your piece across it. As you move the character across the game board, you will run into enemies, quest givers, resource collections, hint boards, and other miscellaneous things you would find playing a tabletop game. The quest givers have two main objectives: beat them, or answer a question based on the current game board. If they challenge you, it is a tank and spank and defeating them gives you resources or a new military unit. The ones that ask you a question may have you run around the playing field a bit to look for hints that the quest giver is asking you. Things like "The number of diamonds, minus the number of the spider's legs, equals this number." Of course you could always give the trial and error response, but sometimes it is faster to look around.
The battle sequence of the game is really sub-par. You have to make matches of 3 colors or your minions and doing so will line them up and attack. Their attacks will have a number showing how many rounds it will take before they do so and a small number that indicates their damage. You are limited to an 8x6 grid, so while this is not bad for 1x1 units to get the 3-of-a-kind, there are also larger units, which take planning on where you need to move them. You have limited amount of moves per turn, so you have to choose what to move and when in order to maximize DPS. Some missions are brutal and favor the CPU player, so you really have to be careful.
The game takes place in several kingdoms, which help remove the grind feeling that is required to go through some sections. Of course, each new kingdom requires a change in player controlled characters, so you have to restart at level 1 each time, and you will have nearly zero military units as you progress. This is where the game really gets boring. There is no drastic shift in what is going on and the overworld board is more entertaining than the mind-numbing combat side. If you can take the repetitive combat, then you should be okay as the RPG elements are what will save you in the end.
Review Note: The reviewer of this title purchased the title at their own expense. This does not affect the content of the review or its final grade.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
This is a simple "point and click" game. Things happen as they should.
Typical "old school" mobile art. It looks to be mostly Flash based, nothing up-rezzed when it was ported to PC.
Pretty interesting design. Music is cool, but does not really impress.
While all the fights are the same, I doubt you would return to play again.
PROS / CONS
- RPG aspect keeps it interesting.
- Different characters helps prolong the game.
- This is a mobile game hidden as a PC game.
- Gets repetitive quickly.
- The story is interesting for 5 minutes.
- Some fights favor the CPU.
