Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer

"Too different and yet too much like MM6 and MM7 to be truly great"

Might and Magic VIII is an enjoyable game, don't get me wrong. The main problems with it is that it is too different from MM6 and MM7 and is a little bit scary at the beginnings, while at the same time being too much of the same.

It appears that a mysterious visitor has entered Jadame and summoned a huge crystal in the centre of Ravenshore. Various nasty groups and organisations are starting to Bad Things in the area. Basically Jadame is becoming a bad place to live. This is where your character, the Hero come into it.

Character creation is a simple and easy as the two previous Might and Magic's, though it is a little different. MM6 had a selection of classes to choose from, though all were human. MM7 had a few extra classes and gave the option of being a different race. MM8 throws both of those systems away, now your class and character are one and the same. For example, you can only be a Human Knight, Minotaurs can only be Minotaurs and not, for example, a Barbarian Minotaur or something like that. This is good, and a little bad. At first I was confused, especially because ALL the classes could be considered 'Evil' (In MM7 there was a very important choice in the game between Good and Evil which affected everything).

After choosing a class/race and entering the game you are placed smack bang in the middle of an event. Regnan Pirates, a faction only hinted at in the two previous MM's set in the same world are finally taking an active event in the games. At the start, they are attacking Dagger Wound Island, you must try and stop them (well, a little bit anyhow).

The biggest difference from the previous MM's is that you start off with only one character. Yes, only one. You must find and hire the other 4 members for a total of 5. This, for me, was very daunting and very off-putting. I like to completely customise the characters I want to have, not the characters I have been able to find. Also, I like giving my characters certain names, and have done so since the very beginning. In time, I was able to appreciate the system as I was able to drop a character that wasn't doing as well as I had hoped and test out the myriad of character classes available. Even still, it was very dis-orienting for me and I still would prefer the old system of character creation at the start.

Graphically, the game is still merely a touch-up of MM7 which was a touch-up of MM6. While it doesn't bother me all that much about the quality of the graphics - they were very serviceable - other players may be put-off the by the old-schoolish feel of it all. One thing that did bother me was the slight changes in the interface from the two previous games and a few important things were missing from the right-click menues that were very annoying. Also, the 'I' key for Inventory wasn't present - a definite problem.

Sound wise it is very similar to the two previous games as well. The sound effects are all pretty much the same, and the music is of the same quality - which is high. I was definitely impressed aurally, though the noises upon entering and leaving turn-based combat are still very annoying.

The game plays out slowly enough, which is good as it is very non-linear and really does require you to do the side-quests before advancing through the main storyline quests. If you don't do any side quests, you won't be able to complete the next main storyline quest. It's as simple as that. While that is a little annoying sometimes as the storyline quests give out a huge amount of exp and occassionally a movie or two it is understandable, and very enjoyable to wander the land righting wrongs.

The game as a whole has a dark turn to it. Most of the towns are filled with traditional 'Evil' monster, which was at first unsettling, but then I got used to it. The first time I stepped into Ravenshore and saw all the Dark Elf's around I expected to be attacked!

Fans of MM6 and MM7 will be happy to know that a few of the old characters from those games are back to say hello, and fans of Arcomage will love the new cards in the game, I am sure!

In all, MM8 is not a huge departure from the series, though at times the changes that are there seem a little too much. It is also a bit of a farewell, as the on again off again MM9 boasts a brand new engine after three Might and Magic's using the same, now tired engine.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/02, Updated 07/31/02