Crusaders of Might and Magic

The Good
The gameplay mostly is tried and true hack and slash, mixed with mostly FedEx -type quests, some puzzle-solving, so it has all the elements of a decent RPG/Adventure one expects from 3DO's Might and Magic series. Giant outdoor and indoor areas in glorious 3D to explore. Third person behind the shoulder view of your character, who is alone in contrast to other Might and Magic games. Mouse-look greatly helps to control where you're looking and going (M&M series games didn't have it before this one). Big variety of NPCs, shops, dungeons, etc. The spells increase in power with each found "tome" and also start hitting multiple enemies at once, or have area effects. Big variety of weapons and armor. The Boomer Axe is the coolest weapon I've seen in an RPG so far - it flies, rebounds off enemies and obstacles, and then always returns into your hand! The "Bullet Time" effect was used in this game before the movie "Matrix" came out. When you attain a new level - you get a fly-by 360 degree 3D view of your character with the enemy bodies and weapons frozen in mid-air, that can only be described as unforgettable!

The Bad
No lip-sync when NPCs talk. Too many skeletons (then again you're fighting a necromancer)! At least one extremely hard puzzle (involving ore cart). Low polygon models. Also somewhat limited inventory space.

The Bottom Line
Great mix of Hack and Slash with RPG/Adventure. If you liked "Drakan", "Blade of the Darkness" or "Die by the Sword", or are a fan of the Might and Magic series - don't miss this game! For the rest - I still recommend trying it - won't cost you much now that it's bargain bin title, and you just might get addicted to it like I did!

The Good
- Flexible movement. The player can strafe, duck, jump, walk diagonally, roll in all directions, and block - a lot of moves for a FPS in 1999. The player can use these different moves to swing/thrust the weapon in different ways.

• Supports the infamous WASD/mouse FPS combo. (well, the move keys are ESDF by default but you can change them, another good thing)

• Melee combat can be pretty intense, with good close-up AI, and rewarding victories.

• Good music. Though I recognize some of it from Might & Magic VII.

• The armor/resistance system is well done. Instead of a flat armor class, there are "bash" and "slash" % resistances along with the usual element % resistances. Weapons can likewise do any combination of bash, slash, and elemental damage, so most weapons do different damage to different opponents.

• The "bullet-time" level-up kill was done after The Matrix came out, contrary to what the previous review wrote, but it's still pretty cool. :)
  
  The Bad
  - Lackluster graphics. The polygon count and environment details are rather low, even compared with similar games from 1999. The indoor/outdoor textures aren't very realistic either, although the people still look better than the Might & Magic IX people. :) The text is blocky and aliased, at least on my Radeon/AA setup.

• The voice acting is mostly poor and often laughable. Perhaps some programmers were recruited?

• Items are sold and bought for the same amount. How do they keep in business? It's useful, in that you can't get stats on weapons and armor for sale until you buy and equip them, but takes away some challenge in trading.

• The story line is second rate compared to most action RPGs.

• Distance AI is pretty bad. Some opponents will run in circles at first, and many won't notice you until you're within a few feet.
  
  The Bottom Line
  I played Drakan a few years ago, and find this game quite similar, except the obvious: you're a guy and you don't have a dragon. Decent for its time, I'm sure, but since then a million and one console games of the same genre have appeared and outdone it. If you're a fan of the Might & Magic series, well.. this one really doesn't have much to do with it, so it'd only be a less intriguing diversion. You're probably better off looking for Drakan, then moving on with newer games.

Speaking of which, it can be a hassle getting CoMM to work in Windows XP - I had to set the refresh rate to 60Hz.