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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Might & Magic IX. . ., May 4, 2003
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 didnt happen until 2002s Might & Magic IX. The games new facelift, though, is anything but pretty, and youll immediately feel like you just entered the magical world of Polygon. Thats not to say the graphics dont 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 dont make the game, and for those who can look past the graphical problems of IX, theres some decent adventuring to be done primarily if youre 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 its 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 isnt 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: shouldnt 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 characters 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. Dont expect the kind of roleplaying youd 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 werent expecting, or bump into quests that boost your experience. Unfortunately, monster encounters arent 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 isnt very exciting either, since you cant 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 youre 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 youre 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 youll marvel at how an outdoor fog can follow you indoors as well, graying up whatever castle or keep you have entered. The games 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 couldnt penetrate. Behind the wall is a demoness that is freed by your incursion unless of course you dont 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 youve 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 games quests are tepid and tedious and require too much walking across open country that youve 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 games 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 youre a CRPG addict, and have already run through the years best, then its worth a look (despite the horror stories you may have heard). Final Score: C
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