My review is... Ignatias Thunderblade!

I've been a big fan of Heroes of Might and Magic since I played the second game for the PC. The one where there were only six different castles, and each of those got six distinct and unique units. Even on normal, the game was fairly challenging if you didn't move quickly. Harder difficulties? Those were for people who enjoyed watching their face hit the pavement. I stuck to normal, and maybe tried hard once or twice just to see if it was doable. It wasn't.

Clash of Heroes seems to take place in a similar world to what I consider the more classic Might and Magic games. There are only five sects now - Inferno, Ranger, Empire, Wizard, and Necromancer - and you are forced to play as each faction throughout the campaign mode. Not bad, considering there's enough variety amongst the higher level units to make things fun and different with whatever group you are stuck using.

So right off the bat I've got to talk about the balancing issues, and compare them to the Heroes games. Unfortunately for Clash of Heroes, this comparison is incredibly unfavorable. Necromancers are by far the best group, with some of the most overpowered units in the game. But I guess to understand exactly what I mean, you'll need to understand the combat system, which means I'll have to explain the combat system, so you can understand what I mean. Get what I mean?

Turn based combat is the name of the game, with a mix of strategy and Tetris. This is how it works: On your turn, you are given 3 moves. On your side of the field, your unites stand in eight columns, with a maximum of six units per column. In order to set up an attack, you must have three of the same units of the same colour stand in row in one column. They will then begin charging their power for anywhere between one and seven turns before they attack, the number of turns required based on the type of unit. You may also delete units on your side of the field to create attacks, and doing so is a combo. Every combo grants you an extra move. If you get a line piece, you clear a whole row and get bonus points.

Now, while a group of units are charging up for their attack, they can be hit by enemy units. Power is depleted from both sides, and if your group has more, they will continue charging but attack with lower power. If they have less, the enemy units will continue you their attack until they hit your main character for whatever power they have left. In other words, you can create blockades by setting up attacks with units that charge slowly but have ridiculously high power, and the opponent can't get through.

Or you could just use Necromancers and forget the whole thing.

Necromancers have two distinct advantages over every other class. For starters, they have the ghost unit. Ghosts take four turns to charge, and aren't all that powerful compared to other units of their level. However, they have the following ability: as long as this unit is charging, it will deplete the power of an attacking enemy unit without losing any of its own. This basically makes the Ghost a four turn wall once it is active, and then attacks for about 30 damage after that.
The kicker for Necromancers is an overpowered artifact they can get. Every class can get artifacts, and there is some overlap, but largely the collection of artifacts per type is unique and game breaking. Necromancers get a cloak, which lowers your hero's total health by 90 percent, but doubles the strength of all units. Now the ghosts have 60 power, are unstoppable, and will run over anything that gets in their way when they attack. Necromancers also have Vampires, who drain hit points from the enemy hero when they attack. So even though you start with less life, it doesn't matter - you can't be hit and you're going to get it back.

Other funderful artifacts include a ring that lets you take five turns and always go first - for Inferno. A wand which starts you off with a fully charged magic meter - for Wizard. A crown which lets you get reinforcements without spending a turn - for Empire. So there's some balance in that every group gets a game breaking artifact, but that's a problem. The game should not be easily broken. I'll give that the wand wasn't as useful as it could be, since the Wizard magic sucked, which is kind of funny and sad when you think about. And what does the Ranger get? Well, the fastest units, the only 1 turn attacker. That in itself is too powerful, when everything else takes at least two, and on average three turns to charge.

Balance isn't one of the games strong points, though the combat remains fun and challenging, with lots of gimmick battles and puzzles. The puzzles I particularly enjoyed. In them, you are given a pre-arranged set of units, and in three moves, you must set it up so you can destroy all of the enemy units. While none of the puzzles were head-hitting hard, they were difficult enough to be fun and interesting. Sadly, there were fewer than ten, so they didn't get all the time they deserve.

Overall though, there's one thing that makes me really want to hurt Ubisoft for Clash of Heroes. And it is the plot. The awful, awful plot that has no surprises and a villain without any sensical motivation. I am aware sensical is not actually a word, but screw it, I'm using it anyway, just to prove a point.

Spoilers from this paragraph onwards, but believe me, I'm not spoiling anything worth hiding. Turns out the head evil demon is the father of your wizard castle. Turns out he decided to help the demons because he was angry that his wife died. Demons killed his wife. Anybody else seeing a problem here?

That's not even the only problematic plot point. After you beat up demon-dad, the Inferno character says that he never wants to see another demon again, having just spent his time in the land of the demons controlling them with some kind of sword. It didn't make much sense in the game either, trust me. Anyway, in the epilogue, we get to see what each of the characters decided to do after peace had returned. And what does our Inferno friend do? He joins the group of knights whose job is to hunt down demons. Really, Ubisoft? A little consistency would be nice, here.

The only character who gets any decent screen time and characterization is the Necromancer girl, who starts off her section of the campaign dead. What follows is a story of her struggle between duty and the desire to regain her life. While it's the most interesting section of the game, it also has nothing to do with the main story. The fact that you beat up somebody in league with the demons is tangential to the Necromancer plot, and it's not even really clear how the person you killed was helping the demons anyway.

Overall, Clash of Heroes suffers from three major problems: Balancing issues, plot points, and music. The music is dull, uninteresting, and forgettable. There isn't nearly enough variety, either, which makes it that much more of a problem.

However, the combat system is original and enjoyable. Battles can range from lightning quick to long drawn out games of chess, depending on the position of your starting units. Is this enough to redeem the game? I don't think so, no. Fix up the plot, maybe balance things a bit better, and you've got a game with a decent story. As it is, Clash of Heroes is only worth playing if you want to do quick battles, a feature Ubisoft was kind enough to provide outside of campaign. You can even unlock extra characters, but that requires you play through the main story. And if you've got the patience to deal with cheesy dialogue and weak plot points, then go right ahead.

I'll be over here, summoning an army of ghosts.