This isn’t a review; it’s more of an observation or discussion. So to start I want to say that “Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes” is a fantastic game, which needs as much support as it can get and is absolutely worth buying for your Nintendo DS.
“Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes” is one of those funny games that takes on two genres. On one hand, it’s a puzzle game, created by Capybara Games, best known for their PS3/iPhone title “Critter Crunch” and this is something you can see clearly through the gameplay. Line up three units on your screen to create a formation – a gameplay mechanic similarly implemented in “Critter Crunch.” On the other hand, it’s an RPG, complete leveling up, equipping items for stat boosts, abilities that are easiest described as “limit breaks,” and a fantasy storyline involving demons, undead, elves, knights, and a few characters from “One Thousand and One Nights.” The way the game meshes the two genres is completely successful, but it’s also curious what I found myself doing during the game.
Capybara Games really came out of nowhere with this game and “Critter Crunch,” from obscurity they have released two of the best puzzle/casual style games I’ve seen in years. Though one could argue that elements which make up “Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes” are nearly all unoriginal on their own (for example nobody is going to say that lining up three units of the same color is an original idea), the distinct taste of the game comes from two key points. First, the game uses these elements in a very different way than most Puzzle/RPGs. Playing “Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes” felt distinctly different from any RPG “Bejeweled” clone. Second, the game has a unique charm to it. While I won’t say the story was anything truly “edge-of-the-seat,” the characters and the way the world is present, as bright and a cartoonish, allowed me to enjoy the experience on a level that I wouldn’t have normally.
But that said, I can’t say the story aspect of the game was strong. Often I would rush through dialogs in order to get to more of the puzzles/battles. But during the later half of the game I began to wonder why this needed to be presented in a linear narrative. I could have just as easily been a plotless game about seeing how far you can get before losing, like PopCap’s “Bookworm” or Adam Atomic’s “Canabalt.” But for this title, the story seemed to serve as a way to explore different classes before getting into the multiplayer. It also shows a marked step towards trying to be above “casual” games. It’s an extra effort which I didn’t quite realize till after beating the game had contributed to why I thought it was so charming.
Puzzle games and what we used to call “casual games” are quickly becoming integrated into the “hardcore” genres. Another example of this was “Henry Hatsworth and the Puzzling Adventure” from earlier in 2009. And this certainly seems like a great way to go. It allows the hardcore to enjoy a genre they hadn’t really thought about, it allows the casual to enjoy a genre they hadn’t really thought about, and it makes both game types feel more fresh and lively. Capybara’s recent games have definitely raised my standards, and I hope to see a lot more from them in the future.
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