Longrunning strategy series Heroes of Might and Magic caters to veterans but does little to innovate with newest standalone expansion
From GamesReviews: "Return to Ashan in Shades of Darkness, a new expansion to the hugely popular Might & Magic Heroes VI. With over a dozen new units and a conservative announced guess of 20 hours of new gameplay (We all know we'll play it more than that), Shades of Darkness is an adventure designed to be a little darker than the game it is based upon. With that darker tone comes..."
If you’re a fan of the Might & Magic or Might & Magic Heroes VI series, you will feel right at home with the Shades of Darkness expansion. What makes this release so unique is that it’s a standalone expansion. Gamers don’t have to purchase previous additions of the game to play it. While SoD is designed like previous expansions, it introduces a brand-new hero with his own story.
Shades of Darkness’ gameplay focuses on building armies and conquering locations as you move across the world map. The player must also gather resources such as wood, ore, blood crystal and gold (which is currency). Capturing structures such as armor smiths and weapon smiths will add to your overall resources (i.e wood, ore, etc.). The combat system is also turn-based like previous installments. Like a game of chess, the player can strategize their next move. Basically, you can take as much time as needed during the combat sequences.
DT:There are many games that will only appeal to "fans of the genre," but this goes farther than that and becomes a game that appeals to "fans of the series." It's not really a terrible thing, but it's not a great thing, either. If you like Might & Magic, you should definitely play Shades of Darkness. It's a solid expansion with an insane amount of new content; you'll be giddy for dozens of hours. If you don't play the series, however, this doesn't provide a great reason to check it out. There need to be more tool-tips with information and an introduction to the factions, lore, units, and abilities -- none of that happens here.
seems like this was developed strictly for veterans of strategy games.
This franchise has gone on forever.