Might & Magic IX

When the folks at New World Computing and 3DO announced that Might and Magic IX would be like no other Might and Magic game ever before seen, they meant it!  One look at this newest title in a long series of dynamite RPGs will tell you that many things are different.  Are they better?  You'll have to answer that question for yourself.

To hit lightly on the new changes, first up is the all-new 3D look.  The developers have used the LithTech engine which does seem to lend itself to true 3D renderings but which also sometimes makes the people and the monsters look a bit blocky.  Additionally, I did encounter an instability within the graphics system which causes texture changes to occur when moving from one area to another.  While putting the game through it's paces after experiencing the those texture changes, I also found myself locked within walls or rocks along the outer rim of the screen when I tried to move near those spots.  While I was able to maneuver out of most of these problems, I did experience two lock-ups which required me to reboot my computer to escape the problem.

I would like to make it clear that I dearly love the Might and Magic series.  I own each and every one of the previously released games in this series and in the Heroes of Might and Magic series, as well.  Therefore, I am not taking pot shots at New World Computing or 3DO when I say that I think the game should have been tweaked a bit more before releasing it to the general public.

As a reviewer, I was directed to a website that contained a patch for Might and Magic IX.   Even after installing the patch, I still have found graphics glitches and texture changes that have not yet been corrected...and I did have to reboot my computer again at one point.  I feel that this is very unfortunate because it proves the point that the game needed more work before it was released.  Having said that, I would like to move on with the review because there are some very good aspects of this newest Might and Magic title.

While most of the previous Might and Magic titles have dealt with familiar surroundings, this new adventure takes you to new locales...with an interesting storyline that is chock full of major and minor quests.  There are over 60 quests in Might and Magic IX.  Some of these quests you will have to do while others will simply give the story a little twist...and add to your experience points, of course!  Some quests will be simple and straight forward while others will take finesse and careful planning.

Another added twist to the norm for the Might and Magic series is that the storyline evolves around everything you say and do.  Your decisions in any given situation will cause the storyline to take on nuances of its own.  Trust me when I say that when you enter the world of Might and Magic IX, you will be entering a totally interactive environment.  Do with it as you will!

Another refreshing change in this title is the refined skill system.  Never before has it been so important to choose your character skills wisely.  It is very important to look at your group as a whole and decide which character should learn which skill in order to contribute best to the group.  It is suggested that you keep each character's skill list to a minimum and max those skills out as quickly as you can.

The new spellcasting system of Might and Magic IX now uses spells much like other skills.  Where before only a cleric, paladin or a druid could learn to heal, now all magic users can learn the basics of healing.  It now takes both Elemental and Light skills to learn basic healing...and only the higher level Light Masters and Grandmasters will be able to cast heal spells with the very best results.

Take this as a very strong warning...the monsters you will encounter will surprise you with their skill and cunning.  They have been made to be smarter than ever before and you will find yourself surrounded much more easily now.  It is as if they learn from how you combat them and adjust accordingly.  If you try to hack and slash your way through this game, you may find yourself being quickly defeated!  Using Turn-Based Combat will sometimes be the only way you will survive a deadly encounter.

The new conversation system in this title causes the conversations to adjust to events you have taken part in and choices you have made prior to speaking with a particular NPC.  It is very important to pay close attention to what is being said to you...or within your hearing.  Another sage bit of advice to those new to the world of RPGs is to talk to everyone!  You never know what pearls of wisdom might drop in a casual conversation with a NPC...and some of that information may prove vital to you!  Some of the conversation is verbal while the majority will be typed chat with responses from which you can choose.

You begin the game with a group of four characters...and the very essence of the words Might and Magic come into play as you consider which path your characters should take.  Should they follow the path of Might and begin as a Fighter?  Or should they follow the path of Magic and begin as Initiates?

Along the path of Might, a Fighter wishing to ultimately become a Ranger or Paladin must first become a Crusader.  The Fighter who ultimately wishes to become an Assassin or Gladiator must first become a Mercenary.

The Mercenary is a professional fighter who rarely does anything without financial reward and who hones his skills in armor and weapons to a fine art.  As the Mercenary grows with experience, he must choose to be either Assassin or Gladiator.  The Assassin lives in the shadows, always ready to end the life of anyone who becomes his target.  He can use his special skills to strike a deadly blow without being noticed and then leave without a trace.  The Gladiator, a paid fighter like the Mercenary, is the ultimate warrior whose skill with weapons is unmatched and about whom legends are written.

On the other hand, the Crusader is a noble fighter who devotes his life to fighting for justice and, as such, is granted limited skill in the use of magic to the expert level.  As the Crusader becomes more skilled, his dedication to his beliefs will either draw him to fight for the good of mankind as a noble Paladin...or for the good of nature as a valiant Ranger.

Characters who choose the path of Magic will begin as Initiates and can learn all the schools of magic.  Initiates are poor melee fighters and must use their magic to vanquish foes.  As they progress, Initiates much further define their magic skills as a Scholar or Healer.  Scholars will eventually have to choose between the light or dark path of magic and become either a Mage or Lich.  Healers must either devote themselves to the healing arts completely and become a Priest...or devote themselves to the preservation and healing of nature as a Druid.

Beyond these general differences are specific ones you will find in making up your characters.  There are only four races for you to choose from:  human, elf, dwarf and half-orc.  Each of these races have strengths and weaknesses that you should consider when making your choices.  Dwarves and Half-Orcs are mainly suited to the path of Might as they both make terrible magic users.  Humans are basically very well rounded and could follow the path of either Might or Magic quite well.  Elves are very poor fighters because of their low endurance but make good magic users.

In the world of Might and Magic IX, characters are given basic statistics according to their race.  After you choose the class of your character, you are then given 10 additional points that you can distribute among that character's attributes.  You are also able to lower the score in any of the attributes according to the class you have chosen for that character.  For example, leaving the full allotted number of points of 10 in a Half-Orc Fighter's magic category is a waste of points since this character will never use magic.  You can safely lower the magic stat to 7 (the lowest amount allowable) and gain 3 extra points you can then add to other attributes.

Of course, you also get to decide the more colorful aspects of your new characters...like how they look and how they talk!  All you ladies out there will appreciate knowing that female characters are just as successful as male characters with absolutely no differences in attributes.  So a female fighter can be as deadly as a male fighter!  When deciding on the gender of your character, you will also be deciding on how they look.  There are two male and two female picture choices for each of the four races.  As you toggle through these pictures, you will also see that the names of the characters change as well.  You can leave the names as they are presented or you have the option of deleting the name and typing in one of your choice.

Another new feature of this new title by New World Computing and 3DO is that you can decide how your character will sound by toggling through the voice choices that are given to you.  Both male and female voice selections are available.  You can choose assertive, arrogant, angry, dim (as in dim-witted), happy, sarcastic and cowardly.  During game play your character will then utter remarks or expletives according to the voice choice you made.  For example, the arrogant voiced character will say things that will show that they think very highly of themselves, like "Without me, you won't succeed!"  An example of a sarcastic voiced character might be, "What am I?  Your spell slave?"

Well, there you are adventurer!  All that remains is for you to try Might and Magic IX for yourself and see how you would rate it.  As for me, while the graphics problems are annoying, especially when I have had to reboot my computer, I am enjoying the game and am looking forward to the next sequel already!  Let's all hope that it is a more finished product when it is released!

Might and Magic IX has been rated T for Teen and contains Blood and Violence.

Minimum System requirements include:  Windows 95/98/Me/2K Pro/XP, Pentium II 400MHz or equivalent, 1 GB free hard disk space, 64MB RAM, 4X CD-ROM, DirectX 8.0 compatible video card with at least 16MB VRAM, DirectX 8.0 compatible sound card, keyboard and mouse.

Install:  Easy install with installation wizard.

Gameplay:  7.0. 
Might and Magic IX is a roleplaying game that will take many hours to complete.  There is a very high threshold available for development of multiple characters.  Since game evolvement is dependent on how you play the game, there is also a high replayability factor.  I have no doubt that you will be challenged throughout the game and that your enjoyment factor will probably max out during gameplay!  I have penalized this rating score due to the problems with graphics that greatly affects one's enjoyment of playing the game.

Graphics:  5.5. 
This game definitely needed more testing and work to be done before it was released.  Sorry New World Computing and 3DO but game players should not have to depend on a patch to make an expensive game work properly.

Sound:  7.5. 
I found both music and sound effects to be good quality and realistic.

Difficulty:  3.0. 
This game engine is both easy to learn and easy to control.  The game may be quite challenging but it isn't because of any difficulty in being able to use it!

Concept:  7.5. 
It is quite evident that a lot of hard work and preparation went into creating this game.  It was quite refreshing to experience the new approach to monster making and the use of skills working hand in hand with spellcasting.  The Might and Magic IX developers have given their legendary RPG series a couple of innovative new twists!

Multiplayer:  N/A

Overall:  6.5. 
I don't want to beat a dead horse here so let me just say that it is really a shame that the game was allowed to be released before it was tweaked sufficiently.  Unfortunately, these are major problems that greatly affect the gameplay and game players.  Let's hope for a good patch to be released very, very soon.