Might and Magic

From Free net encyclopedia

Might and Magic (MM) is a series of computer role-playing games from New World Computing, which became a subsidiary of The 3DO Company. The producer of the series was Jon Van Caneghem.

1 History
2 Gameplay
3 Plot
4 See also
5 External links

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History

There are 9 games in the series, consisting of:

Might and Magic: The Secret Of The Inner Sanctum (1987; Apple II, DOS, Commodore 64, NES, MSX)
Might and Magic II: Gates To Another World (1988; Apple II, Amiga, DOS, Commodore 64, Mac, Sega Genesis, SNES (Europe only), MSX)
Might and Magic III: Isles of Terra (1991; DOS, Mac, Amiga, SNES)
Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen (1992; DOS)
Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen (1993; DOS)
- Might and Magic: World of Xeen
Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven (1998; Windows)
Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor (1999; Windows)
Might and Magic VIII: Day of the Destroyer (2000; Windows, PlayStation)
Might and Magic IX (2002; Windows)

There were several spin-offs from the main series, including Heroes of Might and Magic, Crusaders of Might and Magic, Warriors of Might and Magic, Legends of Might and Magic, Might and Magic: Swords of Xeen and Might and Magic Tribute (under development).

In August of 2003, Ubisoft acquired the rights to the Might and Magic franchise for $1.3 million USD after 3DO filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Ubisoft has announced two new projects using the Might and Magic brand — a fifth installment of the Heroes series, developed by Nival Interactive, and a game called Dark Messiah of Might and Magic, developed by Arkane Studios.

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Gameplay

The majority of the gameplay takes place in a medieval fantasy setting. The player controls a party of player characters, which can consist of members of various character classes. The game world is presented to the player in first person perspective. In the earlier games the interface is very similar to that of Bard's Tale, but from Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven onward, the interface features a scrolling three-dimensional environment similar to that of Doom. Combat is turn-based, though the later games allowed the player to choose to conduct combat in real time.

The game worlds in all of the Might and Magic games are quite large, and a player can expect each game to provide several dozen hours of gameplay. It is usually quite combat-intensive and often involves large groups of enemy creatures. Monsters encountered tend to be well-known fantasy staples such as giant rats, medusas, dragons and zombies, rather than original creations.

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Plot

Although most of the gameplay reflects a distinctly fantasy genre, the overarching plot of the series has something of a science fiction flavour. The series is set in an alternate universe where planets are overseen by powerful beings known as Ancients. In each of the games, a party of characters fights monsters and completes quests on one of these planets, until they eventually become involved in the affairs of the Ancients.

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