Might & Magic is one of those series that doesn’t have a massive fan base, but a very loyal fan base, which is something to be expected of a series that has gone on for almost 30 years now, being first released in the last 80’s. But it is also a series that has not had a game released in over 10 years, which always sparks worry of late when old games get new sequels, of course this isn’t going to be a bastardisation that is new versions of syndicate or Dungeon Keeper though which is a relief. But at the same time as this, there is a lot of those fans expecting a something fantastic from this sequel after such a long down time.
Of course even though the series is this old it doesn’t mean that those outside of the PC population will automatically know what this game is, by today’s standards the game is clearly a niche title as well. For those who may not of known of this series, the Might & Magic, not to be confused with Hero’s of Might and Magic, is a grid based first person RPG, which is exactly what the original games were just with prettier graphics.
Now at this point it should be said, whilst I do enjoy throw backs to older games, grid based combat was not chosen back then because they wanted it, it was more to do with technical limitations of the technology at the time. If they could have made a game that acted like Skyrim I’m damn well sure they would of done, but creating a new game in the series with the original control scheme is for one reason only, which is to try to get that nostalgia itch you get every once in a while.
Okay so Might and Magic is your standard RPG, heard of Lord of the Rings? Good well you’re going to settle in nicely here, in fact if you’ve played any fantasy RPG ever you will fit right in, you have all the old cliché’s at work though that isn’t always a bad thing. Of course this is also the sequel to a pretty old series in all fairness so sticking to an old formula isn’t always the worst thing in the world that could happen.
Story wise, well it’s not the kind of story you will be remembering for years, you’re a group of adventurers who have set out to take your mentors ashes to where he wishes his last burial ground will be. Though once you’re off the ship you’re instantly thrown into quest line after quest line sending you all over the in-game world to the point where you will forget your starting quest even exists any more. Though again if you have played any fantasy RPG you will be used to walking into a town and having the entire populous trust you with their whole life story and important quests, as you slowly go towards your last goal.
As mentioned before the control scheme of this game is definitely old school, with grid based first person combat it does install the feeling of nostalgia of games from the early nineties, and it does a good job considering you can’t really improve on such a simple control scheme. There haven’t been many games in this style apart from legends of Grimrock 2 years ago, which was a great but different game. The first person control scheme works fantastic in the dungeon setting like in grim rock, but in a complete open world that is presented in might and magic it really shows the age of the control system. There are many times that had me thinking, man I really really wish I could just walk straight to that goal, instead of going around the grid, it can become frustrating.
Another annoying is that once in a fight, that’s it, there is nothing you can do at all to change this, if you accidentally walked into an area with massively high level enemies, which you will do plenty of times, because of no indication, the enemies will chase you down across the whole map to kill you.
There are other little niggles that show the games age as a whole, some that can completely ruin a quick play session, some that you can ignore, though it is mostly down to the sort of player that you are.
Graphically the game looks pretty poor considering other games that are coming out or have come out, hell even Grimrock looks better than this game, and I found it difficult to see a big difference between medium and maximum settings as well. That’s not to say the graphics look terrible, they just wasn’t what I was expecting, with very blurry textures and awkward draw distances, it became clear that if this was a free roaming game like Skyrim it would seem like a much worse game.
If you are a massive fan of the might and magic series, you will probably enjoy this game, it really is a might and magic game at its core, but if you are new to the series the whole thing may seem off and confusing. This is a game that is 100% for the fans of the series and will seem very strange for new players of the series, but I think it will always be a game aimed at a niche market which isn’t a bad thing, but even from a new player of the series, for all this I give it a 3/5.
Disclaimer:All scores given within our reviews are based on the artist’s personal opinion; this should in no way impede your decision to purchase the game.
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