Years ago, a friend showed me a game called Heroes of Might and Magic III. It was one of her favorites, and under her tutelage, it quickly became one of mine.

So, I was excited a few days ago when I heard that the new massively multiplayer online Might and Magic Heroes Kingdoms had been released by Ubisoft.

It is a browser-based, free-to-play strategy game. Elements include combat and battle, economy and trading, heroes and training, and cooperation and aggression. When you visit the game's website, you can learn some of the basics of the game by reviewing the tour the game and game guide sections.

Like similar games, it takes time to complete each action, from minutes to hours or even days. You can start different activities and return later, and they will progress even if you are not connected to the game. This is good for people who like to multitask, and perhaps don't have as much time to devote to games.

I saw that there was a training mode where players can practice different game elements and learn how to fight, build, and manage your hero, and I thought that would be a good place to start. An added bonus was that in this mode, time moves faster than in the real game, so it does not take long at all to complete many actions. You can only use this mode for two hours, however at the end of that time you can start over again at the beginning to learn more.

My problem with the training mode was that it was simply not very instructional. Players have to figure out on their own what to do and how to do it. I was expecting hints and perhaps a tutorial, and ended up spending more time trying to figure out why I could not train my hero and how to recruit troops, than actually playing.

After the two hours ended, I proceeded to start the regular version of the game. I was disappointed to discover that I had to start over completely. I had hoped that players could simply advance without losing what they had done, but instead I felt as if I had wasted that time with nothing to show for it.

So, after recreating my character and city, I entered the world, and began to see a tutorial! This simply seems backward to me. It would have been much better if the beginner tips had been part of the training mode. I feel like I am learning more now, especially by following the quests, but it is taking so long to complete actions I can see that players may lose interest.

One thing that might keep new players from getting bored quickly would be for certain starter activities to not take as long to complete.

The graphics are nice, but to be honest, they could be better. More movement would be nice, even if it is just preset animations of structures being built. The interior of the city is bland, and not very attractive. There is a bar at the top of the screen indicating how long until an action is completed, but it is somewhat confusing.

One feature that I do like is the e-mail feature. When activated, players will receive e-mails when they are under attack. This can certainly help, especially if you are logged out of the game. Also, the game has newbie protection that is similar to other games. You cannot be attacked, nor can you attack other players for 15 days after creating your city. This is longer than in other similar games, and considering that some of the very first actions players undertake will take three hours or more, it is definitely needed so that the player is ready when they are able to be attacked.

For a newly released game, it is not too bad, and does show promise. Hopefully, the folks at Ubisoft will work on improving this game, and make it a bit more user-friendly.

I'll be continuing to play this new game for a bit, and in a few weeks, I'll have a follow-up review with more details about how to play the game. If you like strategy games, and the Might and Magic and Heroes of Might and Magic games, I recommend giving it a try.