Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer

"Eyes.... burn.... need... caffeine.... must.... keep... playing!"

Might and Magic 8 is the perfect example of Gameplay over graphics. It still uses the same old crappy engine as MM6 and 7, (except it has a couple of improvements in design) which means 2D pixellated enemies, blocky-as-hell places and horrible pop-up. It also makes the ear-busting ''ta-da'' every time you enter turn based mode and the sound effects aren't very good. The spell effects aren't very impressive and the AI is as dumb as a doorknob.

Ok, enough about the bad stuff, let's move on to the good stuff. First, the story. Any gamer that says that PC rpgs don't have story should check this game out. I don't want to spoil anything, so I will just say it is a very cool story, although in the beggining you will think it's just the same thing, but after 12 hours (which will feel like 10 seconds) you will understand there is more than just to stop the Bad guy.

Second, the fact that you speak to trolls, ogres, minotaurs like they were normal is just too cool. Entering a bar with a Minotaur drinking straight from the barrel is very nice. The new races are a lot better than MM7's. The druid in MM7 was pretty useless, the only thing he did was alchemy. The monk wasn't very good either. In MM8, these (and a couple of others) disappear and there are a bunch of cool new ones. Here is a list (from no-magic, to cleric-magic to element magic)

1- Warrior
2- Troll
3- Minotaur
4- Vampire
5- Cleric
6- Dark Elf
7- Necromancer
8- Dragon (but you can't choose it from the beggining)

and every single one is useful, no exceptions. The map is a lot better too, you can put ''pins'' on it with descriptions like ''Shop'' or ''Master Dagger'' By the way, the game automatically puts a ''pin'' when you find a teacher, and the expert, Master and Grandmaster are written in the book every time you find them.

Third, the game is addictive. 7 hours a day for a week (or two, if you consider the side quests) of non-linear gameplay enough for you? I can't stop playing this awesome game! It's the most addictive game since... well, I don't know. The combat can be either turn based or real time (although turn based gives you a HUGE advantage, because you have time to think) and there are tons of different and original monsters (Nagas, a serpent woman with 6 arms and 6 swords.) to battle.

Buy or not: Buy, and after you finish you can sell it, because like many rpg's, after you finish there isn't much to do other than read the manual. Of course after a few years you can go back for nostalgia or fun of it. You can also keep it for your collection, but even though this game will consume 70 hours of your life, you probably won't go back for a 71st hour.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/01/00, Updated 04/01/00