Might & Magic & Submarines

Built using Flash and running a browser, Ubisoft’s recently announced free-to-play browser games look quite promising. Here’s a quick breakdown of what Ubisoft was showing at Gamescom 2012.

Might & Magic Heroes Online

Though you might not associate browser-based gaming with detailed visuals, Might & Magic Heroes Online looks really pretty, with impressive spell effects and unit animations. It’s still a very traditional Heroes experience, where you roam across an overworld picking up treasure and resources and recruiting armies, then switch to a turn-based battle grid when you encounter enemies. Your hero unit stands on one side of the field, outside of battle, and you command your units, moving them across the battle grid to beat up fantastical monsters and hurl around magic. That being said, there are still a few differences.

First off, because other players will be running around too, movement across the overworld happens in real time. Once you’re in a fight, you’ll also notice the battle grids have been returned to a hex-based format, which opens up much more interesting dimensions to battle as you consider unit facing and flanking, giving you bonuses depending on from which direction you attack an enemy. According to the developers, the goal was to bump up the skill ceiling of the game. Throughout battles there’s a stylish UI that pops up to indicate damage dealt and kills as you fight skeletons and hulking bosses, making the whole experience look really polished.

The size of the battle grid will evidently change quite a bit depending on the layout of the map, which also adds more variety from one fight to the next. For instance, if you fight on a bridge, the grid spans only the bridge’s surface, meaning units will have to bunch up close together to cross. Against spellcasters this could be especially dangerous, as they could then fire off area-of-effect magic and deal damage with devastating efficiency.

Because it’s an online game you’ll also be able to enter into battles co-operatively, but the specifics of how that worked weren’t ready to be shown yet.

Also briefly demoed was Might & Magic Duel of Champions, a free-to-play card battle game with cross-platform functionality between the PC and iPad versions, which is in closed beta testing right now.

Anno Online

In this version of this long-running city-building series you’ll work together with others to build giant monuments. You’ll place buildings to foster happiness within towns, raise cattle, grow corn, make bread, and ensure all the demands of residents are met while turning a profit. For example, if people are complaining about a lack of clothing, you’ll set up the full chain of production, from hemp plantations to warehouses for distribution to accommodate the demands.

As you develop a town’s infrastructure, expand its borders and eventually construct fancier buildings, you’ll also establish ports and construct a fleet. Ships can be sent off to other islands in order to set up new towns and take advantage of whatever unique resources happen to be nearby. Then you’ll start the process of construction and expansion all over again, broadening your reach across the world and strengthening your overall position.

Like the other titles listed here, it looks really good, and should hopefully be a solid entry in the franchise.

Silent Hunter Online

If you’ve never played Silent Hunter before but always wanted to see what it’s like to command submarines in combat, Silent Hunter Online could be a good option for you. An integrated officer system can be used to automate functions like aiming and navigation, or just offer advice if you’re stuck.

Instead of controlling a single submarine, you’ll have an entire flotilla at your command in Silent Hunter Online. And you won’t always be fighting alone, as there’s support for co-operative play. Even if you don’t want another live player in your fight, you’ll still be able to participate in the game’s online element, since your progress contributes to victory in Silent Hunter Online’s global campaign.

Between missions, you’ll be able to level up officers and modify parts of your submarine, swapping in better periscopes and stronger deck guns. After enough play it’ll be possible to essentially build your own submarine, so you can more confidently slide through enemy waters, fire torpedoes at the hulls of destroyers, and cheer as you visually confirm the kill through your periscope.

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