very well put together
the biggest thing I like about 5 is probably something no one has mentioned, time. in all of the other hero games there would be miner time sinks, when combined over hundreds of times would accumulate into hours of un-needed... hours. with 5 however, they took out a majority of that and just made the game faster altogether. it used to with Homm3 it would take all day to play 1 hot seat game, which is fine(this isn't war3 after all). but now you can play 5 games that are similar size in the time it used to play 1, and all that without taking out anything we enjoy in a Homm game.
the single player, while lacking in some aspects, is still very fun. it does what any single player version of a multi player game should do, it gives you the ropes so you can go play hotseat or online without wondering what the heck you are doing. it is still up to the player however to figure out strategy and what works.
the races work. I do admit that I miss some of the... mysticism of Homm3's races, but new installments of a game rework what work and take away what does not. my conflux is still waiting me in Homm3.
even after patches, the AI can be dumb sometimes. but it doesn't matter, atleast in my regard. I play this game with friends, not against the computer. this game just like all other iterations is a social event, like monopoly. the music is good, maybee not as good as the others but it is still very nice, a lot better than most music in most other games. the sound rules and the 3d is a nice advantage, now I don't have to worry about moving my units to the wrong hex because I did not get a good look. you might have to do a bit of adjusting in dungeons with the camera, but that is just one aspect of 3d birds eye view you have to deal with, it's not Homm5 exclusive.
the new hero skill system is almost exactly like the old, but organized differently. now all of the scouting and movment skills are under the logistics tree, etc, etc. when you dissect everything it's almost the exact same.
all in all, this game is very nice for you Homm fans. from a multiplayer perspective this might be the best one. the only thing I really long for is more mysticism in races, but for now this game just rules. if they can keep their thunder I am hoping for what is to come in H6