Despite the AI, I now like H5 better than H3! (a confession)

[jeff]

But although I'm a big strategy game fan, I never have much time to play any one game much. I felt like I played H3 a lot, but I only got one expansion, and didn't even finish that campaign. I only played half of the non-campaign scenarios. I don't make maps or play multiplayer. So for a guy like me, the improvements in H5 are pretty significant and I don't really notice what it's missing -- except for that yawning chasm of the AI. When I'm not forced to notice that hole, I stand by my thread...

With the parameters you stated H-V is probably a good game for you. I did enjoy the graphics upgrade, but feel they could have done just as well by not having every terrain decoration move thereby lowering system requirements. My major complaints besides those I've beaten to death elsewhere include the lack of user friendly play. Since creatures can't move without a hero, you need to dedicate at least one to ferrying troops forward, caravans helped but did not cure it. The need to dedicate another hero to gather resources, those two items I was already bored with by the time the last of the H-III addons were released.

[WretchedGnu]

With the parameters you stated H-V is probably a good game for you. I did enjoy the graphics upgrade, but feel they could have done just as well by not having every terrain decoration move thereby lowering system requirements. My major complaints besides those I've beaten to death elsewhere include the lack of user friendly play. Since creatures can't move without a hero, you need to dedicate at least one to ferrying troops forward, caravans helped but did not cure it. The need to dedicate another hero to gather resources, those two items I was already bored with by the time the last of the H-III addons were released.

Yes; this kind of game shouldn't be more demanding on my machine than Oblivion.

The resource-gathering issues are annoying; but they seem so endemic to the HoMM model I sort of stopped noticing it... One could argue that having vulnerable resources tended to by usually vulnerable secondary heroes -- which could be in danger if you put all your eggs in one vanguard hero -- is an important part of the game. The problem is that most of your resources and secondary heroes tend not to be in danger. (Which is why the idea of spawning and marauding neutral stacks of creatures is a good one, in theory)