Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor

The Good
Might and Magic VII is the climax of the MM series. After getting much of the standard medieval fare out of their systems in MM6, the NWC team pushes the game engine to (though not beyond) its practical limits in terms of innovative level designs. Locations such as Celeste City, the Tularean Forest, the Bracada Desert and the Dwarven Barrows need to be experienced to be appreciated.

Obviously the interesting environments have inspired Rob King who produced the music for all of the games in the later Might and Magic series. Here King is at the height of his powers and the soundtrack to MM7 is simply the best game soundtrack there is, featuring choirs, operatic soloists and orchestras blended with acoustic guitars and synthesized sounds.

The Bad
It has to be said that the graphics engine is pretty poor, even for a 1999 game. One suspects that the levels would be even more interesting if they weren't limited by sub-Quake capabilities. Most of the sound effects are substandard as well - the few exceptions are all recycled from MM6 so there's nothing new there.

Much of the voice acting is extremely irritating. Players should pick their characters' voices very carefully in the generation phase because many of them are frankly unendurable for the dozens of hours that you will be listening to them in order to complete this long game.

The Bottom Line
Might and Magic VII is the best hack-and-slash role playing game in the series, and would have been the best game for the franchise to finish on. A collection of interesting environments overcomes the limitations of the graphics engine and lack of character interactions. Long-time fans followers are treated to a resolution to the Catherine/Roland saga of the previous game (which also spilled out into the spin-off Heroes series), as well as an appropriate epilogue to the Corak/Sheltem saga of the earlier games.