Review by: Josh Horowitz
Published: July 26, 2001

Remember the classic first-person dungeon adventures? Sporting crude EGA graphics, these titles had players fighting pixilated monsters while traveling down long, boxy corridors, and helped lead to the rise of the Wolfensteins, Dooms, and Quakes. While first-person shooters have continued to evolve along their own paths, role-playing games such as Might and Magic have typically steered clear of the Internet deathmatch realm until fairly recently. Now, 3DO and New World Computing are jumping aboard the multiplayer bandwagon with the latest team-based first-person action title, Legends of Might and Magic.

The story behind Legends involves two sides and their never-ending conflict: the forces of Good, and the forces of Evil. On Good’s side are the noble Paladin, the dexterous Druid, and the formidable Sorceress. Filling Evil’s roster is the brutal Warrior, the cunning Heretic, and the sinister Archer. Each side is set on accomplishing different tasks, such as guarding or rescuing princesses, drawing swords from stones, slaying fire-breathing dragons, and helping slippery warlords escape. Along the way, both Good and Evil must not only face each other, but also scores of hideous monsters and other nasty minions. Aiding each sides’ quests are numerous weapons, scrolls, and armor that can be purchased with gold earned after each mission.

Included with the game are 20 maps, each falling under one of four categories. In Princess Rescue maps, one side must try to liberate a captive damsel and lead her to safety, while the other side attempts to thwart her escape. For levels with the Sword in the Stone scenario, each team strives to be the first to draw a blade out of a chunk of granite and return it to their base. The third quest-type, Warlord Escape, involves one team escorting a player-controlled Warlord to safety while the other side tries to kill the Warlord. Finally, in Slay the Dragon levels, both teams race to kill a massive fire-breathing dragon, with the side that strikes the actual fatal blow being declared the winner. Each map has a storyline behind it based on settings and concepts found in the M&M universe.