The blathering goons in the official HOMM forums — who read nothing, know little, and don’t understand that this open beta is stripped-down to mainly test multiplayer and server stability — have absolutely nothing to say, so don’t even go there for any info. Gamespot, however, provides a few more details in their hands-on preview.

One clever new feature is the latent “trail” heroes will leave as they travel, with greater heroes who command greater armies leaving a more obvious wake. This is a really interesting gameplay idea because it adds a new psychological element to the game. If you follow the path, will you be learning your opponents intentions, the route to their castles, or walking into a trap? Is it worth the time to trace a path that might fade away entirely, or misleadingly cross with others before taking you anywhere useful? This is a very clever twist on the “fog of war” mechanism where you only get suggestive glimpses as to what your opponent is up to because it actually allows you to manage the deception. Brilliant.

Gamespot also seems to have greatly enjoyed the new duel mode, or what I am calling “HOMM Fighter II Turbo”:

The duel mode will focus exclusively on tactical battles, and it will let you choose from a set of preconfigured armies with a certain makeup of different units, after which you can go at it in head-to-head multiplayer. Each of these armies will be fine-tuned to provide an interesting, but balanced, side to play. We tried out our own duel, and found it to be similar to challenging preconfigured chess games, only slightly faster with 100 percent more fire-breathing dragons.

Hopefully with the all-new lore and history, Nival has made the effort to include M. Bison as a playable hero for dueling.

The two pictures below are some of the newest screens from the official homepage. We are finally getting a look at the interface and castle sieging, and that green cloud is either the result of a gassy horse or the new “hero trail” feature.