It’s been three years since Heroes of Might and Magic has been seen but Ubisoft has picked up the franchise, dusted it off, and appeared to have actually made it the way it should have been all along.

Heroes V is the ultimate game strategy-wise since it challenges you to manage numerous different elements: battles, exploration, conquest, city-building, resource management, army recruitment, and more! On top of that you have an RPG layer, which means powerful spells, skills, artifacts and weapons for your heroes to use, plus of course an involving storyline to unveil.

The cool thing about Heroes games is that it manages to provide such richness in gameplay while remaining accessible to newcomers. The revolutionary battle system allows you to really plan your moves and strategies, meaning that you understand the basic rules faster than in most strategy games. On the battle side of the game, Ubisoft has implemented a dynamic battle system, which is the eqivalent, if you will, of blitz chess.

The gameplay is turn-based action meaning combatants take turns attacking eachother. Once your party is assembled and their spells and attacks are in place it is time to set out on the journey.

The story is as such. The Griffin Empire is getting ready for a celebration.The marriage of the young Emperor Nicolai to his sweetheart Isabel. The festivities are interrupted, however, by the emergence of Demons! Like his father twenty years before, Nicolai leads his army to war. Isabel, however, is banished to the safety of the Summer Palace.

But Isabel cannot sit still when she could be helping. The war appears to be going badly, so she convinces her escorts, Beatrice and Godric, to seek help. Godric leaves to solicit aid from the powerful mages of the Shining Cities. Beatrice volunteers to seek help from the Elven armies of Irollan. Isabel takes to horseback, scouring the countryside to raise a militia. But other powers are also at work–older and darker ones that have been plotting for ages.

Heroes of Might and Magic V will be released later in March. The screen shot below is linked to IGN’s Web site with more screenshots of this title.