Heroes of Might and Magic II (HOMMII), by New World Computing, is an awesome game. It is a large improvement over the first HOMM, with better graphics, better spells, better campaigns, while still keeping the game the same.
In HOMMII, in a basic scenario, you start with a castle and a hero. If you are a Necromancer, you start out with a Necromancer castle and a Necromancer hero. Same with a Barbarian, Sorceress, Wizard, Knight, and Warlock. Each has different advantages and disadvantages. Once you find one you like, most of the time you can just stick to that group. In other scenarios, however, you must be a certain group.
There are so many things that New World Computing has done to this game. The graphics have been upgraded, along with your opportunites on what you can build in your castle. Now, after building the places needed to build creatures, you can upgrade them. After an upgrade, the creatures usually have better hit points or do more damage. For the wizard, an upgrade from Giant to Titan is a must. For the Necromancer, a lich to a power lich is best. For the Knight, Archer to Ranger is needed, along with Paladin to Crusader. For the Barbarian, Ogre to Ogre Lord and Troll to War Troll are definite musts. For the Sorceress, upgrading from Elf to Grand Elf and Druid to Greater Druid are important, and the Warlock should definitely upgrade their Dragons when they get the chance.
Another thing about this game that is better than the first is the campaign. In the first, the campaign was just a string of scenarios put together with absolutely no plot. Here, it is a battle for sucession. Lord Ironfist, king of the land, died, leaving two sons, Archibald and Roland. Roland was good and kind, Archibald was the opposite. Both are fighting for the crown. It all comes down to a final battle. I have not yet beaten that, but I hope to fairly soon.
Overall, I believe that this is a very good game. The graphics have immensely improved over the previous game. The plot of the campaign and the scenarios have improved a lot. Out of *****, I give this **** and a half *'s.
Some screen shots:
