I Love Heroes of Might & Magic

I absolutely adore Heroes of Might and Magic. You may also refer to the series as "HOMAM" or "Heroes" if you so desire. I shall be the first to admit that I have neither played "King's Bounty" nor the first game in the Heroes series. From what I've seen on the web, Heroes 1 looks a bit old (in a negative sense) and seems to lack style. Heroes 2, on the other hand, is a true piece of art in every possible way. The gameplay is rock solid, the soundtrack is one of the best ever, and the colourful graphics are better looking than anything that's going to be released for the PS3 (citation needed). There's no need to go into further detail with the sound and gameplay, and since this week is "Graphics Week", I'm going to make a keen observation of the development of graphics in the Heroes series.
Observe - a battle scene from Heroes 3; favourite of many, loved by all. Favourite of mine? No. Take a better look at that battlefield. Then compare it to the battlefield above. You think the difference is subtle? You think Heroes 3 is prettier because it has a higher resolution? You are wrong - look again. Where did the colours go? (Yes, I spell "colour" that way, as you can clearly see). Everything looks, well, kinda brown, doesn't it? There are some blues, but they are certainly not very distinctive.

Also notice how the characters are no longer beautifully hand-drawn. They are now primitive 3d-models - and be thankful you don't have to see them move. This is a perfect example of the fact, that three dimensions do not make anything look more impressive. Just look at that so called "Hero" up in the left corner. The Heroes 2-knight could kick his butt any day. "Yeah, but that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with 3d, it's just a matter of art direction". Oh, do you think so? Well, why don't you just write your own blog about your own keen observations then, you buffoon? Anyway, I'm sure you get my point. Onwards.

At this point, it would be reasonable to let Heroes 4 enter the equasion, and so it shall be. You might be disappointed though, because I am not about to introduce a screenshot from a Heroes 4-battle and compare it to the other games. Be reminded, that this is not "The Duke's Game Comparison Service". That site is on another server.

Actually, it is more interesting to behold this picture of a city-screen from Heroes 4. Notice how the various structures, that are supposed to look inviting and magnificent, instead blend into the background and end up looking, well, dull. Unfortunately, this depressing tendency also holds true for the now isometrical battles, whose participants look just as dull as their hometowns.

Since the relatively new Heroes 5 does not run very well on my hardware, I don't know how that game looks when running as it should, and so any comments about that game would not be fair today. Somehow, I don't feel like being unreasonable at this moment.