Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor

The Good
After this behemoth of role-playing had re-defined the series' formula and re-invigorated its spirit, it was to be expected that these highly skilled designers would continue building upon the highly successful template. They did, and the result is Might and Magic VII - a game that feels like a more interesting, less over-the-top, polished and refined version of its predecessor.

Non-human playable races (the familiar elves and dwarves, but also the very handy goblins) make a triumphant return, accompanied by resurrected classes such as the Thief - which, true to his name, has the cool ability to steal from people (a feature that, among others, allows the player to bypass a rather nasty - and otherwise mandatory - battle late in the game). Other than that, all the wealth from the previous game was retained - the deep character customization (with an extra level of specialization, Grandmaster), the variety of magic schools, the enormous amount of equipment and items to experiment with, plus an intricate alchemy system, a new card game, and more - all this is guaranteed to entertain the player for many, many hours.

One of the most intimidating features in Might and Magic VI was the sheer amount of enemies the game threw at the player - which, frankly, bordered on the ridiculous at times, and led to tedium and repetitiveness. I was pleased to discover that the seventh game fully corrects and balances this issue with somewhat more formidable opponents coming in distinctly lesser quantities. There are still quite a few monsters to hunt down, but nothing comparable to the insanity of, say, those Egyptian guardians patrolling the pyramid-like gigantic spaceship navigated by Star Trek characters.

While not as uncompromisingly huge as the sixth game, Might and Magic VII still offers a vast world with plenty of areas providing hours upon hours of meticulous exploration - including, naturally, many locations you don't have to visit in order to complete the game. The world is also livelier and more exciting than that of the previous title. While there was something schematic and generic in the large, fairly monotonous towns of Might and Magic VI, the sequel presents a wider variety with such highlights as a dwarven underground city with a mountain cave system, a beautiful desert with towers, a picturesque elven settlement with adjacent islands, and a hellish, lava-filled realm of demons, necromancers, and warlocks. The world of Might and Magic VII has more personality and more detail, which contributes to its quality of immersion.

The game also has a noticeably stronger plot with much more interesting characters, which involves war intrigue, and a subtler, smoother, more ingenious introduction of sci-fi elements, the background story of the entire series and the way it affects the medieval society the game takes place in. The re-introduction of dwarves, elves, and other races also helped in creating a more colorful game world, which has more appeal than the "monoracial" realm of the sixth game.

The best part about the plot, however, is its connection to the gameplay. Here Might and Magic VII learns from the new school RPG design, introducing meaningful choices and moral decisions that move the story in different directions. Going back and forth between the humans and the elves was quite fascinating; but the best part occurred later, about halfway or so through the game, when a single choice determined an entire line of quests becoming the "mirrors" of each other, forcing you to align with either the benevolent rulers of the sky city Celeste or a traitorous member of the royal family and his alien and demonic allies.

The Bad
I can't exactly say that I missed brobdingnagian dungeons like the dreaded Tomb of Varn of the previous title - and yet, I did feel a tiny sting of disappointment after completing the game's last two areas. Make no mistake, the final dungeon is by far the game's most dangerous location, where even experienced, powerful parties can get crushed; but it's fairly small, and, in terms of exploration challenge, not even remotely comparable to the monstrous offerings of the earlier game.

Otherwise, it's mostly nitpicking - for example, I didn't like the restriction imposed on learning high-level spells. In Might and Magic VI, you could teach Fly to your Archer very early in the game; here, you'll have not only increase the skill and train to master level, but complete two promotion quests, one of which is only available after you've completed a significant portion of the main quest.

The Bottom Line
Might and Magic VII has found the golden middle way between old and new: it retains the gameplay value, the depth, the complexity, the scope, and the design generosity of its predecessors, but gets rid of quite a bit of tedium and learns from the "new wave" of RPGs, giving us a more memorable and immersive world. It is an exciting, wonderfully crafted game, and a delight for fans of the genre.

The Good
If you liked MM6, you will probably enjoy this one, because the basics of the game are the same, with some enhancements. More skills, races, items... Graphics are a bit better, with D3D support (when your graphic card is recognized, that is. Don't expect to play in "hardware mode" if you have a recent card). The music is very good, the plot interesting, there are plenty of quests and tasks to accomplish... The game is very addictive, and I spent hours showing those goblins what "king of the hill" means. The game is also a bit easier than MM6 (but still challenging). That's for the good.

The Bad
There are a few things. First, the graphics are still outdated, and D3D support doesn't add much. Then, the gameplay is mostly based on the old "door-monster-treasure", and that involves fighting dozens of foes per minute. And, as you can guess, it quickly becomes repetitive... And, last but not least, there are bugs. There are still many of them, and even more in the french version (that I own).

The Bottom Line
If you like old-school CRPG, with a good plot and a catchy atmosphere, you'll like Might and Magic VII.

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.

The Good
Fun gameplay, good story, multiple game sructure and endings, well done cutscenes, good light humor, fantastic music... and well, the best game concept to deliver endless CRPG fun in all the quests through the game, never in another game you will feel so much fun in leveling up (just some more skill points... ;) and a toned down difficulty for the enjoyment of a wider gamer society.

The Bad
outdated graphics, dull sound effects, ridiculuous AI (but it can be counted as a good thing as it tones down the difficulty), supposed 3D-acceleration support is plain bad and essentially the same as Might and Magic 6... the toned down difficulty may displease some hardcore CRPG fans...

The Bottom Line
Simply the best game in delivering the most CRPG fun to hardcore CRPG fans and casual players alike. The multiple paths you can take in the game add in some variety and replayability, and its low difficulty won't frustrate the gamer. However, this game is essentially the same as Might and Magic 6 except a new (and very interesting) plot and some minor improvements. Overall a good game to enjoy and lots of fun but definitely not a classical...

The Good
I could not find anything above-average about this game other than the unique scenarios that your characters find themselves in. You start out on Emerald Island and you can enter a scavenger hunt for a variety of weird items (ie. fancy hat, seashell, longbow). The objective of this scavenger hunt quest is to win the first prize- lordship to your very own castle!

The Bad
I started out excited about playing this game, but the gameplay quickly decomposed into a game of " buy stuff, recruit adventurers, enter dungeon X, kill everything that moves across the screen, return to town when badly injured, heal, resupply, repeat". All of the monsters, buildings, trees, and people are flat paper dolls pasted flat on the screen. This game, made in 1998, deserves maybe just a little bit of something called 3d models. Additionally, all of the people look the same; there are these character models- blue shirt man, blue shirt lady, green shirt lady (who you cannot talk to for some reason).

The Bottom Line
Overall, I was very disappointed and bored by this game, even though I am a fan of RPGs. If you want to play a great dungeon crawl, you should not look here, but rather at Might and Magic 6: Mandate of Heaven, which is a slightly better game in my opinion.