Crusaders of Might and Magic

Rating:
Summary: A mediocre adventure/RPG
Review: Being a big fan of the Might and Magic universe, I bought this game immediately. I must admit to being impressed initially, but the more I played the less I liked it.

The pros: Combat and movement controls are superb, inventory system is simple, spell effects are neat, graphics are fairly nice, very stable.

The bad: Running, running, running, running... restrictive environments (canyons, dungeons, etc), limited number of items/spells/monsters, terrible voice acting, some glitches in the graphics engine, short (20-30 hours of total gameplay), no replay value.

Bottom line: Unless you're a die-hard adventure gamer, wait until this one hits the bargain bin.

Rating:
Summary: A fun game with some minor flaws
Review: Crusaders of Might and Magic is an action oriented role-playinggame (or is it a role-playing oriented action game? - I never cantell). In Crusaders you command Drake, a mercenary of sorts who gets caught up in a battle to save the world of Ardon from a horde of undead called the Legion of the Fallen. If you were expecting a deep story line, look somewhere else. What you will find in Crusaders, aside from some design and technical problems is a pretty fun game that is really enjoyable.

Lets start with the bad because thats the easiest. The graphics are pretty good, but nothing to write home about. The 3D engine is fairly decent but feels a little clunky sometimes (especially in the out-door areas).

There should have been more attention paid to design issues such as continuity and NPC interaction. NPCs are basically worthless in this game. You can kill them and they just come back later. NPCs that are critical to the story can't be killed at all but you can beat them until your heart is content. I even found that you can push some of them over the edge of a cliff and they just come right back because if they didn't you couldn't advance in the game.

Speaking of NPCs, the voice acting for this game is terrible. But since you'll most likely be killing the NPC for their gold, it really doesn't matter what they say.

The game play is fairly linear in that quests must be completed in a certain order. You judge whether this is a good or bad thing.

The back of the box mentions "large game level are joined by nine huge environments". While this is true, the extent of many of the environments (with the exception of the dungeon type) basically entail you running in one direction hacking everything in sight. While thats not so bad, the environments and the fights can get a little boring after a while and I found myself simply outrunning monsters just to get to my goal.

Now for the good. The graphics really aren't that bad, there just should have been more diversity in the environments (I got lost in the woods). As Drake, you get to wear many different types of armor and wield many different weapons. Each one of these changes you characters appearance which is pretty cool.

Although there aren't a whole lot of monsters, they all look pretty darn neat. Its just plain fun to bash some skeletons and see all their bones flying all over the place.

Speaking of bashing, this game has a lot of combat. Let me say that again... this game has A LOT OF COMBAT. Maybe thats why they call it Might and Magic. Combat is not too hard to master but its not as mindless as bashing your enemy until he drops. You've got to use your sheild to defend yourself. When thats not enough, you can seak out advantageous spots in the terrain from which you can dispatch your enemies.

Spells, yes, there are spells. Most of them are pretty cool and they are easy to pull off, which makes this game all the more fun. Its a blast to see a group of baddies off in the distance and hurl fireballs at them. However, judging by Drake's character, it doesn't seem like he should be using spells all that often.

To sum it all up, Crusaders isn't a ground-breaking game. Its doesn't really offer anything new in the way of role-playing or action. What it does offer is a pretty good time bashing bad guys and saving the world. Aside from the minor flaws I mentioned, Crusaders is a worth while game. It will be interesting to see what 3DO does with this series in the future.

Rating:
Summary: i love this game
Review: from what i have played of this game, i seam to like it, my brother, who is 17 and knows a bit more about games than i do, says that it is a bad game but... i think he is wrong. i dont know what it is but i really like this game. i think its the AI that has to get to me most. and the battleing and the story needs to be improved a lil, but hey, whats a game without flaws

Rating:
Summary: Fun But Uncomplete
Review: If your experience with 3D games such as Unreal Tournament, Half-Life, Quake 3, etc. you'll find gameplay fairly easy to master. Use the mouse to look around and the keyboard to move. The look of the game is very similar to Tomb Raider (your character even does backflips and sideflips, which is retarded because no one could do backflips while wearing heavy plate male).

The main problem about the game is the finale. At the begginning of the game you get a nice 3D video. Throughout the game the characters you encounter have audio speech. At the very end of the game you get an animated sequence with text (no audio). Plus the game really has no plot, it hardly ties in with the Might and Magic series except that it mentions the Mandate of Heaven. This can be explained because the game was created by 3DO (not thier sub company New World Computer) and the creator of the Might and Magic series (Jon Van Caneghem) did not help with the development of this title.

Rating:
Summary: Fun But Uncomplete
Review: If your experience with 3D games such as Unreal Tournament, Half-Life, Quake 3, etc. you'll find gameplay fairly easy to master. Use the mouse to look around and the keyboard to move. The look of the game is very similar to Tomb Raider (your character even does backflips and sideflips, which is retarded because no one could do backflips while wearing heavy plate male).

The main problem about the game is the finale. At the begginning of the game you get a nice 3D video. Throughout the game the characters you encounter have audio speech. At the very end of the game you get an animated sequence with text (no audio). Plus the game really has no plot, it hardly ties in with the Might and Magic series except that it mentions the Mandate of Heaven. This can be explained because the game was created by 3DO (not thier sub company New World Computer) and the creator of the Might and Magic series (Jon Van Caneghem) did not help with the development of this title.

Rating:
Summary: Problematic
Review: Let me start off at the key of the problem: it is plainly too hard to move, fight, and maneuver your shield at the same time. You must either forsake the shield in favor of combat, or forsake combat in favor of movement. While this is supposedly part-strategy, I never thought that the strategy would be in figuring out the controls. Something had to be done right, and that wasn't it. The environs are so restrictive that you will often find your character running into a wall and inching along while still facing it. There aren't too many different items, enemies, or spells in the game, considering that the focus is on combat rather than anything else. The areas are far too similar.

On the other hand, the graphics are rather pretty (albeit not groudbreaking), and several of Might and Magic's original creatures made it here, so the game is not a complete break with the rest of the series. If not thinking about the shield, the actual cobat is quite nicely done, tight, precise, and enjoyable.

Perhaps the game isn't a wonder but it is still a quite passable adventure (it easily beats Sarah Croft's third venture...). Fans of the genre may enjoy it, especially if they aren't looking for extraordinary depth.

Rating:
Summary: A great idea that died by management.
Review: This game had a good look to it but it was rushed to market and it shows.

The quests are completed in order with no side quests. The method of transport is probably the marjority of the game; running! If you like watching marathons, then this game is for you.

The fighting is predictable as you watch your opponents attack and easily see patterns.

The spell list is ok but most of the spells you don't use. The method of buying and selling is confusing at first. The weapons are ok.

The final fight was uninteresting. I found one quest(the ice titans) more of a challenge then the final villan.

If you can get it cheap, then what the heck. Otherwise, save your money.

Rating:
Summary: A great idea that died by management.
Review: This game had a good look to it but it was rushed to market and it shows.

The quests are completed in order with no side quests. The method of transport is probably the marjority of the game; running! If you like watching marathons, then this game is for you.

The fighting is predictable as you watch your opponents attack and easily see patterns.

The spell list is ok but most of the spells you don't use. The method of buying and selling is confusing at first. The weapons are ok.

The final fight was uninteresting. I found one quest(the ice titans) more of a challenge then the final villan.

If you can get it cheap, then what the heck. Otherwise, save your money.

Rating:
Summary: OHMIGOSH
Review: This game is one of the funnest games iv played in a long time. The levels are huge and lots of stuff to bash and slash! There are only a few things I DON'T like in this game: TO SHORT! once you play it and know where the places are you can beet it in a few hours esp. since there are only about 9 areas. The armor and weapons are cool but there is no change in apperance you have 2 swords, a hammer, 2 maces, and somthing weard lookin, now thats just in apperance the weapons change with magic power I.E. Holy sword or Shadow Sword. There are only 3 types of armor but they also change with magic. Only 2 shields, change with magic.

There are lots of magic spells that have 3 levels of power.

The fighting in this game is the best in any game like this I have played. In some games you can just run and slash and there dead, in this game you have a "SHIELD" :) and it must be used for survival! The NPC are very fun to kill but other than that...well there is no other than that JUST KILL THEM. The graphics on this game are amazing! I had a little slowness but when I turned off shadows (Dunno why they are so important) the game ran SMOOTH!

In closing: To short, very fun, addictive, a MUST BUY for anyone into RPG or just fun bashin and slashin with a medieval taste!

Rating:
Summary: OHMIGOSH
Review: This game is one of the funnest games iv played in a long time. The levels are huge and lots of stuff to bash and slash! There are only a few things I DON'T like in this game: TO SHORT! once you play it and know where the places are you can beet it in a few hours esp. since there are only about 9 areas. The armor and weapons are cool but there is no change in apperance you have 2 swords, a hammer, 2 maces, and somthing weard lookin, now thats just in apperance the weapons change with magic power I.E. Holy sword or Shadow Sword. There are only 3 types of armor but they also change with magic. Only 2 shields, change with magic.

There are lots of magic spells that have 3 levels of power.

The fighting in this game is the best in any game like this I have played. In some games you can just run and slash and there dead, in this game you have a "SHIELD" :) and it must be used for survival! The NPC are very fun to kill but other than that...well there is no other than that JUST KILL THEM. The graphics on this game are amazing! I had a little slowness but when I turned off shadows (Dunno why they are so important) the game ran SMOOTH!

In closing: To short, very fun, addictive, a MUST BUY for anyone into RPG or just fun bashin and slashin with a medieval taste!