Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven (Windows)

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Description

After the corrupt Guardian Sheltem was defeated, the seemingly never-ending war between the Ancients and the alien Kreegans entered a new phase. Meteor-like spaceships populated by the Kreegans fell onto the technologically less advanced planet Enroth. The local king, Roland Ironfist, plans to attack the demonic-looking aliens, but is betrayed by a mage named Sulman and gone missing. Xenofex, the king of the Kreegans, establishes a cult teaching people that the Ironfist dynasty has lost its Mandate of Heaven to rule the realm. Meanwhile, the town of Sweet Water is invaded by the Kreegans, and four adventurers become involved in the battle and the search for the missing king.

The Mandate of Heaven is the sixth installment in the Might and Magic series, and the first one with the playing area done with a real 3D engine, allowing free exploration of the terrain (as opposed to the grid-based movement of the previous games) and camera rotation. Characters and many objects are represented by 2D sprites. The gameplay follows the formula of the predecessors with several changes, the most notable of which is the option to fight in real time. Real-time combat allows free movement, while the traditional turn-based one is stationary.

Character creation is somewhat more restricted: there are no other races but humans to choose from, and the party contains only four adventurers. Six classes are available: Knight, Druid, Paladin, Cleric, Sorcerer and Archer. A new skill system has been introduced, allowing the player to manually raise character skills (e.g. proficiency in specific weapon types) when the character levels up. Characters also gain access to skills of most classes, regardless of their original class designation.

Screenshots

Promo Images

Trailer

Alternate Titles

• "魔法门VI：天堂之令" -- Simplified Chinese spelling
• "魔法門VI ─ 奉天承運" -- Traditional Chinese spelling
• "Меч и Магия: Благословение небес" -- 2003 Russian spelling
• "MM6" -- Common abbreviation
• "Might and Magic VI : Le Mandat Celeste" -- French title

Part of the Following Groups

• Fantasy Creatures: Dragons
• Fantasy Creatures: Dwarves
• Gameplay feature: Alchemy
• Gameplay feature: Auto-mapping
• Gameplay feature: Character development - Skill distribution
• Gameplay feature: Paper doll inventory
• Might and Magic series
• Might and Magic universe

User Reviews

Only 7230896741 enemies between you and everlasting fame	Unicorn Lynx (181640)
It started out a ton of fun, but it's the first time I ever bought a strategy guide.	Cyric (50)	unrated
MM6: The mandate of perpetual repetitions	Dr_Bab (11)
Excellent traditional cRPG. Graphics/audio sufficient for the fan.	Tennessee Ernie Ford (18)
Mighty and magical -- not.	András Gregorik (65)	unrated

Critic Reviews

PC Jeux	May, 1998	91 out of 100	91
GameSpot	May 22, 1998	9.1 out of 10	91
Computer Gaming World (CGW)	Aug, 1998		90
IGN	Aug 12, 1998	9 out of 10	90
PC Games (Germany)	May 06, 1998	88 out of 100	88
Gameplay (Benelux)	Jul 01, 1998	81 out of 100	81
Gamezilla	Jun 04, 1998	80 out of 100	80
Gry OnLine	Mar 29, 2001	8 out of 10	80
Gamesmania.de	1998	75 out of 100	75
PC Player (Germany)	May, 1998	68 out of 100	68

Forums

Topic	# Posts	Last Post
MM6 guide	1	Rain Ungert (1) Jan 18, 2014

Trivia

Hidden dungeon

There is a hidden easter egg dungeon in the game. More information can be found in the tips & tricks section.

References

In the town of Ironfist there is a not-so-subtle reference to Star Trek; the Original Series - when you leave the temple you are told to "Live long and prosper", a common Vulcan greeting. In the Tomb of Varn there is another original Star Trek reference; unfortunately it would be a major spoiler to reveal it here!

Awards

Might and Magic 6 was voted #39 overall (tied with Curse of Monkey Island) in PCGamer Magazine's Readers All-Time Top 50 Games Poll (April 2000 issue).

• Computer Gaming World
  • April 1999 (Issue #177) – Runner-up as Best RPG of the Year
• PC Gamer
  • April 2000 - #39 in the "All-Time Top 50 Games Poll" (together with The Curse of Monkey Island
• Power Play
  • Issue 02/1999 – Best First-Person RPG in 1998

Information also contributed by DJP Mom and Zovni

Related Web Sites

• Mandate Mania (Colored maps and a whole lot more, including spells, artifacts, tips...)
• Might & Magic VI: Mandate of Heaven Prima FastTrack Guide (featured on IGN)
• Tennessee Ernie Ford's Guide to Enroth (A comprehensive site covering all aspects of the game. Includes strategies on party formation, spell casting, training, and combat. Includes extensive charts on all monsters, loot, and spells.)