Might and Magic 9 - PC

I just completed the latest version of the Might and Magic series. You create the standard 4-person party, do quests, and advance your characters. Those who've never played any of the Might and Magic games will enjoy this more that those who've played M&M VI or VII.The Good: The new game engine is pretty cool. I like being able to look in a 360° radius around my party. Some of the old favorite spells are here like Lloyd's Beacon and Town Portal. There are some good new spells. Quests aren't super hard to figure out and it is fun to play as an RPG. Also, the NPC's in your party can fight and you can set up your party's formation. You can swim now which is pretty cool.The Bad: No "Fly" spell. Many, MANY bugs, even after two patches. Make sure to get the latest patch and then you might want to check out the MM Worlds website for words on the bugs that remain. Some bugs are so bad that it will make the game impossible to win. The various NPC's you run into aren't "smart" meaning that even if you've solved a quest for them, they complain like it hasn't been done. It would have been nice for NPC's to adjust as the game advanced. Also, the game's story is mostly uninteresting (to me) and there's not much change between the various regions (graphic-wise).The game was rushed and it shows but I still enjoyed playing it.

I bought this game over a year ago, and was very much looking forward to it. I loved Might and Magic 6-8 and played each one all the way through (some more than once). I liked the gameplay, the graphics were (at the time at least) pretty good, and most of all they had good stories to them. I had been hearing how 3DO was planning major improvements for MM9, so I had high hopes for this one too. Then I played it, and what a let down. I really tried to like this game, but just couldn't. I played it on and off for a little less than a month and have not bothered with it since. The graphics, even though there is a new engine, are really quite bad compared to other games in its class (things are much to angular). The NPC's are downright aweful looking. The story did not intitally make a lot of sense to me and didn't seem at all compelling or interesting (and I think this is really key to a good RPG). In my humble opinion, this is the worst of the Might and Magic lot (at least since 6 came out). I'd avoid this one. Go pick up Neverwinter Nights if you want a really interesting PC RPG. If you're looking a good console RPG try Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits for Playstation 2.

Facing the facts, 3DO should have switched to a full 3-D engine long ago where its �Might & Magic� RPG franchise is concerned, but, for some reason, that didn�t happen until 2002�s �Might & Magic IX.� The game�s new facelift, though, is anything but pretty, and you�ll immediately feel like you just entered the magical world of Polygon. That�s not to say the graphics don�t have their moments (certain environments look better than others, and certain NPCs or enemies do likewise), but it all looks very much like something you could have been playing in 1998. But, of course, graphics don�t make the game, and for those who can look past the graphical problems of IX, there�s some decent adventuring to be done � primarily if you�re a fan of the past few �Might & Magic� games (which all have a distinctive style of gameplay, for better or worse).The storyline in IX is a bit on the soft and ridiculous side, but it works, and at least it�s not as cut-and-dry as �kill the Dark Lord, save the universe.� It is your job to unite the six clans of the realm in order to face the looming threat imposed by an Attila-like figure who seeks to conquer the land. Odd twists of fate abound, uniting you with your enemies, and ultimately pit you against the gods themselves. To win the day, you must assemble a party of four adventurers (picking from only two initial classes � warrior or magician), and venture into the fantasy landscape.Customizing your party isn�t half as fun as it was in earlier incarnations of �Might & Magic,� and gives you far fewer options than the last installment in the series � which poses the obvious question: shouldn�t a sequel outdo its forebears? Only four races are available to you (human, elf, dwarf, or half-orc), and the portrait selection is limited to two generic faces per race, and two more per sex. You can customize your character�s voice, but that ultimately boils down to choosing the voiceover that least annoys you. And, of course, you tweak a few stats and traits, but they too are few. Don�t expect the kind of roleplaying you�d get from �Icewind Dale� or �Morrowind� here.When you have assembled your party, the story begins. The game plays essentially the same as previous entries in the series: combat is an optional real-time or turn-based affair, and you visit various provinces and cities seeking quests that can transform your humble fighter into a crusader, or your magician into a lich. Wandering the countryside is somewhat gratifying despite the blocky landscapes, because you often run into things you weren�t expecting, or bump into quests that boost your experience. Unfortunately, monster encounters aren�t very intense, primarily because only two or three different breeds of monsters seem capable of stalking any one given province, and most of them look pretty ridiculous. Combat isn�t very exciting either, since you can�t really even tell when your blows are connecting against your opponent unless you read the scrolling text at the bottom of the screen. Only archery reveals sound cues and splashes of blood (even from skeletons and the like who should obviously not bleed when hit).The more time you spend with the game, the more it will grow on you, and the more addicted you may even become, but it still feels like you�re playing an early beta of what could have been a far superior game. Outdoor and indoor environments all suffer from a lack of detail that makes them feel mostly generic. This pervading lack of polish makes it very hard to suspend disbelief, since you rarely (if ever) feel like you�re in a living, breathing world. There are graphical glitches to further hamper your adventures, and you can sometimes clip into hills or embankments and become stuck in them. Scenery pop-in often raises its ugly head, and you�ll marvel at how an outdoor fog can follow you indoors as well, graying up whatever castle or keep you have entered.The game�s scripting can also be broken. For example: in a dwarven mine, you are supposed to break through a wall that, for some reason, the dwarves couldn�t penetrate. Behind the wall is a demoness that is freed by your incursion � unless of course you don�t break down every piece of the wall. Break only a section of it, walk into the room, and find that nothing happens until you go back and shatter the rest. Then, and only then, you find yourself in a cut-scene, since you�ve only now triggered it. This is why games are playtested rigorously before release, 3DO!The list of complaints that can be leveled against IX is pretty lengthy indeed. Many of the game�s quests are tepid and tedious and require too much walking across open country that you�ve already cleared of foes; the inventory and outfitting screen is unintuitive and not half as interesting as that seen in the previous games (why does my female elven warrior have a male dwarf representing her?); the game�s sound effects are sparse and generally grating� All of these flaws make IX a hard game to recommend wholeheartedly, even to fans of the franchise, especially in a year that brought with it great RPGs like �Icewind Dale II,� �Morrowind,� and �Arx Fatalis.� But to those who absolutely adore the unique style of adventure that only �Might & Magic� offers, this should do, provided you brace for some disappointment. I can only hope that 3DO licenses a new engine next time around, and makes sure to take it time polishing up the game before its release. Despite all of the new additions made to IX, it is inferior to its predecessors in almost every respect. This one has all the signs of a game rushed out the door to meet some dreaded deadline � but if you�re a CRPG addict, and have already run through the year�s best, then it�s worth a look (despite the horror stories you may have heard).Final Score: C