Rating: 
Summary: Oh my god this game is terrible!!
Review: I am a HUGE fan of the last few Might and Magics; Even though the graphics were extremely dated, the gameplay was great and the graphics were good enough to keep you involved. Then there's the new 3D Might and Magic IX. The 3D engine looks HORRIBLE; almost as bad if not worse than the original Everquest. Then there's the impossible interface. Even the intro movie stinks compared to the last few, all it is is a torch moving along a wall showing stick figure drawings and some [bad] narration about how some men rise to be heroes! This game was opened, installed, uninstalled, and put back up for sale within 45 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: Huge Disappointment
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Huge Disappointment
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Going down hill fast....
Review: I don't know what 3DO is thinking with this line of games. The first six of these games aren't bad and are some of the classics of the genre. However, once seven came along, there were some very dramatic facelifts to the RPG. Baldur's Gate and Torment came out around the same time and really added some needed depth to the RPG. The M&M series is still stuck in that same old rut of level, new spell, new dungeon, new level, etc. etc. So that leads up to the newest installment. They have finally improved over the 2D graphics of five years ago with a 3D model that looks like it should have come out 4 years ago. The characters and voices you can choose from are pure cheese, similar in a way to Wizardry 8 (However on the whole that RPG is much better). Then there is the game itself. Wandering through monotonous realms slashing this and blasting that. Fundamentally the same system of levels and skills are in place in the previous installments. There is no depth to speak of, and I found that I had to force myself to keep playing after awhile due to mounting boredom.
There is nothing new here. And what few improvements that have been made should have been made to the series several years ago.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't pre-order - it may be seriously incomplete
Review: I don't usually preview a game so close to release, if I'm that interested I usually buy it and review it. But bear with me this time...The Might and Magic series is one of the three "old school" RPG stalwarts - the others being Ultima and Wizardry. Pretty much everyone has owned one or the other at some point. MM6->8 all used the same dated engine, and didn't sell through very well. I thought the series was dead after MM8. So to some surprise, and little fanfare here's MM9. The good news is that it's boasting a whole new engine using Lithtech Development System (Half-Life, No One Lives Forever, Aliens vs Predator) so everything should look a lot better, and lots more scripting of events. Also another improvement is getting rid of the horrible teacher system for getting higher-level skills. So no more thankless backtracking and mindless searching to find the right master. Graphically it looks better, but I'm concerned that it may simply be a case of style over substance. What appears to be a week before release, 3DO still doesn't seem to have created a Website devoted to the game. All I can find is a box shot. So if there isn't enough content to fill up a few web pages, I'm really wondering how they filled up a whole game. Also I can't even find the developers (New World Computing) website, the one link I could find automatically redirected me to the box shot on the 3DO site. I can't even find a list of minimum system requirements anywhere. Also another 3DO game developed by New World Computing, Heroes of Might and Magic 4 (which looks good by the way), is also scheduled for release on March 29 - a bizarre self-competition if I ever saw one. Then again, with the threat of a few A++ RPGs arriving over the next few months, I get the feeling that MM9 has only right now to make any money before the big guns set up shop. Maybe a better option would have been to piggyback MM9 to Heroes 4 and charge a little more for Heroes 4.
MM9 looks like it could be an okay game. Maybe if it had been released last year, I would have excited by it. However 2002 looks to be a banner year for RPGs and frankly it's just not approaching the release date with much to inspire confidence. If you like the old school RPGs, then you really should have a look at Wizardry 8. It has a similar feel to the Might and Magic games and was just possibly the best RPG of 2001. Both games use a first person point of view. Wizardry 8 manages to get past the feeling of a room full of people carrying a window everywhere, through little quirky interactions and dialogue. It's not clear what MM9 plans to do to overcome this If you are really more interested in something cutting edge, Dungeon Siege comes out in a week (April 4) and is a much better target to hurl your money at. My final verdict is: Don't think about ordering this one until you get reviews from people who tried to play the whole game through to the end. (Four stars because I have to choose something) Dig around for MM6, MM7, and MM8. They are all okay titles and cheap as dirt to boot.
Rating: 
Summary: okay why 3 stars?
Review: I gave this game three stars because it's the only turned based game of it's kind that I've found. I don't have fantastic dexterity and I like to think about what is the best course of action in each battle. Yes, the graphics are poor, but they were the normal 5 years ago. I am not spoiled by graphics, especially because when I was a teenager, pong was the closest you could get to an interactive game.
The cheat book I think is essential to the game. I felt the starter book was useless. The fact that you could only start with a fighter or magicuser a disappointment, but it made sense in the promotions.
One of the things I hated was the uneven ease or difficulty of promotions. My party easily promoted a healer, but got slaughtered repeatly by lowly Yobboos trying to get that fighter promotion.
Another thing I hated was the Thronheim map. It was off by 90 degrees.
The thing I hated the most was the mirrors desert. I worked for hours trying to get those stupid things aligned. I wished there was a cheater code to bypass that stupid thing. I never finished it because of that.
Finally I gave this game three stars because the hours of play I got out of it. I didn't like Thief, Dark Stone, or Laura Croft because of the dexterity problem and the turn based problem. If you don't care about graphics and you don't want to play with others on line, this game is the best to get, regardless of it's problems.
Rating:
Summary: Awful graphics - it really kills the game
Review: I have always been a Might and Magic fan. I thought 7 and 8 were great games despite the graphics because the graphics didn't get in the way and still set a good atmosphere. I realize they were dated, but it worked. The graphics in Might and Magic IX so far are inexcusable. Just in the training area there are a lot of clipping problems, and I have already gotten "stuck" in between textures twice already. The mouse-look is exaggerated which makes it almost useless. The text is blocky and choppy -- it looks like zoomed in text on an LCD panel running at the wrong resolution. They really tried to take the faces on people and improve them, but they look very out of place against the jagged background. On the positive side of the graphics, the monsters do look good. The sound is quite good, however, so I'm hoping a good sound card and 5.1 speaker system can help set the atmosphere. Although get to know your sound system very well - I was presented with seven sets of 3D sound options with no explanation of them or recommendations. The character progression model also looks entertaining, and it obviously has some nice M&M touches that should still make it enjoyable. However, it is hard to get around the graphics. Also, as of April 4th, 3DO still does not have a support section available for M&M9. That's right - no support. If you're hoping to find an answer as to why the graphics look so bad or why the text is jagged, you're out of luck. So the pros: M&Ms have always been good in the past. The story seems to have some interesting lines to it. The character model look like fun mix without being overly complex. Good looking monsters. The cons: Terrible 3D graphics that look flat and jagged -- their old 2D model looked more like 3D. Numerous clipping errors including the ability to get "stuck". Bad implementation of water. Jagged text. No explanation of sound options on install.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but far from good
Review: I have been looking for RPGs that rival some of the old M&M, and even Ultima etc. I'm pretty old school I guess, not as concerned with graphics as I am with gameplay and quest lines and so on. From those aspects, I find many disappointments and not too many good points to discuss.
First, when I got to Tronheim (one of the towns) it was a complete maze. It takes you a couple of hours to gain you bearings that you can go somewhere easily, and then you find out that the directional finder on the map is off by 90 degrees, so when you are actually facing south, your arrow on the map is pointing west, etc. Very frustrating and confusing for a town. I think this is ridiculous because since you have to be more than half way through the game to even find a lloyd's beacon spell (oh yeah no learning or completing quests for spells, you have to find them or buy them) town portal is your only savior sometimes. Then if you get thrown into Tronheim, good luck.
In relation to the lloyd's beacon thing, the game does not allow you to progress to any decent spells until the game is nearly over. And the lack of "fly" is a pain since the game score is rated on how long it takes you to solve, and there is an equally irritating travel ability between towns and areas.
This games is not totally terrible, because it does contain some very challenging quests, but it is not a good value at the current price. maybe at nineteen or fifteen bucks, then it becomes worthwhile. But with the things I mentioned, and the many despicable quest bugs mentioned in other reviews, you should wait a while before purchasing.
Rating:
Summary: Going down hill fast....
Review: I have played all of the Might and Magic games over the years and do not believe I can really express how awful this game is. Stay away! You will be much better off with Wizardry VIII, a fine example of how a series should be ended.
Rating:
Summary: A sad end to a great series
Review: I have played all of the Might and Magic games over the years and do not believe I can really express how awful this game is. Stay away! You will be much better off with Wizardry VIII, a fine example of how a series should be ended.
|
