Magic & Mayhem

"M&M: Underrated beyond relief."

Magic and Mayhem is a break from the norm. Not just for Fantasy RPG games, but for Real-Time Strategy games as well. If you're a die-hard fan of Command and Conquer games then you will love this gem. Magic and Mayhem gives you the opportunity to mould your own army, whether it be a swarm of bats or hordes of dragons.

M&M pits you up against mages from all over the world as you hunt down your missing Uncle, whilst discovering other dastardly plots as well. As your quest progressing, you'll gradually discover new magic items which boost your spells and magic arsenal. By completing tasks as you adventure you'll gain Experience Points and have the chance to level up. You have three talismans at the start of the game, but as you upgrade your character you can gain more.

The spell creating section of the game is very simple but can tax your noodle on what spells you'll need to bring to counter the enemy. As I mentioned before, you have three talismans at the beginning of the game and 3 magic items to get you started. Depending on what talisman you place the magic item in, you'll discover different spells. For example, place a Diamond in the Talisman of Neutrality and you can summon a Dragon. But if you put it in the Talisman of Chaos, you'll gain the chance to summon a Champion of Chaos.

The choices you make could alter the entire battle you have with your enemy, for good or for worse.

You have loads of spells at your disposal, but what will you choose? Take your pick. There are 21 creature summoning spells for you to select or perhaps you'll want to choose some enchantments; Healing spells, fireball spells, Totem Poles to scare away enemy creatures, flying spells, combat/defence enhancements. It opens up a lot of gameplay options for you.

The spell choosing and the casting is very easy to learn due to the simple interface the game gives. A simple click on a piece of bread will make you eat it, clicking on a portion of the map will make you walk there. Easy as pie.

There was a once mighty feature where you can battle it out online with players all over the globe, but as the sands of time passed, the feature soon went unused. The servers to play online might even be down, but it's hard to tell since there's nobody to play against.

On the whole, this is one awesome game for you collection. RTS game fans'll love this.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 09/01/05