Hero Generations
By David Chapman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Role-playing tale explores family, but weak plot falls flat.
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Hero Generations
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What’s It About?
HERO GENERATIONS is a turn-based RPG where each turn of the game represents one year of your hero's total life span. Growing through the ages, your hero will fight, love, and seek fame as an adventurer, leaving behind a legacy to pass on to his or her children. Those children will, in turn, go forth into the world they've inherited to make their own names and add to that legacy.
Is It Any Good?
Hero Generations can best be described as a sort of "RPG lite." With every turn chipping away a full year from your character's life, you're literally planning out your life with every step. You have to make sure your aging adventurer finds fame, fortune, and true love (or a reasonable facsimile) in time to pass on what's been learned and built to his or her offspring. With time being of the essence, there's not a lot of room to cram in deep plot lines or character development. The result is an experience that hovers somewhere between classic RPG and speed chess.
Though the game has a fairly basic presentation, it still manages to have a fun personality. Controls are pretty straightforward: Click, move, action, repeat. The game's biggest obstacle is that it's almost too basic for its own good. Quests and goals are little more than bullet points, sometimes a bit too vague and always spotlighting the game's anemic plot. Despite this, Hero Generations is still a fun, if repetitive, time sink that gives players a chance to create their own heroic destinies for themselves and their families.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how the actions we make today affect future generations. How do you know if your decisions or actions are the best for your future or the future of your family?
Talk about conflict. What are the benefits to avoiding potential conflicts, in the game and in real life?
How can one balance the desire for success with the desire to raise a family?
Game Details
- Platforms: Mac, Windows
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning: decision-making, strategy, Self-Direction: time management
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Not available online
- Publisher: Heart Shaped Games LLC
- Release date: April 10, 2015
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Topics: Magic and Fantasy, Adventures, Monsters, Ghosts, and Vampires
- ESRB rating: NR
- Last updated: April 5, 2019
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