Even with the addition of 3D-accelerator support (originally promised for VI but not included), the game doesn't look all that great. The engine is crude by today's standards. Visually, however, that's about all the improvement you get. These complaints have been addressed to some degree, and Might and Magic VII not only restores the thief and monk character classes, but lets you choose from dwarves, elves, humans, and goblins for your party members (though the half-orc is still absent).Ĭharacter portraits have been improved, replacing the silly photos from VI with somewhat less-silly rendered portraits. Your characters could only be human, and many character classes had been removed. Might and Magic VI removed many popular features from the series. Because this choice is made somewhat early in the game, it gives Might and Magic VII a great deal of replayability. Areas that may be safe for followers of light are treacherous for followers of dark, and vice versa.

Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and both light and dark have their own quests, spells, and class promotions available (not to mention their own interface art). Your choice of successor will also be the path you choose to walk for the rest of the game. There are two candidates for arbiter - one represents dark and the other light. Your choice will have a dramatic impact on the remainder of the game. But the real depth begins when the arbiter of the war dies, and as lords of the realm, you must choose his successor. This gives the game a bit of depth from the beginning. You must align yourself with the elves or the humans, and the game gives you a few quests that let you choose your affinity. Your party has recently become lords of this war-torn area, having won it in a scavenger hunt. The elfin and human kingdoms are at war, with the major area of dispute being the small town of Harmondale. The game takes place in Erathia (as did Heroes of Might and Magic III), as opposed to Enroth, the setting of Might and Magic VI. But this time out, New World has added something that has been lacking in the past few Might and Magic games: a cohesive story.

There are lots of quests to undertake, lots of monsters to fight, and lots of levels to be gained. Might and Magic VII follows the same addictive formula of past chapters. It's good because a number of welcome improvements have been made, and a slightly improved Might and Magic is better than no Might and Magic at all.

It's bad because many of the previous game's faults remain, and the engine - merely adequate last year - looks downright dated now. This relative haste is both good and bad. Given that four years passed between the release of Might and Magic V: Darkside of Xeen and 1998's Might and Magic VI: The Mandate of Heaven, the latest chapter in the series has arrived hot on the heels of the last.

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