Might and Magic IX

The Good
Well, I think it'll be quick to say. MM9 features some nice quests and good combats, with a classic but still interesting storyline (that is, if you manage to keep playing at least two hours). Musics are not bad, even if they are not as good as in MM6 or 7, or the Heroes series. And some of the cities are well-designed. That's all, folks.

The Bad
Graphics, graphics, graphics, the poverty of the gameplay (compared to the other MM games), and bugs.

First, graphics. The landscapes are poor at best, ugly most of the time. It's not exactly a question of 3d modeling, more a question of textures and colors. You spend most of your time walking in greenish areas, but the kind of green that hurts the eyes. It is better in cities, but still the game seems to be five years old. And, last but not least, the character 3d models (and textures, again). There are a bunch of the ugliest NPC I ever seen. Some monsters are not bad, but it is not enough to forget the rest.

Then, the gameplay. It is Might and Magic, okay, but less a lot of things. Fewer spells (Magic is almost a joke in MM9 - and no more Fly spell !), fewer skills, fewer attributes, fewer items... The problem is, Might and Magic series being a bit "old school gameplay", taking out things like that makes the game look poor. Very poor.

And bugs. There are plenty of these, the kind of bugs that prevent you to complete some of the major quests. And believe me, if you get stuck near the end of MM9 because of a stupid bug, you won't start a new game. You'll use an home-made Fly spell to throw the game cd's directly to the trashcan.

The Bottom Line
I am a MM fan, and still I didn't enjoyed this one. It is the worst and the ugliest of the series. Forget MM9, and wait for Ubi Soft to produce MM X...