Rating: 
Summary: I REALLY wanted to hate this game...
Review: ... but I couldn't. I loved MMVI. Played it, finished it, played it again. With VII, 3DO irritated me by using the same engine. I couldn't stand the new way they forced the classes -- it felt like they were penalizing all classes for the sake of penalizing them, without adding any advantages for this penalization. That, and the lackluster storyline and rushed feel of the world made me really dislike MMVII (enough to give it a 2-star review). Seeing that they released MMVIII with the same engine and most of the same concepts, I expected much of the same. However, I didn't get that. Although the graphics and gameplay are similar, I got an immersive world that I REALLY enjoy playing in. Unlike VII, the quests are laid out in a very logical manner. Although the game isn't simple, you always feel like you're getting somewhere, without ever hitting one of those "brick wall" quests. The addition of different races that are actually DIFFERENT makes the game very fun to play as well. Racial spells for Vampires and Elves are a nice touch. Being able to update your party with new characters is also great (though I'm pretty attached to the ones I have now). Throw all of your preconceptions aside when walking around in this world -- those dragons in Garrott Gorge won't attack you the first time you see them (in fact, they're a good way to get rid of those pesky Nagas). I know that I'll get a lot of flack for a 5-star review, but I find this game very fun and horribly addicting. And that is really what it's all about to me. -Chris
Rating: 
Summary: Fun for fans, but the engine is tired.
Review: Day of the Destroyer is polished, absorbing fun with a slightly better plot and a better coat of finish than the previous installment, For Blood and Honor. Hardcore fans may not like the new party system, where party members are somewhat pre-developed and recruited, giving you only one true player-developed character, but that really doesn't hinder the meat of the play: exploration, stat management, and battles. Dungeons seem bigger and more fleshed out tham those in part 7, without being the excruciating ordeals found in 6. Most of the changes are incremental - marginally improved graphics, a more polished interface, a bigger viewport, and mouselook (of sorts) - so if you're expecting a drastic leap (ala Xeen to 6), look elsewhere. The graphics are showing their age terribly - 3D acceleration has improved over 7, but still look decidedly 1996. The synopsis so far? Hardcore fans will be engaged, but lightweights and graphic tarts should look elsewhere. It's good to see this phase of the series end on a solid note, and I look forward to the next generation of Might and Magic games.
Rating: 
Summary: An Endless Slog against unintelligent monsters.
Review: Having played M&M6 and M&M7, I was really looking forward to this game. Unfortunately, once I started I lost interest pretty quickly. It is so similar to the earlier games that I felt I was just replaying one of the other titles. My biggest problem is that there have been few if any upgrades to the basic game engine since #6. Don't get me wrong, I like the basic game engine. The world looks interesting and is easy to navigate. However, some of the problems that first bothered me in 6 have become even more annoying in the later titles. Namely: HOARDS OF UNINTELLIGENT MONSTERS: All monsters in the M&M universe behave in exactly the same way. Once they see you, they charge to attack. (OK. A few will shoot at you from range, but the principle is still the same.) No opponents use even rudimentary tactics. As a result, every fight feels the same. And there are A LOT of fights. There are so many damn monsters in this game that your finger will get sore from pressing the attack key, and the repetition gets pretty mind numbing. In particular, I got sick of the pirates on the first island. There's a trigger zone that creates new ones every time you enter it. How many times do we really want to kill the same monster off? MONSTERS DON'T REACT TO EVENTS AROUND THEM: The game uses the tired D&D cliche of the dungeon crawl. That is, you go into the first room, kill everything there. Rest. Move on to next room. Repeat. Guards in other rooms don't react to your presence until you attack them, even if that is months later. Frankly, I would be happier if the next game in the series used a system like the one in Fallout 2, where all the guards in a complex react in a coordinated way to your presence once they realize that you are there. This forces you to use stealth, dialog skills, and to really think about who you attack and when. THE STORY IS STILL VERY LINEAR: Basically, you have a bunch of quests you have to do. You have no real choices in who you ally yourself with and who you attack. The world consists of people you talk to and people you kill, with no overlap between the two. THE NPC SYSTEM COULD BE VASTLY IMPROVED: You have no choice in how you handle NPC's. You hear what they have to say, then do their quests for them. I would much rather see the game move towards an NPC systme like the one in Fallout 2, which is really quite good. Your lead character's INT determines how many things he can think of to say, and his oratory skill determines how well he can lie and manipulate people. And you always seem to have at least two or three different ways to approach any NPC. Overall, my big problem with this game is that there just isn't a lot of thinking involved, or much freedom of action for the player. You slog your way through endless fights against repetitive and brainless monsters, only to collect a reward and then do more of the same.
Rating:
Summary: RPG Expert who plays every game suggests this one.
Review: I do not hesitate to say this was an excellent game. It's challenging and perfect for hours of entertainment. I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I like a RPG game that's a bit difficult, makes me think. If you are a candy...gamer, don't buy this game; it will probably frustrate you. But if you like a game you can sink you teeth into, one you can't master immediately. Then, this is a must buy. Crybabies beware!!!
Rating:
Summary: I......RPG gamer
Review: I do not hesitate to say this was an excellent game. It's challenging and perfect for hours of entertainment. I consider myself a hardcore gamer and I like a RPG game that's a bit difficult, makes me think. If you are a candy...gamer, don't buy this game; it will probably frustrate you. But if you like a game you can sink you teeth into, one you can't master immediately. Then, this is a must buy. Crybabies beware!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Frustrating
Review: I have been a big fan of all the Might and Magic games. Might and Magic was the very first fantasy role playing computer game I played and I absolutely loved it. However, the last few installments of the Might and Magic series (including M&M8 have been very frustrating. In order to accomplish anything you have to wade through wave after wave of monsters. You can never even take a simple journey to the next village without having to fight a wall of monsters. And the monsters are so numerous that you can't defeat them in one encounter. You have to retreat to rest and heal again and again before you can finish them all off. It's just so tiring and frustrating to be bogged down with so much meaningless slaughter than you can't concentrate on the quests that you've set out to do. The game does have very good graphics and nice interactivity. And I must say it has one of the best intros I've ever seen, though it is fairly short. (It adds so much seeing the intro if you have good speakers and a subwoofer!)
Rating:
Summary: Frustrating
Review: I have been a big fan of all the Might and Magic games. Might and Magic was the very first fantasy role playing computer game I played and I absolutely loved it. However, the last few installments of the Might and Magic series (including M&M8 have been very frustrating. In order to accomplish anything you have to wade through wave after wave of monsters. You can never even take a simple journey to the next village without having to fight a wall of monsters. And the monsters are so numerous that you can't defeat them in one encounter. You have to retreat to rest and heal again and again before you can finish them all off. It's just so tiring and frustrating to be bogged down with so much meaningless slaughter than you can't concentrate on the quests that you've set out to do. The game does have very good graphics and nice interactivity. And I must say it has one of the best intros I've ever seen, though it is fairly short. (It adds so much seeing the intro if you have good speakers and a subwoofer!)
Rating:
Summary: Disapointing - especially compared to the rest of the series
Review: I have long been a fan of this series and I jumped at thechance to get the next game. I knew before hand that the graphicswould not be the best around, but that wasn't important. The problem was the game felt hollow. There was much less of a plot then any of the others in the series, and was overall disappointing. The gameplay isn't that bad, but I wouldn't recommend this game for any but the most stalwart fans of the series. Might and Magic 6 and 7 were great games in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: RPG Expert who plays every game suggests this one.
Review: I have played almost every game in the last 10 years that are RPG and this game is amazing. If you like to develop and control mulitple characters and want a solve quest/hack and slash type game this is it. I played M&M 1 thru 8, I feel that 7 was slightly better than 8, but both were fun to play from start to finish. The game starts with the creation of your main character and you can have up to five(once 4 more join). I would rather have the ability to create all five, but rescuing characters that are strong is a big part of this game. The quests are pretty easy and with the guide book you can beat the game in about 150-200 hours of game play. I sugggest you start the game as a wizard and ultimately meet two dragons, a dark elf, and a cleric to form the most balanced attack and defense combination.
Rating: 
Summary: More of the same only better
Review: I have played M&MVI,M&MVII and now M&MVIII. While most of the game layout was familiar there were a few differences where I had to read the manual to figure them out. I liked the idea of using the same engine for all three games. There wasn't the learning curve and bugs of a new engine and more time could be spent on a plot rather than better graphics. I also liked the idea of playing one character and adding or dismissing others as the game went along, kind of like Baulders Gate. They have also eliminated the annoying problem of bumping into NPC's and not being able to get past them, you just walk right through them. There was one change to the game where they didn't have a place to get food at the beginning islands so you couldn't just stay there and beef up your characters you were forced to do some exploring before your initial supply ran out. All in all I liked the improvements as well as revisiting an old friend. If you liked the other two this game is for you.
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