Heroes of Might & Magic

Pros • Good turn-based battles • Amazingly similar to PC game	Cons • No one is going to praise the stick-man graphics
Bottom Line Solid adaptation of the classic PC game. Might require a bit more brain power than many GBCers care to focus. I'm a man of steel. Well, actually I'm a man of Chobham armor, uranium-tipped shells, and TOW guided missile systems. You see, I like my strategy games real and my combat laced with the arsenals of today's armies. At least that's what I used to think. Then somebody slapped a copy of Heroes of Might and Magic III onto my hard drive and everything changed. There were Dragons for air support, Skeleton Archers for ranged attacks, and Pikemen for infantry. The tactical opportunities were endless, as was my addiction. Now 3DO has released a GBC iteration their famous strategy franchise. It's a great concept --now we can all get our strategy fix on a bus. But although Heroes of Might and Magic for Color Game Boy is not a bad game, serious strategy gamers will find it lacks the depth of its PC-based big brother, while Game Boy fans may find it a bit too complex to enjoy. Here's why...

For those of you who just awoke, somewhat clueless, from a long nap, let me explain the whole Heroes of Might and Magic deal. This is a turn-based strategy game that pits you, the heroes you accumulate, and their armies against other heroes, anti-heroes, and their minions.

Two sub-games coexist within Heroes of Might and Magic. The overarching strategic game challenges the gamer to recruit heroes, explore the map, build castles, collect resources, and recruit armies. The tactical battle game pops up whenever opposing armies are moved into the same tile. Both of these games play out against a background of numerous scenarios, from simple lunch-break jobbers to escapades that will immerse you for hours on end.

For those familiar with the gameplay, it's a pleasant immersion. The old challenges are still there. You must build specific buildings to recruit each combatant, capture gold mines to increase your gold, explore the map, teach your heroes magic, and fight the good fight on the turn-based tactical map. But it's a shallow immersion; don't expect the depth of combatants, magic or artifacts found in the computer game. Then again, those conditions are due more to the GBC's limitations than design flaw.

On the flip side of the screen, those new to the game (or strategy gaming in particular) may find Heroes of Might and Magic a tough nut to crack. Not only are the production, exploration, and combat mechanics fairly sophisticated, crucial information or functions are frequently hidden under layers of menus. That tedium, coupled with mediocre, stick-man graphics and sound won't pull in many new gamers to the genre.

Nevertheless, those wishing a strategy fix on the go may enjoy Heroes of Might and Magic. It's a solid game, but its complexity and lackluster graphics might put off casual gamers, and its lack of PC Game depth may discourage the rest. As for me, I'm sticking with the steel, uranium, swords, and sorcery of my computer.

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